Chapter Three: Clara's Pov

Early the next morning, I looked at the water stains on the bedsheets, and my face flushed for no reason.

Thorne was right—my body was much more honest than I was.

I took a deep breath, looking at the suitcase in the corner of the room, constantly reassuring myself that it was just a sexual relationship between two adults. It could be Thorne, or it could be someone else.

When I finished washing up and walked out of the bedroom, Thorne was already sitting on the living room sofa, holding a merger contract that I had previously left on the coffee table.

Before I could speak, Thorne sneered and waved the contract in his hand.

"This is the merger contract you drafted?"

I didn't understand what Thorne meant and nodded blankly. "Yes, I did it."

"Ha, full of loopholes. Clara, is this the career you've been busy with every day?" Thorne threw the contract onto the coffee table, his expression particularly gloomy. "It's a good thing your identity is Mrs. Thorne. If you were a legal counsel at Watson Group, you would have been fired countless times already."

I lowered my head, my fingers digging tightly into my palm, my throat feeling somewhat dry.

I hadn't expected that after not seeing Thorne for a year, he didn't care about how I had been doing this past year, but instead opened with criticism of my work.

"I'm a lawyer. The advice I give is professional enough. I hope you can respect me."

Perhaps the hoarseness in my voice made Thorne pause for a moment, but soon he said sarcastically, "If this is your level of expertise, I advise you to go teach at a school instead. After all, many things don't just rely on academics, but more on market experience."

"But experience also needs to be supported by academics as a foundation, otherwise everything is just empty talk."

Hearing my words, Thorne raised his eyebrows. "Do you believe that with just one sentence, I can make Starlight Global's merger plan fail, based on this professional merger contract of yours?"

I opened my mouth but couldn't make any sound.

I knew Thorne wasn't joking. At a young age, he had created a Wall Street legend and become one of the most influential figures in global finance. Most importantly, Thorne had achieved all of this without relying on any family prestige—it was entirely through his own efforts.

Seeing that I didn't speak, Thorne sneered and stood up, taking his coat and preparing to leave.

Before leaving, he didn't forget to remind me, "You'd better consider my suggestion and go teach at a school. As your husband, I can arrange it for you."

"I don't need it. I love my work, and Starlight Global..."

Hearing me mention Starlight Global, Thorne's face turned ugly, and he directly interrupted me. "Don't tell me about your so-called professionalism, Clara. You're being too confident."

Thorne slammed the door with anger, and the loud sound echoed through the room.

When the buzzing sound faded from my ears, I walked to the coffee table and picked up the document Thorne had just discarded, feeling a dull ache in my heart.

For the Starlight Global merger case, I had worked for an entire week.

This was the first draft, which I had casually left on the coffee table, and I had already sent the final version to the merger team's email at Starlight Global. But none of that mattered anymore.

After all, in Thorne's eyes, I was always worthless.

I threw the merger case into the trash can, turned around, and left. The sun was good today, at least it could temporarily dispel the gloom in my heart.

As soon as I arrived at the office, I received an express mail.

The sender was Thorne's mother, Caroline.

Inside the package was a prenuptial agreement between Thorne and me, along with a note written by Caroline herself.

[Clara, three years are up. I hope you can keep your word and take the money and leave as soon as possible.]

I crumpled the note into a ball and threw it into the trash can, then leaned back in my chair, looking at the ceiling and letting out a long sigh.

Three years ago, my father had planned to marry me off to an Italian man in his fifties in exchange for a large fortune to expand his new company in New York.

And Thorne's family happened to be selecting a marriage partner for Thorne, and Caroline chose me.

For this reason, Thorne and I began a three-year contract marriage.

When we got married, Thorne told me that if we could develop feelings for each other during these three years, and both parties had no objections, then our marriage could continue.

Otherwise, we would end the contract relationship, and after the divorce, he would give me a large sum of money as compensation.

Caroline wasn't aware of this. When she was eager to have me marry Thorne, it was only to solve her urgent problem. She already had a more satisfactory candidate in mind.

Caroline had once inadvertently revealed that another woman was more suitable to be Thorne's wife.

So as soon as the time was up, Caroline couldn't wait for me to leave Thorne. But Caroline might not have expected that now I was more eager to leave Thorne than she was.

Last night, Thorne's merciless venting left my whole body aching terribly. My work state was terrible all morning, and I finally chose to put down my work and go to the restaurant to eat.

"Hey, Clara, my baby, you hung up on me directly yesterday. Do you know how worried I was about you?!"

Freya sat down across from me with her tray.

I smiled and handed her the extra cup of coffee I had ordered. "I'm already this old, what do you have to worry about?"

"How could I not worry? Did Thorne come home last night?"

I nodded. "He came back."

"That's good, at least he remembers to come home." Freya kept poking at the steak on her plate with her fork, muttering, "I don't know what's going on with Thorne. I heard that when Thorne's family was choosing a marriage partner, there were many people on the candidate list, but Thorne specifically asked to marry you..."

Hearing Freya's words, I was instantly stunned.

What?

Thorne specifically asked to marry me back then?

Just as I was about to ask Freya more carefully, I suddenly received a call from Caroline.

"Clara, I don't care what you're doing right now, I need you to come back to the mansion immediately."

I didn't know why Caroline suddenly wanted me to return to the mansion. All I could think about was why three years ago, Thorne had specifically asked to marry me.

But seeing that I didn't speak for a long time, Caroline was a bit unhappy and raised her voice. "Clara, I'm talking to you. Are you listening carefully or not!"

"Yes, Mother, I'm listening."

"Clara, although the three years are up, you haven't officially divorced Thorne yet. I'm still your elder. When I'm talking to you, you need to listen carefully. Don't be so ill-mannered."

"Yes, Mother. I'll definitely pay attention next time."

Seeing my humble attitude, Caroline's anger subsided somewhat, but she kept urging me, "Now, immediately, come back to the mansion right away."

"Yes, Mother. I'll ask for leave and go back right away."

On the way back, I kept thinking about what Freya had said, but in the end, I just smiled bitterly and shook my head. Freya must have remembered wrong. Thorne... how could he have wanted to marry me? At that time, he probably didn't even remember who I was.

When I returned to the mansion, Caroline was sitting on the sofa drinking coffee. When she saw me come in, she frowned. "You should have already received the mail I sent you. Clara, don't blame me for not reminding you. The time is up. When are you planning to talk to Thorne about the divorce?"

"I received your mail, but last night... last night Thorne came back quite late, and we haven't had time to talk about the divorce yet. But rest assured, I'll talk to him as soon as possible."

Caroline looked at me with some surprise. "Clara, I hope you can keep your word. And... there are some things I don't want Thorne to know."

I naturally understood what Caroline was talking about and nodded with pursed lips. "Don't worry, Mother. I won't let Thorne know that you talked to me about the divorce. Divorcing him... is voluntary on my part. We were in a contract marriage from the beginning, and it's for the best that we separate now."

As soon as I finished speaking, there was a sound at the door. Caroline and I both looked up at the same time.

Thorne and Nate were standing at the door.

Thorne's face was terribly gloomy, while Nate looked at me with astonishment, then turned to Thorne and said, "Did I hear that right? Clara said she wants to divorce you?"

Then Thorne spoke coldly, "Even if it's a divorce, it should be me, Thorne, throwing away things I don't want. It's not someone else's turn to tell me it's over."

With that, Thorne turned around and left without looking back.