Chapter 2

On the third day of collecting evidence, Adrian brought her home.

When the door opened, I was in the study organizing bank statements. Hearing the commotion, I looked up and saw Lily standing behind him.

She wore a light-colored floral dress. Her belly was more prominent than when I'd seen her in the coastal city. Her hair was tied in a low ponytail. She looked timid, like a startled deer.

"Sophia, this is Lily."

Adrian's tone was natural, as if he'd just brought home an ordinary friend. "She's from out of town, a relative of an important client. She needs to stay here for her pregnancy but has nowhere to go, so she'll stay at our place for a few days."

I looked at Lily. When her eyes met mine, she immediately lowered her head, nervously wringing the hem of her dress.

"Pregnancy?" I put down the documents and stood up, walking toward them. "Adrian, our house isn't a hotel."

"Just for a few days, until her family comes to pick her up."

Adrian walked over, wanting to pat my shoulder, but I avoided it. "Look, she's a pregnant woman. It's not easy for her with that belly. Let's help her out."

"Friends?" I smiled slightly, my gaze landing on Lily. "Miss White, is it? Adrian says you're a client's relative. Which client? What do they do?"

Lily raised her head, her eyes panicked, stammering without being able to speak. "I'm not too clear. My family arranged it."

"Not clear?" I took a step forward, closing in on her. "You're not clear, but you dare to stay at someone else's house? Or is it that you're very clear, you just don't dare say?"

"Sophia!" Adrian interrupted me, his tone becoming heavy. "What do you mean by that? Lily is a guest. How can you talk like that?"

"Guest?" I turned to look at him. "Adrian, you bring a pregnant woman into the house, saying she's a client's relative, without even knowing her background. You think that's reasonable?"

"I told you, she's an important client's relative. How could it be fake?"

His tone carried impatience, even a hint of warning. "Sophia Hart, don't make a scene. I've got a lot going on at work right now. Can't you make my life a bit easier?"

I looked at his self-righteous expression and suddenly felt there was no need to keep pretending.

He dared to be this brazen because he assumed I'd consider the bigger picture and wouldn't make a scene on the spot.

But he forgot---I'm a divorce lawyer. What I'm best at is tearing off hypocritical facades.

Or rather, after seven years of knowing each other, he still saw me as that little girl who only knew how to cry when things went wrong.

"Make your life easier?" I picked up a document from the table---a printout of the flight booking I'd made. "You want me to make things easy while you're watching sunsets with Miss White in the coastal city? Adrian, do you think I'm blind or stupid?"

Adrian's expression changed instantly. Lily was so frightened she stepped back, tears welling in her eyes.

"Sophia, let me explain..."

"Explain what?" I cut him off. "Explain why you lied about going to a conference when you were actually on vacation with another woman? Explain whose child is in her belly? Or explain why you brought her to our house---to assert your dominance over me?"

The string of questions left Adrian speechless.

He opened his mouth, but finally just said viciously: "Since you already know, I have nothing to hide. Lily is carrying my child. I can't just abandon her."

"So you bring her to my house?"

My voice was cold as ice. "Adrian, this is my house. Pre-marital property. You have no right to let a woman who destroyed our marriage live here."

"Your house?" He sneered. "Sophia Hart, don't forget, several of your law firm's big clients were introduced by me. Without me, would you have what you have today? What's wrong with letting Lily stay for a few days? Just consider it doing me a favor and tolerate it."

"Tolerate?" I was almost laughing at his shamelessness. "Why should I tolerate it? Adrian, either she leaves now, or we go file for divorce right now."

"Divorce?" He seemed to hear a joke. "Sophia Hart, if you divorce me, can you find someone better? Don't think you're something special just because you're a lawyer. Without my resources, you're nothing."

His words were like a dull knife, cutting into my heart.

Seven years of feelings---in his eyes, I was just an appendage dependent on him.

Lily suddenly started crying, pulling on Adrian's sleeve: "It's all my fault. Don't fight with Sophia. I'll just leave. I can stay in a hotel."

"Why should you leave?" Adrian held onto her, then glared at me. "Sophia Hart, I'm telling you, Lily must stay here. If you dare to make her leave, I'll have all your law firm's clients cancel their contracts. I'll make sure you can't survive in the legal profession!"

A naked threat.

I looked at Adrian and slapped each of them across the face.

Before he could react, I opened my phone, clicked on the recording function, then walked to the study and took out the divorce agreement I'd prepared long ago.

I walked to the living room with the agreement and placed it in front of Adrian. "Adrian, sign it. We're getting divorced."

Adrian looked at the agreement, his face suddenly changing. "Sophia Hart, you dare to divorce me?"

"Why wouldn't I dare?"

I looked at him, my eyes calm. "Adrian, between us, this should have ended long ago."

"I won't sign!" He threw the agreement on the floor. "You want a divorce? It's not that easy. Unless I'm dead!"