I Chose Me Over My Marriage novel Chapter 7

His words ripped through her heart like a serrated knife.

She should have walked away right then and there. But in her arrogance, she believed she could fix him, allowing him to bleed her dry for three long years until nothing remained but a shattered shell.

But every game had to end eventually.

Now, it was time to end this miserable nightmare for good.

Wiping her tears, Lyra immediately dialed her lawyer, ordering him to draft a divorce agreement.

The attorney was a highly trusted member of the Lennox family's legal team and had maintained a close personal friendship with Lyra.

Even after she had severed ties with her family, they had secretly stayed in touch.

Hearing that she wanted a divorce left the lawyer stunned.

After all, she knew exactly how terrifyingly deep Lyra's obsession ran.

Why would the woman who abandoned her own bloodline just to marry this man suddenly want an out?

But professional to a fault, the lawyer didn't press for details and only asked about her settlement terms.

Her voice echoed with the dead calm of someone who had nothing left to lose. "I want absolutely nothing. I'll leave with only the clothes on my back. Just expedite the paperwork immediately."

Shocked into a thirty-second silence, the lawyer finally agreed.

The documents hit her inbox shortly after. Glancing over the terms, she decided to print and sign them the second she was discharged.

Lyra spent the next two weeks recovering in the hospital without a single visit from her husband.

But she saw plenty of him on her phone.

If he wasn't being photographed dropping millions of dollars at an elite auction with Aria...

He was funneling immense capital to secure her the face of the world's most luxurious brands.

Unfailingly, the morning after these headlines broke, Leo Thorne would march into her hospital room bearing an obscenely expensive gift.

"Mrs. Sterling, the boss personally selected this for you. He asked me to remind you that the media is entirely fabricated, and he hopes you won't let it upset you."

Each time, Lyra would simply flash him a placid smile. "Of course. It doesn't bother me."

Her tone and expression were flawlessly polite.

Yet Leo couldn't shake the unnerving feeling that an unspeakable finality lay beneath her gentle facade.

It was the eerie apathy of a woman whose heart had already turned completely cold.

But how could that be? She was desperately in love with Mr. Sterling.

She loved him so much she had willingly trampled on her own pride just for him.

He had to be overthinking it.

"Leo."

As he turned to exit, her voice stopped him.

He paused respectfully. "Is there something else you need, Mrs. Sterling?"

On the day of her discharge, Lyra packed her meager belongings and queued up to finalize her paperwork.

So when her phone lit up with Maxwell's name, she was genuinely surprised.

"Where are you?" his arrogant, impatient voice snapped through the speaker.

It was far from the first time he had spoken to her like a subordinate. In the past, she would have been too blinded by joy at his unexpected call to notice his utter lack of respect.

But now that she was walking away, his nasty attitude made her skin crawl.

"Is there a problem?"

Her tone wasn't outwardly hostile, but stripped of its usual sickening sweetness, it immediately made his temper flare.

When did she ever grow the spine to use that tone with him?

Clearly, she was still furious over his media scandals.

Fine. Let her dig her own grave.

He had actually carved out time from his schedule to personally pick her up from the hospital today.

But when he found her room empty and was greeted by this insulting attitude, his nonexistent patience evaporated.

He had obviously spoiled her too much if she was already forgetting her pathetic place.

"Lyra—"

Before he could unleash his rage, the receptionist called her name. She cut him off effortlessly. "I'm busy. Whatever it is, we'll discuss it at home."