No Divorce? The Billionaire's Love Chase! novel Chapter 5

At seven that evening, Claudia arrived at the restaurant.

York, ever the gentleman, pulled out her chair for her.

As she sat, she watched him order. He was dressed in a black business suit with a matching black shirt, a combination that, on him, looked sophisticated and elegant rather than somber. The Ferguson family had raised him to be their heir, and it showed. He came from a good family, was highly educated, physically capable, well-mannered, and sharp. In the twenty-five years she had known him, she had never seen him curse or lose his composure. He was even polite and considerate to the waitstaff. It seemed like everything was always under his control.

York was an exceptional man. When such a man marries a woman he does not love, divorce is the only logical outcome.

While they waited for their food, York placed a jewelry box on the table next to her. "A third-anniversary gift."

Claudia gripped her water glass, nodded, and glanced at it with a detached expression.

She had been in love with him for twenty-two years and married to him for three. She knew better than anyone that beneath his polite and gentle exterior was a cold, distant heart.

When she was younger, she used to pester him for gifts. Annoyed, he would eventually give in, and she would show off her present for days.

After her family went bankrupt, her mother had told her that she was no longer the privileged Miss Watkins but just an ordinary girl. Her mother said that with their families being on such different levels now, she was no longer worthy of York.

From then on, she never dared to act like a spoiled princess again, and she certainly never asked him for another gift.

But even though York didn't love her, he always kept up appearances. Every year, on her birthday, Valentine's Day, and their wedding anniversary, he would give her a present.

When she showed no interest, York opened the box. A diamond bracelet glittered inside.

Claudia knew at once it was worth seven figures.

One look, and Claudia knew it was worth at least seven figures.

York reached for her left hand to put it on her.

Now, after three years of marriage, she had learned to be polite with him.

He figured she was still upset that he had been preoccupied with Ann and had missed their anniversary. This must be her way of sulking.

He picked up his utensils and served her some food. "Your favorite, matcha truffle."

Claudia stared at the dessert on her plate, then looked up at him. "If I wanted you to make something for me, would you ever learn to cook?"

York cut into his steak with practiced ease, his voice a low, sensual murmur. "We should all leave it to the professionals. Even an apprentice at this restaurant could do a better job than me. If there's something you want to eat, just go buy it. Don't worry about the money."

Claudia lowered her eyes, hiding the disappointment and pain.

'Leave it to the professionals.' What a line. He could personally bake a blueberry birthday cake for his old flame and her son, and even post about it on social media like a teenager in love, but he wouldn't learn to make a simple dessert for her.