The Billionaire’s Wife Who Couldn’t Afford Anything Chapter 02

The Billionaire’s Wife Who Couldn’t Afford Anything Chapter 02 The Divorce Filing

Adrian Hawthorne’s pupils widened slightly.

He clearly thought I was still throwing a tantrum, and in his anger, he laughed instead.

“Fine. Fine.

“Just don’t regret this later.”

I didn’t answer him.

The entire drive passed in silence.

We quietly finished filing all the paperwork at the county clerk’s office. It wasn’t until we walked back outside that I finally spoke again.

“In thirty days, we’ll come back and finalize the divorce.

“I’m going home to pack my things. Later tonight, I’ll take Noah and leave.”

Before Adrian could say anything, I raised my hand and flagged down a taxi by the curb.

Then I left without looking back.

The second I was gone, Vanessa Lowell immediately seized the chance to stir things up.

“Adrian, don’t go after her.

“Maybe it’s good for Evie to calm down for a while. Once that two-million-dollar monthly allowance hits her account tomorrow, there’s no way someone who’s lived such a hard life would really want a divorce.”

She sighed softly.

“But honestly, constantly threatening divorce and dragging you all the way to the courthouse like this…

“She’s being a little ungrateful.”

Adrian glanced coldly at the hand Vanessa had slipped around his arm.

Without hesitation, he pulled away.

“My relationship with Evelyn is none of your business,” he said flatly.

“You’d better stop commenting on it.”

His expression darkened slightly.

“My grandfather has a history with the Lowell family, and because of that, I agreed to help take care of you and Ryan.

“But know your limits.

“I already warned you before. You could test Evelyn if you wanted. You could provoke her if you wanted.

“But don’t drag my son into it.

“And I don’t want to hear Ryan say anything like that ever again.

“If it happens another time, I’ll pull every investment the Hawthorne Group has from Lowell Paper & Packaging.”

Vanessa nearly lost control of her expression.

But she still forced herself to maintain her fragile, pitiful act.

“Adrian, you’re misunderstanding me.

“Kids just repeat nonsense sometimes. Ryan didn’t mean any of it.

“I was only worried Evelyn might be after your money, so I thought helping you test her would protect you.”

She lowered her eyes.

“I won’t do it again.”

Then she quickly changed the subject.

“By the way, since you mentioned your grandfather, could you drop me off at Hawthorne Manor?

“We can have dinner with him together tonight.”

Adrian didn’t even look at her.

He opened the driver’s door and got into the car directly.

“Not on the way.

“I’m going back to the office.”

His voice stayed indifferent.

“You said it was hard to get a ride near the school, so I gave you a lift.

“This is downtown Newford now. Figure the rest out yourself.”

The next second, the car sped away.

Vanessa could only stand there, furious, watching the taillights disappear into traffic.

After stewing over it for a while, she finally pulled out her phone and made a call.

“Grandpa Richard, it’s Vanessa.

“Did you know Evelyn suddenly demanded a divorce today? She even said she wants to take Noah away.

“She’s obviously trying to keep your grandson from the Hawthorne family so she can pressure Adrian…”

–

At the final traffic light before the Hawthorne Group tower, Adrian slowly stopped the car.

The red countdown numbers reflected across his windshield.

For some reason, looking at those numbers made him think of the thirty-day waiting period on our divorce filing.

We’re definitely not getting divorced.

That thought surfaced almost instinctively.

After all, Noah and I loved him deeply enough to endure three entire years of hardship without ever leaving him.

But then another image flashed through his mind-

Noah’s disappointed eyes.

My cold expression outside the courthouse.

The more Adrian thought about it, the more irritated he became. Underneath that irritation, a strange sense of panic slowly crept into his chest.

He cursed under his breath and slammed a hand against the steering wheel.

Then he abruptly made a U-turn and drove home.

When Adrian returned, I was standing in the living room, taking our wedding photo off the wall and placing it into a cardboard box.

Calling it a wedding photo was honestly generous.

It was really just a selfie with a cheap bridal veil.

Back then, we had no money.

I couldn’t afford a professional wedding shoot, so I had bought a $1.99 veil off Temu, dragged Adrian outside the courthouse, leaned against his shoulder, and snapped a single photo.

That became our wedding portrait.

In the picture, Adrian’s expression looked stiff and reluctant.

But even so, he still lowered his head slightly and let me rest against him while I took the photo.

Later, when I hung that awkward little picture on the wall, he never complained about it.

Back then, I truly believed he loved me.

I thought his love was simply tangled up with suspicion and doubt, and that if I worked hard enough, suffered enough, proved enough, eventually he would trust me completely.

That was why, no matter how difficult life became, I could always endure it after looking at that photo.

I slowly lifted my hand and gently touched Adrian’s face in the picture.

Behind me, his voice suddenly sounded.

“I knew you wouldn’t be able to let me go.”

I paused slightly.

Then I heard him continue in a calmer tone:

“Evie… let’s withdraw the divorce application.”