Her Heart Her Terms (Lily and Xavier) novel Chapter 322

"If I hadn't come, were you planning to spend the New Year here alone?" Hayden raised his hand, showing the phone screen filled with news about Xavier.

He had just bought the phone today and was bombarded with news as soon as he turned it on. Without hesitation, he came straight to find Lily.

"Did you get divorced?"

Lily's throat tightened as if something heavy had been lodged there.

"He divorced you and married someone else immediately?" Hayden asked, his voice edged with disbelief.

"No." Lily shook her head. "He hasn't divorced yet, but he definitely will after the holiday."

Hayden's eyes widened, and anger surged within him. "He hasn't divorced, yet he publicly acknowledged another woman? He's gone too far! Does he really think no one is backing you?"

Lily was suddenly overcome with emotion, and she pulled Hayden into the house.

"I know you'd protect me," she said softly. "But the divorce was already agreed upon. The certificate requires a one-month cooling-off period. Let's just pretend we've already divorced for now."

The untouched instant noodles in the trash and the bag with just one slice of bread left on the dining table spoke volumes to Hayden. They painted how Lily had been getting by from yesterday until today.

She had worked so hard for two years to build her marriage and home, and now it was all falling apart. The calm she was trying to maintain took so much effort—Hayden could tell that without much thought.

"How are you feeling?" After pulling him down to sit, Lily shifted the topic to him

"I was supposed to have another counseling session today, but since you went back, Dr. Blackwood didn't come."

Hayden glanced at the contents on her laptop, silently relieved that she still had something to focus on, something to occupy her mind.

"I'm fine now," he said. "But you. You can't keep everything to yourself. Bottling it all up will cause problems sooner or later."

The hurt was so deep it felt like her entire being had been torn apart. Emotions couldn't be retracted so quickly. So, using work to numb herself was merely a way to cope.

Hayden felt a bit more at ease after Lily opened up. "You can't neglect your health, no matter how busy work gets. From now on, I'll sleep on the floor, and you can have the bed."

"From now on?" Lily realized he meant more than just tonight.

"I..."

Hayden was about to say something, but his phone ringing interrupted him. He glanced at it and walked out to the balcony to answer the call. It was from Hazel.

Lily saw the caller but pretended not to. She picked up her phone. She had switched her phone to silent while skimming through study materials. Several missed calls and messages had since appeared.

When she saw the missed calls from Xavier, her heart skipped a beat. The call went through briefly about half an hour ago before disconnecting automatically.