Divorce Countdown (Amelia and Julian) novel Chapter 1

Divorce Count Down Chapter 01

Julian Cohen and Amelia Leighton had been secretly married for three years, yet Julian had never once mentioned Amelia to his friends.

On the day Julian’s first love got divorced, Amelia tricked him into signing a divorce agreement.

Then, she disappeared completely from his world.

***

“Hello, I’m looking to get a divorce.”

In her third year of marriage, Amelia decided to get a divorce, but she planned on hiding it from Julian.

Lewis Fitzroy, the lawyer sitting across from her, listened carefully. “For a divorce, both spouses need to sign the papers. After that, there’s a 30-day waiting period. Why isn’t your husband here?”

Amelia was silent for a while before replying, “I’ll make sure he signs it.”

“I’ll draft the divorce agreement, then.”

After a short wait, Amelia received the agreement.

As she walked downstairs with her head lowered, she replayed everything that had happened recently in her mind.

Just as she reached the front desk, a familiar voice stopped her.

“Lia? What are you doing here?”

When she lifted her head and met Julian’s deep, piercing gaze that could see through every lie, her heart skipped a beat.

To her surprise, the lawyer handling her divorce turned out to be Julian’s colleague.

But he would never find out anyway. After all, he never cared about her.

With that thought, she drew in a deep breath, trying to mask the nervous tremor in her voice.

“I’m here for a consultation. By the way, remember the property transfer agreement I told you about? It’s ready, but I need your signature.”

As she spoke, she took out the divorce agreement, flipped straight to the last page, pressed it onto the counter, and handed him a pen.

The last page contained nothing but a signature line. Julian, as a lawyer, instinctively frowned.

He was about to read it through carefully when he caught sight of the familiar figure near the elevator. He hesitated briefly and grabbed the pen to sign the document.

“It’s done. If there’s nothing else, you should head home first. I’ve still got work to do.”

The heavy weight in Amelia’s heart finally lifted, only to be replaced by a crushing wave of disappointment.

If he had looked closer, he would have realized it was not a property transfer but a divorce agreement.

Instead, his attention had shifted to Elizabeth Osborne, who had just walked in.

Looking at that beautiful face, Amelia felt a mix of emotions in her heart.

She gripped her bag tightly and turned around to leave.

As the automatic glass doors slid shut, she heard bits of their conversation.

“Who was that, Jules?”

“A new client who came to inquire about a divorce,” Julian replied curtly, but his voice was gentle. “You’re early today. Give me a few minutes, and we’ll grab lunch, okay?”

Hearing his gentle voice and seeing the signed divorce agreement in her hands, Amelia smiled bitterly to herself.

Indeed, she’d come to file for divorce.

In a month, Julian would finally get what he wished for.

In truth, Amelia and Julian had gotten married in secret.

Other than their families, no one knew they were married, including Elizabeth, the woman Julian could never forget.

He was the one who had insisted on keeping the marriage a secret.

He and Amelia were college classmates. On the first day of school, Amelia fell for him at first sight. She pursued him throughout their four years of college, but he never took an interest in her.

The very next night, Julian, normally a teetotaler, got himself thoroughly drunk. His usually composed eyes now sparkled with an unusual joy.

After asking around, Amelia found out that Elizabeth had gotten divorced.

She laughed bitterly, determined to end this hopeless marriage once and for all.

Probably because of the signed divorce agreement, Amelia felt an inexplicable emotion when she returned to the home they had shared for three years.

As she took in the cozy home she had built on her own, a flood of memories washed over her.

Her gaze fell on the wedding portrait in the living room, which she had always kept meticulously clean.

Seeing Julian’s forced smile in the photo again felt unbearably harsh. She couldn’t help but take it down and toss it into the trash.

For the rest of the night, Amelia focused on sorting out their marital assets.

As soon as Julian came home, he noticed the missing wedding portrait. He looked at Amelia, who was busy writing something, frowning as he asked, “Where’s our wedding portrait?”

“The nail came loose. I was afraid it might fall on someone, so I took it down.”

Julian didn’t ask further. He placed some late-night snacks next to her, then entered the study.

Smelling the strong scent, Amelia stopped what she was doing.

When she opened the bag and saw the spicy snacks inside, her nose stung painfully.

Throughout their three years of marriage, she had been eating bland meals because of her stomach issues.

However, Julian never took notice.

Before this, Amelia would have finished it anyway just to make him happy, no matter how spicy it was.

But now, she simply took the bag downstairs and threw it in the trash.

Starting today, she resolved to wash away all the grievances and sadness from this marriage—and to remove Julian from her life entirely.