Chapter 8
673words
"Get out. We need to talk."
Alexander didn't budge, responding icily: "Miss Sanders and I have nothing to discuss."
"Alexander Hart! Don't force me to hate you."
"And what exactly would I lose if you hated me? Or is this because you lost the competition and need to take it out on one of the judges? Claire Sanders, it's just a design contest. Don't be a sore loser."
"Alex, be nice to Miss Sanders. She's the woman Kevin's interested in."
Alexander Hart replied dismissively: "Given Kevin's background, he wouldn't seriously pursue someone who's been married before."
Lauren Summers looked startled, clearly wanting to ask more.
I grabbed Alexander's arm pleadingly. "Can we please talk privately? Tell me where my design failed—I can fix it! The theme is rebuilding The Alice, and I guarantee no one understands her better than I do."
"Claire Sanders, are you so certain I was the one who gave you the failing grade?"
I jerked away from him, my composure shattering.
"Who else would be so contemptuous? For three years, in bed and out, you've looked down on everything about me—my background, my work, my very existence! Is it really so difficult to admit that the wife you chose isn't completely worthless?"
I had carelessly exposed our relationship in public.
Lauren's face darkened as she stormed off.
Alexander Hart's fury matched mine as he enunciated each word: "Why should I respect you? You married me for money from day one!"
I laughed hollowly, "Well, I don't need your money anymore, Mr. Hart. Let's get divorced!"
Grace had once asked why I married Alexander Hart.
With my pride, no matter how desperate things got—even if I had to sell blood or organs—I would never have sold my feelings so cheaply.
Yet when he proposed a marriage contract, I accepted without hesitation.
Because he was Alexander Hart.
The year we faced bankruptcy, my father had arranged two possible paths for me.
The first: after bankruptcy, my mother and I would assume new identities and disappear.
The second: marry my father's handpicked candidate, Alexander Hart, and sever all family ties afterward.
I couldn't bear to abandon my father, and I doubted anyone would want me once I had nothing.
So I chose the first option.
But fate, in its twisted mercy, eventually led me back to the path my father had planned.
"Using some ship design competition as grounds for divorce—you're quite bold! Claire Sanders, don't come crawling back later. I never reclaim what I've discarded!"
I replied coldly: "The Alice is not just 'some ship.' It was my father's gift to me."
"Your father… you… what connection do you have to The Alice?"
Alexander Hart grabbed my wrist, demanding answers, but I shoved him away forcefully.
"In three years, have you ever bothered to truly know me?"
I spent three days each week visiting my mother—Alexander never noticed.
Every penny I spent went to hospital bills—Alexander never cared.
This time, I was the one walking away, leaving Alexander Hart staring after me in confusion.
I called Kevin Pierce. "How soon can we leave the country? I want to go with my mother."
"Immediately. Right now if you want."
Back at Hillside Bay, packing my belongings, I realized how little I actually owned.
Perhaps I'd always known this marriage was temporary.
A single carry-on suitcase held three years of my life, with only a signed divorce agreement left behind.
"Alice, are you sure you're ready to leave everything behind? It might be years before you return."
"I have nothing to keep me here. And I won't be coming back."
Kevin Pierce ruffled my hair with a knowing smile. "That night at the reception—it was you and my uncle hiding in the ladies' room together, wasn't it?"
"How did you—I mean, why would you think I know him…"
"You left early, so you missed my uncle publicly rejecting Lauren's proposal. He announced he'd been married for three years. I'm guessing that wife is you."
