Pretended to Need Quiet, Loved Another’s Chaos Chapter 07

Pretended to Need Quiet, Loved Another’s Chaos Chapter 07

Adrian froze.

He looked down at the divorce agreement, then back at me.

“I thought you were…”

Before he could finish, my phone rang.

My friend had found a good apartment near my office, and the lease was ready to sign that night.

I picked up my coat and headed for the door.

“Don’t forget to sign the divorce papers. And stop coming to my office. The rumors could hurt your company.”

“Faye’s young, and she’s sensitive about things like this.”

I threw his own words back at him.

As I stepped into the elevator, Adrian seemed to snap out of his daze and ran after me.

“Ivy, you can’t leave. We need to talk about this.”

“I won’t let you divorce me. I love you so…”

The elevator doors closed, cutting off the rest.

I let out a long breath. Every part of me felt too heavy to move.

The apartment was close to my office. After a quick walk-through, I saw that it was fully furnished and signed the lease.

I hired a cleaning crew, then stood on the balcony with my friend while they worked.

The moment I mentioned Adrian, she became furious.

“What the hell is wrong with him? Before the wedding, he said Liam didn’t bother him. Now, after six years of marriage, he suddenly can’t get over it?”

She shook her head in disbelief.

“You and Liam never even held hands. You dated for a month to keep your parents happy. What exactly is Adrian jealous of?”

I shook my head and said nothing.

If Adrian had truly loved me, why had my past mattered to him at all?

My friend went home a while later. I lay in the unfamiliar bed, but sleep still wouldn’t come.

My mind kept circling back through the past six years, then farther, to the day Adrian proposed.

He’d told me how miserable he’d been during our year apart. Even if both families opposed us, he. was determined to marry me.

I’d cried so hard that I couldn’t speak.

I’d wanted to tell him I’d been miserable too.

During that year, my parents introduced me to more than a dozen men from families they approved

None of them made my heart race the way Adrian had from the first moment I saw him.
I fought with my parents over and over, repeating the same words until I lost count.

“Adrian is the only man I’ll ever marry.”

Eventually, they lost their patience.

“Our families have been at odds for generations, and you still want to marry him?”

“Fine. Marry him. But you’ll move out, receive only half your inheritance, and no longer have access to the family’s connections. If you’re determined to defy us, don’t expect our help

afterward.”

When Adrian proposed, grief, relief, and happiness had overwhelmed me. I’d believed my gamble

had paid off.

I just hadn’t realized that he wasn’t marrying me for love.

I no longer knew why he’d proposed.

We’d both been miserable for six years. There was no reason to stay in a marriage that only made

us both miserable.

I spent another night awake.

In the morning, I made a doctor’s appointment to refill my sleeping pills. When I arrived at the office, my assistant told me the representatives from the automotive company were already there.

I hurried to the conference room and found a familiar face waiting inside.

Liam Grant smiled and held out his hand.

“When I saw the name Ivy Creative, I wondered if it might be yours. You always wanted to work in advertising, so I came by to see for myself.”

“Looks like I was right.”