She got the divorce and bolted 3
Chapter 3
Edna froze for a moment, clearly not expecting that response from Sienna. In the past, if Clayton had so much as a slight headache, a fever, or was merely in a bad mood, Sienna would always be the most anxious.
She tried to persuade Sienna, “But—”
“But nothing,” Sienna cut her off bluntly and started up the stairs. “He’s a grown man, and I’m not his mother. Honestly, he’s been spoiled rotten.”
Soon, her slender figure disappeared around the turn of the staircase.
If Irene Belcourt, her mother-in-law, hadn’t specifically called to order her to drag Clayton back home, she would’ve been fast asleep by now. Instead, she was returning home reeking of smoke, alcohol, and perfume. The stench of it all was so overpowering that it made her uncomfortable from head to toe.
Sienna decided to just take another shower. When she came out of the bathroom, Clayton still hadn’t come upstairs.
Did he want her to go beg him? Not a chance.
Sienna opened the vanity drawer and drew a divorce agreement from a stack of documents. She’d consulted a lawyer three months ago. Since Melody was about to return, it was best to just part ways and keep things civil.
Staring at the black ink on the paper, she suddenly felt playful. She picked up the agreement and waved it through the air, imagining how she’d throw it in Clayton’s face.
No matter what, she couldn’t lose on the swagger front.
She cleared her throat, held the agreement between two fingers, and lightly tossed it forward.
“Clayton Hale, here’s the divorce agreement. Sign it.”
Was that a little over the top? She wasn’t tossing a check, after all.
She picked it back up and tried again, this time trying a gentler tone.
“Clayton, sign these divorce papers. Let’s end things on good terms.”
With that, she flicked her wrist as if to toss it, but quickly pulled it back, unable to stop herself from laughing.
“No, that’s not cool enough,” she muttered to herself.
She then tried several more versions with different tones and gestures, tossing it and picking it up again, repeating the motions over and over.
Yet even after all that rehearsal, Clayton still hadn’t come upstairs.
Sienna slid the agreement back into the drawer and let out a self-deprecating laugh.
“The power of first love really is something else. The moment he hears that she’s coming back, he’s drowning his worries in alcohol—the main worry being how to go against his family and ditch his burdensome wife.”
She wasn’t about to go out of her way to please him anymore. Without any hesitation, she pulled back the covers, crawled into bed, and went to sleep.
She couldn’t help but fantasize that if Clayton drank himself to death, she would inherit his fortune and become a wealthy widow. Then, she could hire ten male strippers at once.
Meanwhile, Clayton remained seated by the kitchen island downstairs. Nearly half a bottle of the top-shelf whiskey was already gone.
He could handle his liquor and wasn’t anywhere near blackout drunk. His eyes were still clear, but an indescribable irritation churned in his chest.
Edna stood off to the side, carefully urging him, “Sir, please don’t drink so much. You still have to go to the office tomorrow morning.”
Clayton ignored her, his gaze once again flicking toward the staircase. But it remained deathly quiet, with not a hint of movement.
Annoyed, he tugged at his collar and tipped his head back, downing the rest of the glass in one go.
Edna seemed to realize what was happening. She mustered her courage and added, “Mrs. Hale might just be too tired today, so she went to bed early.”
“Tired?” Clayton repeated with a sneer. “What did she do exactly? She stays at home as a full-time housewife, sheltered from everything. You think that’s more tiring than me going to the office and dealing with endless crap all day?”
Edna fell silent at his sharp tone, but she began muttering to herself. Usually, Sienna was very gentle and considerate with Clayton, but today, she seemed like a completely different person.
Based on the TV shows she secretly watched while she was slacking off, she almost wondered if that woman earlier had been Sienna’s twin sister in disguise—a cold, aloof version of her.
…
The next morning, Sienna was still in dreamland when someone nudged her shoulder.
“Hey, wake up.” A man’s deep voice carried a note of impatience.
Sienna frowned. Without opening her eyes, she mumbled groggily, “Who wakes someone up this early…”
“Sienna Winger.”
Clayton’s voice rose slightly as he looked down at her. “What? Do you think you’re the queen now? Do I have to ask you more than once just for you to tie a necktie?”
Sienna finally deigned to open her eyes and met Clayton’s handsome face up close.
He was wearing a crisp black shirt buttoned to the top, making him look restrained and aloof. A dark blue tie hung loosely around his neck, clearly waiting for her to help with.
In the past, she would’ve bolted upright, eyes full of shy affection as she tied his tie for him. Her cheeks would even flush when her fingers accidentally brushed his Adam’s apple.
But now, she only glanced at him briefly before turning over and pulling the blanket higher. “Don’t you have hands? In the time it took you to wake me up, you could’ve tied it yourself.”
Clayton snorted coldly and pushed her again. “Isn’t this your favorite thing to do?”
Muffled beneath the covers, her voice came out dull. “Not anymore.”
He stared at the lump under the blanket, and a scoff escaped him from sheer agitation. He yanked off the tie and tossed it aside carelessly. He then grabbed his suit jacket and stormed out, slamming the door behind him.
