Free Web NovelChapter 93: Chapter 93 Celebrating with His Girlfriend
“That’s right. I think it’s disgusting.”
Rose didn’t flinch in the slightest.
Her voice was calm, yet firm.
“...”
The spacious reception hall fell into dead silence.
Even Attorney Noah’s heart skipped a beat.
Rose was probably the first person who had ever dared to say something like that directly to Ryan’s face.
James instinctively glanced at the silent Ryan.
Although Rose had always been sharp-tongued, if she truly wanted to win Ryan back, she shouldn’t have spoken so absolutely.
Ryan’s expression remained calm, but the moment those three words left Rose’s lips, his eyes narrowed slightly.
He hadn’t said a single word, yet the atmosphere in the room became noticeably tense.
Rose didn’t think she had said anything wrong.
In fact, she had wanted to say it to him for a very long time.
Ryan looked at her for a moment before unexpectedly smiling.
It was a faint smile that never reached his eyes.
“We only need to keep up appearances and pretend we haven’t divorced. Grandma will naturally stop making a fuss. Don’t worry. I’m not in the habit of forcing people.”
Of course, Rose understood what he meant.
He had never intended to force her.
That was precisely why he had suggested pretending they were still married.
This way, he could protect Samantha, remain technically single, and preserve Rose’s dignity at the same time.
Such careful planning.
Such unwavering devotion.
“Deal.”
Rose pointed at the divorce agreement on the table. “Just sign it, and I’ll take the original copy.”
Only then did she realize that after all the negotiations, she had already signed the agreement while Ryan had not.
At her reminder, Ryan finally lowered his gaze.
His long lashes cast shadows beneath his eyes.
Without changing his expression, he picked up the pen, ran a fingertip along its barrel, and signed his name beside hers in a flowing, elegant hand.
The moment he finished, Rose immediately snatched the original document from him.
She stood and slipped it into her bag.
“See you at the courthouse.”
With that, she turned and walked toward the door.
Not another word was spoken.
Seven years had passed.
Everything that needed to be said had already been said.
Every tear that needed to be shed had already been shed.
Every issue that needed to be resolved had already been resolved.
It was all behind her now.
The door opened.
Then closed.
James frowned at the unexpected outcome.
Previously, he had been inexplicably irritated by how accommodating Rose had always been.
He had instinctively assumed she would continue swallowing her grievances and crying in silence.
But now...
“She didn’t try to stop him? She just walked away like that?”
He couldn’t quite describe how he felt.
Surprise.
Disbelief.
And perhaps a faint trace of relief.
That feeling of relief struck him as particularly strange.
After all, Ryan was his friend.
Naturally, he should be on Ryan’s side.
“Mr. Knight, it’s starting to rain. Would you like to walk Ms. Bennett out?” Attorney Noah asked, glancing toward the floor-to-ceiling windows.
The spring rain had arrived without warning.
Yet all things were beginning to bloom again.
Ryan rose from his seat and slowly walked to the window.
Just in time, he saw Rose sprinting through the rain toward her car.
As she reached the driver’s door, she turned slightly.
Even though her clothes were soaked, her face was radiant with a smile.
James saw it too.
He couldn’t help but wonder aloud, “After all these years of marriage, she’s smiling this happily at the moment of divorce. Is she forcing a smile?”
How many seven-year Chapters did a person get in a lifetime?
Ending one wasn’t much different from tearing away a part of yourself.
He simply couldn’t believe Rose was as relieved as she appeared.
Ryan watched her car disappear into the rain.
He stood there for a moment, his posture straight and unmoving.
Then he replied casually, “Mm.”
*****
The spring rain continued to fall in a fine, chilly drizzle.
The air carried a lingering coldness.
Yet Rose felt lighter than she had in years.
After returning to her apartment, she took a quick shower.
Ryan had unexpectedly overturned the harsh divorce agreement the chairman Knight had drafted seven years earlier—an agreement so ruthless it perfectly reflected the mindset of a businessman who squeezed every last drop of value from others.
Not only had he voided it, but he had also offered an extraordinarily generous settlement.
He had even finalized the date they would receive their divorce certificate.
Naturally, Rose had something to look forward to now.
Walking to her nightstand, she took out the child custody waiver she had previously tricked Ryan into signing.
Her heartbeat quickened.
Once the two weeks were over and the divorce was finalized, Ryan would have absolutely no right to interfere in her life or Ariel’s.
