The Billionaire’s Wife Who Couldn’t Afford Anything Chapter 09

The Billionaire’s Wife Who Couldn’t Afford Anything Chapter 09 Some People Are Meant to Be Missed Forever

After a chaotic round of explanations, the police officers and Daniel Reed finally figured out what had happened.

I repeatedly apologized while walking the officers downstairs.

“I’m really sorry.

“Noah’s still young. He misunderstood the blood donation situation and panicked.

“It was all just a misunderstanding.”

Daniel scratched the back of his head awkwardly and pointed toward the smartwatch on Noah’s

wrist.

“Sorry about that, too.

“Noah called me, saying a bad guy was trying to take you away, so I panicked and brought the police over immediately.”

He looked genuinely guilty.

“I didn’t scare you, did I?”

I shook my head helplessly.

Daniel had grown up with me since childhood. He had only rushed over because he was worried about us.

How could I possibly blame him?

His gaze slowly shifted past me toward Adrian Hawthorne standing behind me.

“And this is…?”

I answered calmly:

“My husband.

“Though we’ll probably finalize the divorce sometime this month.”

Then I added naturally:

“When the time comes, I might need your help watching Noah for a little while.”

Daniel nodded immediately.

“Of course.”

As he prepared to leave, he glanced toward Adrian one last time before speaking politely:

“Mr. Hawthorne, aren’t you leaving, too?

“Evie has to wake up at three in the morning to open the diner.

“It’s getting late. I’m worried you’ll affect her rest.”

Adrian stayed silent for two seconds before finally leaving obediently, together with Daniel.

What I didn’t expect was that the next day, Richard Hawthorne would personally come to my breakfast diner.

He sat quietly in the corner the entire morning, silently watching me work through the breakfast rush without saying a single word.

Only after the busiest period finally ended did I sit across from him.

In just a short amount of time, he seemed to have aged considerably.

Even the way he spoke had lost its former arrogance.

“What happened before…”

He sighed heavily.

“I was too stubborn. Too old-fashioned.”

His fingers slowly tightened around his coffee cup.

“To be honest, I always wanted Adrian to marry Vanessa.

“It wasn’t until Adrian worked with the police to expose the Lowell family that I realized how rotten they truly were.

“I regret it now.”

He looked at me with exhaustion in his eyes.

“Evie, I know you’re angry about the blood donation incident.

“I’m apologizing to you for that.”

Then his voice softened further.

“Come back with Noah.

“Ever since you left, Adrian hasn’t been living well at all.

“I know now that all my suspicions toward you back then were wrong.

“So-”

I raised my hand calmly and interrupted him.

“I don’t want to hear the rest.”

Richard froze slightly.

I looked at him quietly.

“Your apology?

“I received it.

“But I don’t want to forgive you.

“All of this is still just the same thing in the end.

“You telling me how wonderful my life will supposedly become if I go back.”

I let out a faint laugh.

“So what?

“I’m supposed to feel grateful because I finally passed your so-called gold-digger test?”

Richard’s expression stiffened awkwardly.

I continued softly:

“Mr. Hawthorne, before you and Adrian start testing other people….

“The first thing both of you should learn is respect.”

My eyes briefly swept across his expensive, custom-tailored suit.

Just like Adrian, he wore luxury so naturally that it had become part of him.

But then I calmly said:

“There are some things money can’t buy.

“The sincerity you wanted.

“And the respect I wanted.”

The breakfast diner grew quiet for several seconds.

Finally, I spoke again:

“During summer and winter breaks, I’ll still bring Noah back to visit you.

“Adrian will always be his father.

“And you’ll always be his grandfather.

“But everything else…

“Ends here.”

I stood up slowly.

“Please go.

“I won’t walk you out.”

Much later, I finally learned why Richard Hawthorne had looked so devastated that day.

Because years ago, before Margaret Hawthorne divorced him, she had said almost exactly the same thing.

Back then, she had also begged him for respect.

But at the time, Richard never understood.

Now he finally did.

Unfortunately, it was far too late.

Just like Margaret had built a brand-new life overseas after leaving him…

I was beginning a new life, too.

Meanwhile, Adrian still showed up constantly, rain or shine, trying desperately to win me back.

And every single time, I remained distant.

Cold.

Polite.

Nothing more.

Sometimes during parent-child events at Noah’s school, I even brought Daniel with me instead.

The three of us standing together looked enough like a family that nobody questioned it.

We were all adults.

Some things didn’t need to be spoken aloud anymore.

Adrian clearly couldn’t accept it.

But he never dared ask me directly.

Instead, one afternoon, he stopped Daniel outside the diner and finally broke down.

“Why?”

His voice sounded raw and desperate.

“How could it be you?

“You’re just a county employee.

“You don’t even make in a year what I make in a single day.

“So why…

“Why would Evie still choose you in the end?”

Daniel turned toward me instinctively.

I was busy inside the diner carrying trays between tables.

A soft smile slowly appeared in his eyes.

“Mr. Hawthorne,” he said quietly.

“There is no why.

“Love doesn’t work that way.”

Then he looked back at Adrian calmly.

“The moment love starts coming with conditions…

“It stops being love.

“You loved Evie with standards attached.

“She had to prove she wasn’t a gold digger.

“But standards only exist for people you don’t truly love.”

Daniel’s voice remained gentle.

“When you genuinely love someone, there are no requirements.

“She doesn’t need to prove anything.

“She doesn’t need to become anything.

“She can simply stand there…

“And I’ll still love her.”

At that moment, Adrian finally understood.

There truly wasn’t any future left between us anymore.

Once upon a time, Evelyn Shaw had loved Adrian Hawthorne with everything she had.

And she had already done her best.

Adrian eventually woke up too-

just far too late.

Some people, once missed, are simply gone forever.

The night before we finalized our divorce, Noah tugged on my sleeve and asked me to tell him

a bedtime story.

So I softly began:

“Once upon a time, there was a brave knight who fell in love with a beautiful princess.

“To prove his love, he brought her the most beautiful rose in the kingdom every single day.

“Day after day, the princess slowly became moved by his sincerity.

“But on the ninety-ninth day…

“The knight suddenly stopped bringing roses.

“No more roses appeared outside the castle.

“The princess became angry and heartbroken.

“She demanded to know why.”

I lowered my voice gently.

“The knight looked at her and said—

‘Princess, I’ve already given you everything I could.

‘Every single day, I risked my life searching for the most beautiful roses in the world.

‘But I don’t want to lose my dignity anymore.

‘Love shouldn’t turn me into someone without pride.

‘And I can’t spend my entire life proving my sincerity to someone who keeps doubting it’

“Then the knight turned around…

“And quietly left the castle forever.”

Before the story even ended, Noah had already fallen asleep.

Only his soft breathing remained beside me.

–

The next morning, Adrian and I took the earliest train to Newford City and finalized our divorce at the county courthouse.

When everything was finally done, Adrian stood there silently with red eyes for a very long time.

Then he finally asked hoarsely:

“Do you want me to drive you to the station?”

I shook my head gently and tilted my chin toward the black SUV parked nearby.

“No.

“Daniel and Noah came to pick me up.”

Just like the knight from the story-

I slowly disappeared from Adrian’s world.

He would always remain Noah’s father.

And I would always remain Noah’s mother.

Someday, we would meet again.

But we would never love each other again.