Sienna stayed curled under the covers, motionless. Just as she was about to go back to sleep, a knock sounded.
Edna’s concerned voice came through. “Ma’am, why are you still in bed so late today?”
After being disturbed twice, even someone like Sienna couldn’t fall back asleep. She resigned herself to sitting up and stretched quietly.
It had been a long time since she’d felt this relaxed.
In the past, Clayton left for work at 9:00 am, and so she’d always wake up at 8:00 am on the dot. She’d get out of bed quietly, prepare a balanced and nutritious breakfast, iron the suit he would be wearing, and lay out the matching tie.
Then, she would hand him a warm cup of coffee just as he sat down at the dining table.
Even with an alarm set, she’d relied purely on her internal clock to wake herself up, just because she was worried the alarm would wake him. Subconsciously, her nerves stayed constantly taut, and she’d jolt awake minutes before the alarm, never truly sleeping well.
And she’d actually kept up that foolish routine for three whole years.
“I really was just torturing myself,” she muttered, sighing.
Edna walked in, worry etched on her face. “Mr. Hale is having breakfast downstairs, and his expression doesn’t look great. You should hurry and go down to check on him.”
Sienna threw off the covers, climbed out of bed, and yawned.
“What’s the point of my checking on him? I’m not a doctor. His expression doesn’t look good? Well, I don’t feel great either.”
With that, she strode straight into the bathroom to wash up, leaving Edna standing there, stunned. Was this really the same Sienna as before?
By the time Sienna strolled downstairs in a relaxed manner, the spacious dining room was empty except for Edna clearing the table.
Clayton’s seat was already vacant.
Sienna clutched the divorce agreement in her hand. She’d originally planned to tidy herself up and have a proper conversation with Clayton about the divorce, but he’d left so quickly. In that case, she could only go to his office to find him.
Just as she walked up to the dining table, her phone rang.
The name “Wilfred Winger” flashing on the screen made her fingers pause for a second before she finally answered.
“Enna,” Wilfred started, his voice gentle. “Find a time and bring Clayton home for dinner. Daphne will do the cooking herself. She’ll make your favorite braised fish.”
“He’s busy,” Sienna said, rejecting him flat out.
A brief silence fell over the line.
Winger Group had once been a leader in Eldavia’s furniture industry. But with the downturn in real estate, shrinking demand, and Wilfred’s string of failed investments in earlier years, the company was no longer the powerhouse it once was.
These past three years, thanks to Sienna’s marriage to Clayton, Winger Group had secured plenty of projects through Hale Group. What began as mutual benefit between the two families had gradually morphed into one-sided charity.
Every so often, Wilfred would play the family card. “Then you come back yourself. I miss you.”
Sienna chuckled, but her eyes were cold.
He missed her?
When she was still a child, she’d been mistreated by Daphne Langford, her stepmother, and bullied by Olive Winger, her younger stepsister. Yet, he’d always turned a blind eye.
Now that she’d married into the Hale family and become a daughter useful to him, he suddenly missed her regularly.
“Then do you miss my mom?” she asked. “Have you visited her at the hospital even once?”
“Sienna, how long has it been since your mom and I divorced? I’m married now. Is it even appropriate for me to go visit her?” Wilfred retorted, his voice dropping low. “Don’t forget—I’m the one who raised you all these years, not your mother. She had nothing to do with it!”
“Oh. Then in that case, it seems it’d be inappropriate for me to go home for dinner, too.”
With that, Sienna abruptly ended the call, putting an end to the pointless conversation.
Before going to see Clayton about the divorce, she dropped by Mercy Hospital’s VIP room.
The caregiver, Vivian Alvarez, was in the middle of smoothing out the bedsheets. When she saw Sienna walk in, she smiled warmly.
“Ms. Winger, you’re here,” she greeted.
Sienna placed the fresh lilies she’d brought into a vase. “Yeah. I’d like to talk to my mom for a bit.”
“Of course. I’ll go get some hot water,” Vivian said tactfully, grabbing the tumbler and gently closing the door behind her.
Sienna sat down next to the hospital bed, her gaze resting on her mother’s gaunt face. Sustained only by IV nutrition, Eleanor Finch had grown so thin she was almost unrecognizable. Yet, traces of her former beauty still lingered in her features.
Sienna gently held Eleanor’s hand, the icy chill of it making her nose sting.
If she hadn’t been in such a rush to reunite with her back then, Eleanor wouldn’t have rushed out onto the street and ended up getting hit by a speeding car, leaving her severely injured.
Every time Sienna thought about it, guilt crushed her.
“Mom, I’m getting divorced too,” she said softly, her voice breaking as tears spilled onto their clasped hands.
“Three years of marriage, and he doesn’t even know you, his mother-in-law, exist. I’m sorry I never brought him to see you.”
Sienna walked up to the desk and yanked off her sunglasses.
“Bring what food? I’m here to talk to you about something.”
As she spoke, she pulled the divorce agreement from her bag. With a flick of her wrist, she sent it slicing through the air in a sharp, clean arc. It grazed past the bridge of his nose and landed squarely on the desk.
“Clayton,” she said flatly. “Let’s get a divorce.”
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