Restoring My Heart: After the Divorce novel Chapter 4

She didn't know what York's motives were for hiding the fact that he was with Sienna last night.

Maybe he was just placating her out of respect for Arthur, or maybe he simply didn't care if she found out.-

Regardless of the reason, it all pointed to one devastating truth: York didn't love her at all.

Even though she had spent three years practically offering him her bleeding heart on a silver platter, he had remained utterly blind to it.

Now that Sienna was back, complete with a beautiful daughter by his side, there was no longer a place for her in this home. A divorce was inevitable.

Rather than stay and humiliate herself, it was better to walk away with her head held high.

At least that way, she could preserve some final shred of dignity in this marriage.

And salvage whatever pathetic scrap of self-respect she had left.

Propping herself against the closet door, Nora stood back up. Her gaze swept over the luxurious ties and cufflinks she had painstakingly curated for York over the years, her chest tightening with sorrow.

Forcing back fresh tears, she pulled the pregnancy test from her pocket, locked it safely in the vault, and then grabbed her phone to text her late mother's lawyer.

[Mr. Fletcher, please draft a divorce agreement for me.]

After hitting send, Nora went to the bathroom to wash up.

When she stepped out, her phone buzzed with an incoming call. The caller ID read: [Marcus].

Nora answered, and Marcus's slightly cautious voice drifted through the speaker.

"Nora, are you awake?"

"I'm up."

"Lydia said she has something to discuss with you. Can you come over for a bit?"

"Yeah, I'll head over later."

Nora plugged her phone in, mechanically cooked herself a bowl of noodles in the kitchen, and ate in total silence before driving to the Joplin residence.

The moment she stepped inside, she spotted Lydia lounging on the sofa with a face mask on.

Hearing footsteps, Lydia turned her head. At the sight of her stepdaughter, the mask nearly slipped off her face in shock.

Giving up on the skincare routine, Lydia ripped the mask off, tossed it in the trash, and immediately started complaining.

"Nora, I mentioned to you last time that I wanted to buy a villa at Riverside Estates for Yancey's future marital home, but there are no listings available. Since the Blackwood Group developed that area, have you brought it up with York yet?"

Nora stared at her blankly.

"A single villa at Riverside Estates costs tens of millions of dollars. Do you even have that kind of money?"

"Well, isn't that what York is for?" Lydia scoffed. "He's Yancey's brother-in-law. Getting an insider discount shouldn't be a problem, right?"

Nora knew Lydia far too well. Right now, it was just an "insider discount." If York actually agreed, she would push her luck and demand the property for free.

Usually, when Lydia made these outrageous demands, Nora couldn't bring herself to ask York. Instead, she would invent excuses to brush Lydia off, just to prevent her from throwing a tantrum and stressing Marcus out.

But now...

"If you're trying to take advantage of York, you can forget about it."

Lydia's eyes went wide. Before she could shriek in protest, Nora dropped a massive bombshell.

"York and I are getting a divorce."