The System Admitted Its Mistake—So I Offered Him a Divorce Chapter 13

Julian Hayes always considered himself a rational man.

His path in life was clear:

He would study, take over the family business when the time came, and, when it was time to settle down, marry a gentle, gracious woman from a family like his.

He thought everything was under control.

Then Lily Bennett appeared.

They were in high school.

His first impression of her was that she was fierce.

She sat near a window at the back. She wasn’t tall, but her presence was downright

intimidating.

During the first week of school, a boy in class made fun of her old, patched pencil case.

Without a word, she grabbed a book from her desk and hurled it at him. The entire classroom

fell silent.

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It was their junior year.

Graham Ellis, who sat beside Julian, fell for Sophie Carter.

Graham wasn’t much of a student.

He wracked his brain for days and still couldn’t write a decent love letter.

Finally, he pestered Julian into writing it for him.

But the letter never reached her.

Graham lost his nerve at the last minute.

He casually slipped the letter into a book.

Later, someone took the book. No one knew who.

The letter disappeared, too.

He searched everywhere for it.

When he looked up, his eyes met Lily’s.

She turned away without changing her expression.

It all seemed like a coincidence.

Throughout high school, Julian barely exchanged a few words with Lily.

There was one time, though.

He heard some boys in class talking about her.

“Lily’s family is kind of a mess. I heard her dad’s been married a bunch of times.”

“Her mom’s an actress or something. She stopped caring about her ages ago.”

Julian frowned and turned to face them.

“Do you really enjoy talking about people behind their backs?”

The boys fell awkwardly silent.

He left school late that day. As he passed her desk, he noticed she was still there.

She was slumped over her desk, her face buried in her arms, her shoulders completely still.

Julian paused, found a piece of chocolate in his backpack, and set it on the corner of her desk.

Then he left without a word.

They graduated.

Julian didn’t see Lily again after that.

Then came that night out drinking.

-He drank too much. His assistant helped him back to his hotel room, where he collapsed onto

the bed.

Then the door opened.

Thinking his assistant forgot something, he forced his eyes open and saw someone approaching.

A woman reached the bed and bent over him, her hair lightly brushing his cheek.

It was Lily. He hadn’t seen her in years.

She was all grown up.

She was beautiful now, so striking and poised.

He wanted to say something.

But she was already leaning down to kiss him.

When Julian woke up, he stared at the ceiling and thought he was done for.

The marks on his body reminded him of what happened the night before.

His throat tightened.

He turned to Lily beside him.

“I’m sorry. This is all my fault. I’ll take full responsibility.”

Lily suddenly laughed.

The sound made him uneasy.

“Julian, you really are so much fun.”

Later, he understood.

So that was what she meant.

She planned everything. She used that night to force him into marrying her.

Julian hated her.

He hated her for wrecking his plans, for using such despicable methods to get him.

They were completely different people.

Yet she forced him to stay by her side.

How could he not hate her?

They were married now.

Julian fought with himself every day.

He hated her.

That never changed.

Time passed, though.

He discovered another side of Lily.

His hatred grew complicated.

Sometimes he even imagined they were a real couple who loved each other.

It nearly drove him insane.

Once, he woke in the middle of the night and found her curled up in his arms.

Her hand clutched his shirt. In sleep, she was completely unguarded.

He stared at her face for a long time, then gently loosened her fingers and clasped them in his

hand.

Lily’s hand was unbelievably soft. For one moment, he didn’t want to let go.

He realized what he was thinking.

Julian squeezed his eyes shut…

He wanted to slap himself.

Everything changed that night.

Lily opened the bedroom door.

Then she casually asked for a divorce.

Julian’s mind went blank for a moment.

It took him a moment to come to his senses.

By then, she was gone.

Only a faint trace of her lovely scent remained.

Julian forced himself to calm down.

Divorce was good.

Divorce was very good.

Wasn’t this the day he’d waited for all along?

He needed to remember how she forced herself on him.

He needed to remember how she hit him.

He needed to remember how she humiliated him.

There was one awful problem.

He couldn’t remember anymore.

All he could think about was how good it felt when she forced herself on him.

Her hand smelled so lovely when she hit him.

Her words sounded so sweet when she humiliated him.

It was as though something had taken over his body.

Was he out of his mind?

He thought it in despair,

Then came the day of the charity gala.

Julian hadn’t planned to go.

But he knew Lily would be there.

He couldn’t help himself.

He was being pathetic again.

He despised himself for it.

Then he looked up and saw Luke in a blue suit.

Lily was wearing blue, too.

They stood together.

They looked like a couple. It hurt to look at them.

“Excuse me.”

He said it and walked straight ahead without looking back.

If he stayed another second, he was afraid he’d do something he couldn’t take back.

He might smash his glass into Luke’s face.

He might drag Lily away, shove her into a car, and take her back to the house that used to be

theirs.

He might crawl to her on his hands and knees and beg her not to divorce him.

But he saw Lily laughing and chatting with that man.

His emotions broke loose completely.

He closed his eyes.

Every part of him screamed for him to go to her.

Go to her.

Go to her.

Accept it.

Maybe he was sick. Maybe he was insane. Maybe he was a masochist.

Whatever he was, he couldn’t leave her.