hapter 377 Divorce Papers and Quiet Goodbyes
James’s eyes were <b>red</b><b>, </b>but not because he cared about the money or the assets.
He loved her. He could give her everything he had without blinking.
What gutted him was knowing that after today, their marriage certificate would be a divorce decree. Lily would no longer be his wife. That thought cut deeper than any de.
Lily’s own sorrow had lodged in her chest like a stone.
She took several deep breaths to steady her voice before she finally spoke. “James, I’ve signed. Let’s… let’s go get the divorce certificate.”
“Alright.”
James said nothing else. He took the signed documents and walked out of her room without looking back.
Watching the cold, distant line of his back, Lily felt her tears slip free again.
Terrified he might turn around and see them, she quickly turned her face and wiped them away.
She kept reminding herself – she’d just finalized a divorce and walked away with wealth most people couldn’t earn in a hundred lifetimes. What was there to be upset about?
What was she hoping for?
He wanted the divorce. He wanted it quickly. She should be doing everything she could to make it easier for him.
Worried about keeping him waiting, she forced her emotions down, grabbed her documents, and hurried
out.
James drove. Lily instinctively sat in the backseat.
Neither of them spoke on the way.
The road felt long, but also too short.
Maybe a part of them wished it would never end. But eventually, James’s car came to a halt outside the Civil Affairs Bureau.
No one hade to register a marriage today – but there were several couples lining up to end theirs.
Standing in line, Lily silently wished time would slow down.
But ten minutes passed like nothing.
After answering a few routine questions from the clerk, their marriage certificate <b>was </b>reced with a divorce certificate, stamped and final.
It was light.
<b>So </b><b>light</b>, <b>it </b><b>felt </b>like <b>the </b><b>slightest </b>breeze could carry it away,
<b>But </b>in <b>James’s </b>hand, it felt heavy<b>. </b>
His fingers trembled. He almost dropped the thin booklet.
The look in his eyes gave him away
–
a pain so raw, it shattered whateverposure he had left.
He turned his face to the side, hiding it for a long time before he managed to speak, his voice t and distant. “Lily, are you going back to the hospital? I’ll drive you.”
“No need.”
Now that they were divorced, she didn’t feel right epting his help.
Besides, she didn’t n on going to the hospital.
She wanted to return to the Luke family estate to pack a few things, and then leave.
The doctor had told herst night that Jackson was recovering well and would be discharged in a few days.
She still didn’t know that Jackson was the youngest heir of the Scott family. She thought he was just an ordinary student, struggling to make ends meet.
After sixteen years apart, they had finally found each other again. Parting wasn’t easy.
But if she said goodbye to him face–to–face, they’d both end up in tears.
It wasn’t a final farewell. She didn’t want to turn it into something dramatic.
Instead, she nned to leave him some money – enough to finish schoolfortably.
Once she arrived in that quiet, remote town, she’d let him know she’d left Capital City.
She believed they’d meet again one day.
After a moment, she turned to James. “I want to stop by the Luke house first and pack a few things. I’ve decided to go on a spontaneous trip. I’ll take a cab.”
“I’ll take you.”
James had expected that after their divorce, she’d run straight to the marriage bureau with Jackson and sign again –this time with him.
He hadn’t imagined she’d choose to travel first.
He figured maybe their marriage had been too stifling. She needed some space beforeing back to Jackson and starting fresh.
But the idea of her name and Jackson’s appearing on a new marriage certificate… of them loving each other, living together<b>, </b>sharing everything…
The jealousy burned in him like acid.
<b>2/3 </b>
at all<b>. </b>
He forced himself to stay calm.
Walking ahead, he opened the passenger side door for her, motioning for her to get
Lily didn’t want to trouble him. <ol><li>in. </li></ol>
But with that unreadable expression on his face, insisting on driving her, she didn’t push it. A part of her was selfish – she wanted a few more moments to look at him before they said goodbye.
“Lily, take care of yourself.”
She swallowed the lump in her throat. “I will. James… you too.”
“Yeah.”
His face looked like all the color had been drained from it
–
cold, lifeless.
After a long silence, he spoke again, as if in a daze. “If Jackson ever hurts you or lets you down… you can tell me. Even if we’re divorced, I’ll always be your older brother.”
Jackson would never hurt her.
She would never be with him like that.
But those weren’t things she was going to say to James.
So she just nodded, quietly. “Okay.”
After that, neither of them spoke again.