Chapter 6 She Must Divorce

Larry's brow furrowed slightly, as if the sight of Aria had somehow displeased him.

When Sophie first returned to the country, Aria had simply assumed Larry had found someone else. It wasn't until she saw Sophie's photograph and the tenderness spilling from Larry's eyes in that image that she realized she'd lost completely.

At first, she'd expressed her displeasure to Larry. But all he cared about was that she'd secretly followed him and Sophie, convinced it proved how calculating she was.

Now, seeing her here, he probably assumed she'd stalked them again.

Aria felt a cold laugh rise in her chest. She decided to pretend she hadn't noticed Larry at all and turned back to the saleswoman to continue trying on the necklace.

But Sophie approached first, recognizing her immediately, her eyes widening in feigned surprise.

"Aria! I had no idea you were the one who liked this necklace. I absolutely adore it too—would you mind letting me have it instead?"

Sophie's eyes gleamed with anticipation, but when Aria met her gaze coolly, she saw the greed lurking beneath that hopeful expression.

Sophie wasn't asking her to give up a necklace.

She was telling her to give up Larry.

But there was nothing to give back. Larry's heart had belonged to Sophie from the very beginning, hadn't it?

Aria found the whole situation grimly amusing. She forced the corners of her mouth upward in a brittle smile.

"If you like it so much, you're welcome to have the gentleman beside you make an offer. Let the store decide who gets it. Why bother asking me?"

The gentleman beside you?

Larry's frown deepened.

First she'd asked for divorce, and now she was referring to him like a stranger. How far was Aria planning to take this tantrum?

Larry stepped forward, hands in his pockets, his expression darkening as he stared at Aria.

"Mom's still in the hospital, and you're here shopping for emerald necklaces? Aria, do you have any conscience at all? Is your heart made of stone?"

Aria's chest tightened painfully, her eyes instantly flooding with heat.

Once, she'd given Larry her entire heart. All she'd received in return was his cruelty and indifference.

Now she only wanted to take that heart back—but in Larry's eyes, that made her more heartless than before?

How utterly absurd.

Aria bit down hard on her lip, tasting the sharp metallic sweetness of blood before finally suppressing the churning emotions inside her.

She turned to the saleswoman.

"How much is this necklace?"

The clerk glanced at Larry and Sophie, then back at Aria, her contempt even more pronounced.

"This emerald necklace is from this year's collection. It's valued at over five million dollars. Miss, if you can't afford it, perhaps you should step aside for someone who can."

Sophie deliberately leaned closer to Larry, sighing with exaggerated concern.

"Oh, so Aria can't afford this necklace. Larry, maybe you should give Aria a more generous allowance? As for the necklace, I'll buy it myself—after all, I have a career. Aria's situation is... different. She's been unemployed for so long."

Whether it was Aria's imagination or not, she distinctly heard Sophie emphasize those last few words.

And though Sophie's words seemed considerate on the surface, every syllable dripped with scorn and condescension.

Aria's heart clenched. Instinctively, she looked at Larry.

As always, he offered no defense on her behalf. Instead, he pulled out a black card and handed it to the clerk.

"We'll take the emerald necklace."

Then he turned to Aria, his eyes cold and hard.

"Aria, you shouldn't be throwing tantrums here. After all these years, no one has wronged you."

Aria opened her mouth, but her throat felt sealed shut, as if something had blocked it completely. No sound would come. She could only feel her heart seemingly exploding inside her chest.

He was right. Larry had never wronged her.

She'd chosen to save him. She'd chosen this outcome.

Aria lowered her gaze, slowly clenching her fists. The bitterness in her heart burst through like a dam breaking, flooding everything.

Perhaps she should have woken up long ago and cut ties with Larry cleanly. Then she wouldn't be standing here today, a laughingstock in everyone's eyes.

The saleswoman quickly wrapped the emerald necklace and personally handed it to Sophie.

Sophie accepted it with an apologetic smile aimed at Aria.

"Aria, please don't think I stole this from you. If you see any other jewelry you like, I'd be happy to have Larry pay for it."

Sophie carried herself like the lady of the house, as if she were the rightful Mrs. York.

Aria shook her head. She had no desire to continue this conversation. She turned to leave.

But moments later, Larry suddenly appeared, blocking her path.

He raised his hand and casually tossed something into Aria's arms—a packaged agate bracelet. Compared to the emerald necklace, it was clearly inferior in quality.

"Sophie picked this out for you. She said it's to make up for things."

Aria bit her lip, glancing down at her withered left hand, unable to suppress a bitter laugh.

"Is this supposed to be compensation? Are you sure it's not just another humiliation?"

Larry's gaze also fell on Aria's hand. A flicker of pain crossed his dark eyes before being quickly suppressed by composure.

"Sophie said that even with your disability, you can live like a normal person. As long as you don't dwell on it, no one else will either. Besides, this is Sophie's goodwill gesture—how can you twist it into something ugly?"

Ever since Sophie returned, every argument between her and Larry about Sophie ended the same way—with Larry taking Sophie's side unconditionally.

No matter how hysterical Aria became, she was nothing but a clown in Larry's eyes.

In this moment, looking at the husband she'd spent years with, Aria felt more exhausted than ever before.

She truly didn't want to keep fighting anymore.

"Larry, is it that everything Sophie says is right, and everything I do is wrong? If that's the case, why don't you just divorce me and be with Sophie?"

Aria spoke these words calmly, though her voice carried immense weariness and grief beneath its surface.

Larry frowned, the pain in his eyes seeming to intensify.

"Aria, is marriage really something so easily disposable to you? You want to get married, so you do. You don't want to anymore, so you divorce. Do you know what the fundamental difference is between you and Sophie? She never makes things difficult for people. But you—you're always making things difficult for everyone else just to get what you want."

Larry's words struck Aria's heart like sharp awls, leaving her gasping for breath.

Even after Larry turned and walked away, Aria remained frozen in place, her heart feeling as though it had been torn completely apart by invisible hands, the pain unbearable.

If she'd known Larry would come to hate her this much, she would have refused his marriage proposal no matter what.

This marriage was like a cage. She'd thought she could cultivate flowers inside it, but over the years, the cage had become shackles she couldn't escape.

She didn't want to waste the rest of her life trapped inside.

She had to get this divorce.