Her six-year plan to leave her husband while keeping her daughter would finally succeed.
After carefully putting away all the documents, Rose checked the time.
Dean Leo was still away on a business trip and hadn’t yet returned to New York.
As a result, the incident involving Mike causing a scene in the office remained unresolved.
Samantha was probably trying every possible method to meet Leo and apologize.
Given Leo’s personality, Rose could already predict how that would end.
That afternoon, Diana came over immediately after finishing her editing work.
The moment she stepped inside, she asked anxiously, “How did it go? Did he make things difficult for you? Did he try to win you back?”
After all, they had been together for seven years.
Win me back?
Rose thought about how businesslike Ryan had been throughout the negotiations.
Few couples reached a point where divorce felt more like a corporate merger than the end of a marriage.
She handed Diana the divorce agreement.
“It went pretty smoothly. We both agreed to the divorce. As for me...” She smiled. “I basically became rich overnight. Ariel’s a rich kid now too. She’ll have enough money to get married, raise children, and keep future generations comfortable.”
When Diana saw the European-style garden estate listed among the assets, she covered her face dramatically.
“That mansion is one of the most prestigious properties in New York. It’s worth more than the cash settlement alone. Add the Kingswell shares and the annual dividends, and you’re set for several lifetimes.”
She still looked unconvinced. “A capitalist like Ryan and a family like the Knights actually let you walk away with all this? That’s unbelievable.”
It was difficult to marry into a family like the Knights.
It was even harder to leave one.
Even people from equally powerful families paid a steep price in divorce.
Someone without a powerful family behind them would normally fare much worse.
Under ordinary circumstances, the Knights would have stripped a person clean before letting them go.
Rose understood that perfectly.
Otherwise, the chairman Knight wouldn’t have drafted that earlier agreement and offered her only three million dollars.
To the Knight family, three million was practically pocket change.
Barely more than charity.
Now, however...
Rose smiled faintly. “That’s because Ryan and Samantha’s affair is a huge scandal. He got involved with his future sister-in-law. That’s not something the Knight family wants made public. The settlement is basically hush money, and the family doesn’t have the standing to object.”
When it came down to it, if Ryan had cheated with almost anyone else, she never would have received this much.
But emotions weren’t logical.
This particular affair crossed too many moral lines.
Rose looked down at the divorce agreement and laughed softly at herself.
“When you think about it, I should probably thank the other woman for her gift.”
She had turned a three-million-dollar settlement into something worth more than a hundred times that amount.
Diana understood better than anyone how difficult the past few years had been for Rose.
Stepping forward, she wrapped her in a hug.
“Then we should celebrate. You finally escaped that mess. Come on—dinner’s on me.”
Rose nodded.
For the first time in a long while, she felt the tension in her heart beginning to ease.
“Let’s pick up Ariel and invite Caleb too,” Diana suggested enthusiastically.
Rose smiled.
The lingering heaviness in her chest vanished completely.
She called Caleb.
“Perfect timing,” he said. “I’m at Dr. Nathan Hale’s place right now. I’ll bring Ariel straight to the restaurant.”
That saved them the trouble of picking her up.
Rose and Diana headed to the restaurant first.
It was a private dining establishment hidden inside Tasty Bites.
Ariel loved the desserts there.
The restaurant typically operated by reservation only.
Fortunately, Diana was a VIP member and could usually get a table without much trouble.
After parking, the two women walked inside.
The manager immediately approached them with an apologetic expression.
“I’m terribly sorry, ladies, but we’re fully booked today.”
Rose looked around.
The seating areas surrounding the small bridge and decorative stream were completely empty.
“But there’s no one here.”
The manager smiled awkwardly. “A major client has reserved the entire venue for the evening, so we’re unable to accept additional guests. We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience.”
Diana frowned. “Who reserved it? Is there any room for negotiation? Our child loves your desserts. We only need a small corner table. We won’t disturb anyone.”
The manager glanced toward the second floor.
“Mr. Knight from Kingswell. Have you heard of him?”
He lowered his voice slightly. “It seems he’s here celebrating something with his girlfriend tonight. There will be quite a few guests. We’re decorating the entire venue according to their specifications—flowers, streamers, the works. It’s going to be a major event, so unfortunately we can’t accommodate anyone else.”
The smile that had been lingering on Rose’s face slowly disappeared.
