Trick Him Into Divorce, Then Flee With His Unknow Kid

Chapter 13: Chapter 13 Ryan Certainly Knows How to Train His Attack Dogs

"Hmm? Are you hoping we get divorced?"

Ryan maintained his usual indifferent demeanor.

Margaret immediately caught on and chose not to mention that Rose was already determined to divorce him.

She snorted coldly. "Of course not. I’m warning you—if you dare fight with Rose over a divorce, I will never approve of your marriage to Samantha. Whatever issues you have, settle them behind closed doors."

"Fine."

Ryan handed her a slice of orange, a casual smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

Margaret could tell he was merely humoring her.

But she didn’t feel like arguing.

After all, she was nearly eighty years old.

Rose’s determination to divorce was genuine.

Moreover, Rose had explicitly stated that Ryan knew about and agreed to the divorce.

Yet Ryan’s attitude suggested otherwise.

He seemed completely unaware.

Margaret sensed that some sort of misunderstanding had led to this situation.

But she had no intention of pointing it out.

Ryan didn’t seem to care that Rose wanted a divorce.

Ideally, the two of them would resolve their differences and continue their marriage.

If that truly wasn’t possible...

Margaret was serious about finding Rose a new partner. Once Rose’s future was settled, it would be the perfect time to inform Ryan about the divorce.

After all, whether Ryan found out sooner or later made little difference.

Surely, he would agree to it.

By then, no one would be affected.

*****

Rose didn’t leave the estate immediately.

She still had a few things to take care of.

She accompanied the family doctor while he finalized Margaret’s medication plan, reviewing everything one last time to ensure the dosages and prescriptions were appropriate.

While doing so, she sent Diana a message.

"Draft a waiver of future custody claims for me. The sooner, the better."

She hadn’t brought her laptop, so she couldn’t clearly outline the relevant clauses herself.

In truth, she had already made up her mind the moment she received the call summoning her to the estate.

She felt the divorce agreement alone wasn’t enough.

The agreement signed seven years ago contained no provisions regarding children.

To eliminate any future complications, she decided to take the initiative and resolve the matter herself.

Diana worked quickly.

Less than twenty minutes later, the document arrived.

"What’s going on? Are you giving this to Ryan? If he sees this agreement, won’t he suspect there’s a child involved?"

Rose walked to the shared tea room and printed the document.

"I’ll find a way to get him to sign it."

She didn’t want to take any chances.

And she certainly didn’t want to become entangled with Ryan over Ariel in the future.

There was nothing wrong with being thorough when protecting her own interests.

To get Ryan to sign the waiver, Rose decided to remain at the estate a little longer.

The Knight family estate sprawled across dozens of acres. Generations of the family had lived there, and she and Ryan had once been given a private residence of their own on the grounds.

After returning, she sat in the living room and waited.

She didn’t go into the master bedroom.

Nor did she touch any of the Knight family’s belongings or Ryan’s personal items.

After the incident involving the knocking on door, she had effectively severed all ties to her identity as Ryan’s wife.

She waited until she was nearly asleep.

It was well past midnight, and Ryan still hadn’t returned.

She assumed he had gone out again on business.

Over the past seven years, Ryan had never informed her of his whereabouts or schedule, and she had long since grown accustomed to it.

Because Margaret was ill, Rose stayed overnight in a guest room.

As expected, Ryan never returned.

She no longer cared where he spent the night.

The next morning, as she placed the future custody claims waiver into her bag and walked past one of the courtyards, she heard the sound of objects crashing inside, followed by Isabella’s furious, grief-stricken screams.

"How could this happen? How did Ethan end up in prison with a broken leg? How did he get hurt?"

Rose glanced over in surprise.

Ethan was injured?

And badly enough to break his leg?

If it wasn’t treated properly, it could affect his mobility for the rest of his life.

After all, prison wasn’t the Knight estate, where he would have had access to the finest medical care and recovery conditions.

Isabella loved her son more than life itself.

To her, this was like losing half her soul.

Rose was about to leave when she suddenly heard Isabella’s hoarse cry.

"It’s Ryan! It has to be him!"

Rose stopped in her tracks.

"It’s because I said something unpleasant about Samantha yesterday. He immediately took revenge for her! Ryan is a devil! Why didn’t he die when he was kidnapped all those years ago—"

The maid quickly cut her off.

But Rose had already heard enough.

The words pierced straight through her heart.

She tightened her coat collar against the cold, but it did little to help.

So that’s what happened.

She almost laughed.

And yet it made perfect sense.

Isabella had slapped her out of nowhere.

Ryan had witnessed it with his own eyes.

Yet he hadn’t reacted at all.

No concern.

No sympathy.

No support.

But because Isabella had made one insulting remark about Samantha, Ryan had immediately retaliated.

