The Man Who Never Looked Away novel Chapter 302

Seeing that they were about to be called in and time was running out, Garnett simply answered for her.

"It was my freshman year of high school. One night, I was walking past the night market after late study hall and saw you helping your cousin with his stall. A group of thugs showed up to cause trouble and wrecked his setup. I called the police and had them handle it. You were hiding behind him that day, watching me from a distance."

Garnett paused, his voice dropping to a near-whisper. "Was it then?"

Her fingers twitched slightly, her eyes lowered, staring at the empty floor.

"That was so, so long ago. You were only in middle school," Garnett said softly. "You loved me for so long. Why couldn't you love me just a little longer?"

Lavinia's heart sank. What was he playing at? Was he going to back out at the very last second?

She quickly pulled back. "I only married you out of vanity."

Garnett's lips twitched, pulling into a bitter smile.

"And now? Who is your vanity now? Charley Sheffield, or Lucian Roche?"

"Neither." Lavinia flipped the script, kicking the ball back into his court. "I heard you begged your grandmother for Sigrid Sloan's sake, and even disturbed your extended family on Marina Island. Once this divorce is finalized, you two can finally be together in broad daylight."

Garnett looked at her. "If she didn't exist, would we still be getting a divorce?"

Lavinia met his gaze. "Yes. Even without Sigrid, we would still end up here. A lopsided marriage inevitably ends with the emotional death of one partner. I compromised so much for you in the past that I lost myself, while you drained me and constantly belittled me. I'm not stupid enough to act as your one-sided life support forever."

She paused, looking away. "You probably don't understand this, but someone like me—who is absolutely nothing in your eyes—is incredibly precious to my family. For their sake, I won't let myself be your disposable remedy anymore."

Garnett's cold, gray eyes seemed to crack like frozen earth, the pain slowly seeping through. His usually hard features flushed an unnatural red.

"You're not, and I wouldn't," he managed to force out, though the words lacked their usual clarity.

Garnett clenched his fists. Bearing his soul was something he had never done before.

Lavinia said lightly, "Look forward. Once we walk out of here today, it's a whole new world."

He looked at her. Her eyes were calm, yet they sparkled brilliantly.

Detached, lovely, vibrant, sincere... In his old mindset, those traits were practically synonymous with mediocrity.

But now, she felt like a beautiful, polished stone he had found by the side of the road in his childhood—something so tangibly real, yet entirely out of his reach.

Because they had booked an early slot, it didn't take long before they were called up.

The clerk, a woman in her forties, glanced at them and went through the routine. "Do you have all the required documents?"

"Everything is here," Garnett said.

He reached out, and as they shook hands, his thumb rested gently against the web of her hand.

He looked at her and said warmly, "It was a privilege. I'll see you around."

Lavinia pulled her hand back, slipped the decree into her bag, and turned to leave.

They walked out of the registry office one after the other.

The sun was shining brightly outside.

Lavinia walked down the steps without a single backward glance.

Garnett stood at the entrance, watching her walk away.

Then he looked down at the divorce decree in his hand.

Lovell had pulled the car around. He stepped inside, settling into the back seat.

He could lose a thousand times, ten thousand times. As long as he won the one that mattered, it was enough.

He was going to turn back and search. He knew he could find that beautiful stone he had left by the roadside.