Not only had he taken revenge on Isabella, but he had also dealt with his former romantic rival.

Rose slowly looked away.

A trace of self-mockery flickered in her eyes.

Clutching her handbag tightly, she walked resolutely toward the garage.

Margaret’s condition had stabilized overnight.

Now Rose only wanted one thing:

Ryan’s signature.

As she approached the garage, she spotted him in the distance.

The driver opened the car door while Ryan strode out of the main house, talking on the phone.

A faint smile played at the corners of his lips, making his refined, handsome features even more striking.

In seven years, Rose had rarely seen him look like that.

She didn’t even need to guess who he was speaking with.

So he had stayed at the estate all night.

Yet...

He hadn’t returned to their courtyard to sleep.

A flash of understanding crossed her eyes.

Ryan had been avoiding her.

Had he become so unwilling to share a roof with her?

Was he trying to prove his loyalty to Samantha by remaining "faithful" and keeping his distance?

Perhaps her stare was too intense.

Before entering the car, Ryan lifted his chin slightly and looked in her direction.

Their eyes met for only a second.

Then he got into the car without hesitation.

The vehicle smoothly left the courtyard, becoming smaller and smaller in the distance.

Rose hadn’t even gotten the chance to speak to him.

Much less convince him to sign the agreement.

Tilting her head back, she took a deep breath.

Then, without dwelling on whether Ryan was avoiding her or not, she quickly got into her own car.

She had to get that signature.

She couldn’t afford to waste another moment.

There was no time left for sadness.

It took quite a while to reach Kingswell Group.

Morning rush-hour traffic delayed her significantly.

After entering the lobby, Rose approached the front desk.

"Could you please call the president’s office for me? Just tell them I’m..."

She hesitated.

How exactly was she supposed to introduce herself?

Wanting to see Ryan as quickly as possible, she finally said: "Mrs. Knight."

After all, she hadn’t officially received the divorce decree yet.

There was no point being picky if it would help get things done faster.

A trace of curiosity flashed across the receptionist’s face.

"Please wait a moment."

Rumors that Mr. Knight was married had circulated for years.

Yet no one had ever seen Mrs. Knight.

Many employees had begun to suspect the marriage itself was nothing more than a rumor.

And with so many branches of the Knight family, there was no way to know which Mrs. Knight this woman claimed to be.

The president’s office answered quickly.

"Assistant Owen, Mrs. Knight is downstairs and wishes to see President Knight. What should I tell her?"

Rose stood close enough to hear Owen’s response.

"Mrs. Knight? Miss Hill?"

"If it’s Miss Hill, she doesn’t need an appointment. She can come straight up."

The receptionist inwardly scoffed.

These days, anyone seemed willing to call herself Mrs. Knight.

Still, she maintained a professional smile.

"It’s not Miss Hill."

Rose hadn’t expected Samantha’s privileges to be so blatant.

Before Ryan had even finalized his divorce, Samantha was already moving freely through the company as though she were the lady of the house.

Remaining expressionless, Rose spoke into the phone.

"It’s me."

After recognizing her voice, Owen fell silent for a moment.

Apparently worried Rose might say something inappropriate, he immediately replied, "Send her up."

Rose took the elevator to the forty-eighth floor.

The entire floor belonged to the CEO’s office.

The executive assistants worked on the left side, while Ryan’s office occupied the right.

The moment she stepped out, she saw Owen waiting.

Maintaining a strictly professional expression, he glanced at her.

"President’s meeting hasn’t ended yet. You may wait in his office."

Rose ignored the dismissive tone.

Once they entered, Owen added, "Please do not touch anything in President’s office without permission. Do not wander around, and do not reveal your identity to anyone. President dislikes people acting on their own initiative. I’m warning you now to save you from embarrassing yourself later."

Rose had rarely visited the company over the years.

Because Ryan had never allowed it.

And today she had suddenly appeared—going so far as to identify herself downstairs as Mrs. Knight.

Completely inappropriate.

Owen couldn’t help offering a few pointed warnings.

Especially in case Samantha’s position became the subject of gossip when she arrived.

Rose looked at him expressionlessly.

As someone close to Ryan, Owen had witnessed Ryan’s favoritism toward Samantha firsthand.

That was why he dared treat the legal Mrs. Knight with such disrespect.

"Ryan certainly knows how to train his attack dogs." Rose said calmly.

Owen’s eyes widened.

In the past, Rose had always been polite to him in hopes of learning something about Ryan.

How dare she—

Footsteps sounded behind them.

The office door opened.

Rose looked up and met Ryan’s gaze.

He seemed neither surprised by her arrival nor particularly concerned.

"What do you want?"

Rose unconsciously tightened her grip on her bag.

Forcing herself to remain calm and not reveal her nervousness, she took out the agreement.

"Could you please sign this for me?"