Urging Him to Get a Divorce (Aveline and Xavier) novel Chapter 6

The conversation between Xavier and Josephine, however brief, was enough to reveal Xavier’s gentle and thoughtful side–a side Aveline had never had the privilege to witness.

Aveline, too, had been pampered since she was a little girl. She had never set foot in the kitchen because her mother didn’t want her to smell like

grease.

But then she met Xavier. Knowing he hated eating out, as the food was often overly flavored and greasy, she learned to cook despite her aversion to the smell of grease.

She prepared three meals for him every day, but he never once told her not to overexert herself.

He ate out with Josephine all the time, never seeming to mind the overly flavored, greasy food. Josephine occasionally offered to cook for him, but he gently declined, saying he didn’t want her to overexert herself or expose her to the greasy mess of cooking.

A wave of regret surged over Aveline. She hated herself for realizing the truth so late.

She composed herself and walked out, outwardly calm.

Josephine was sitting on the sofa, while Xavier stood by the wine cabinet, a glass of whiskey in

his hand.

It gave her the feeling that they had been waiting for her, worried that she had come here with some ulterior motive.

Out of the corner of her eye, Josephine caught sight of Aveline.

She suddenly picked up the coat lying on the sofa and smiled. “Darling, you’ve started tossing your clothes around since you began living alone? You should hang them up after taking them off. Here, let me help you put it away.”

With that, she stood up and walked past the coffee table.

But Xavier stepped over and extended his hand. “Let me.”

He took the coat and draped it over his forearm. Sensing Aveline’s presence, he glanced in her direction.

Aveline walked toward the door, pretending not to have seen them at all.

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“Aveline,” Josephine said, “have you collected all your things? Surely, you wouldn’t want to leave anything behind. It would be such a hassle to come back for them later.”

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Aveline couldn’t help but laugh coldly to herself. Josephine was so phony. Although she spoke politely, what she truly wanted was for Aveline to stay far away from their world.

Besides, whenever Xavier wasn’t around, Josephine always spoke to her in a mocking or disdainful tone. But now that he was here, she was putting on an act of intimacy.

Anyone who didn’t know better would think Josephine genuinely treated Aveline like a sister.

Aveline didn’t respond. But just before she walked out the door, she suddenly thought of something.

She turned around and said to Xavier, “Have you read the agreement? When are we going to

finalize it?”

Xavier was a little taken aback, assuming she was referring to the prenup. It was only then that he remembered the letter from Beacon Law Firm, still sealed in his drawer.

Perhaps Fiona had told Aveline about it, which was how Aveline came to know Leona had asked the lawyers to draft the prenup. Chances were, Aveline knew about the content, too.

Given that Leona was prejudiced against her, the terms were surely unfavorable to Aveline.

He asked Aveline, “Are you sure?”

No wonder she hadn’t heard from him for days. His question made it clear–he had never believed she would actually go through with the divorce, thinking her disappearance was just an extended

tantrum.

He must have been surprised to see she hadn’t demanded anything in the divorce agreement. He likely still thought this was all just a play for his attention.

She gave an indifferent nod. “Yes. Absolutely.”

Hearing this, he shot her a meaningful glance. “Fine. You set the time.”

She wanted to say tomorrow, but then it hit her that the bid registration was tomorrow. They were almost certain to pass the preliminary review, which would be followed by a massive amount of work on the design proposal.

She had no idea what her schedule would look like.

“I’ll let you know once I’ve settled on a date,” she said.

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Chapter 6

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1 288 ¡Vouchers

With that, she turned to leave.

The moment the door closed behind her, a peculiar feeling stirred within. It felt as if that single door now separated her from Xavier’s world entirely.

It’d be a lie to say she felt nothing. After all, she had loved him wholeheartedly for years.

And that apartment–which had once been theirs–had now been claimed by someone else who carried herself as its rightful hostess.

Inside, Josephine had thrown shade at her, subtly blaming her for intruding on their little world. But she couldn’t refute any of it.

Perhaps Xavier thought the same way, believing she had deliberately left the certificates behind.

Aveline let out a self–mocking laugh and stepped into the elevator.

The next morning, the moment Xavier arrived at the company, he immediately thought of the prenup. He opened the drawer, wanting to take a look.

But the letter was nowhere to be found.

He wondered if he had placed it elsewhere and forgotten about it.

Shrugging nonchalantly, he called Gerald and asked, “Did you draft the agreement? Or was it Fiona?”

Gerald thought he was referring to the divorce agreement. “Fiona did. Why? You don’t have to pay a dime for the divorce. Why are you still hesitating? Just sign it.

Xavier arched an eyebrow in surprise.

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Fiona and Aveline were close friends. How could Fiona be OK with Aveline agreeing to such

terms?

He couldn’t help but grow curious about the content of the agreement. Just as he was about to ask Gerald to send it over, his secretary entered to remind him of a meeting in ten minutes. He had no choice but to hang up.

On his way to the conference room, Lauren called. “What’s going on with Aveline? When is she going to try on the wedding dress? The designer is internationally famous and only designed the dress for her as a favor to me. She cancelled the agreed meeting time, and now I can’t even reach her. What is she trying to do? Is she unsatisfied with the designer? Or me?”

Xavier asked, “Didn’t Aveline book another appointment?”

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Chapter 6

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Lauren hissed, “No! And I’m very busy, you know? I say we just cancel the wedding. She’ll be the one who looks bad, not us.”

“Mom,” Xavier smiled helplessly. “I’m going into a meeting. I’ll ask her to call you later.

“Don’t be mad, OK? That’s how you get wrinkles.”

Lauren snorted heavily before hanging up.

***

Aveline, Julian, and Jasmine still hadn’t settled on a name for their studio yet. However, for their bidding proposal, they held a serious discussion and finally decided on one–Everglow Studio.

It symbolized eternal light.

Aveline was quite satisfied with the choice, as it resonated deeply with her current state of mind. She wanted to leave all the darkness behind and face her bright new life.

Within an hour after Everglow Studio registered for the bidding, Sebastian’s secretary, Vivian Sanders, called them with the great news. They had passed the preliminary review–a decision made by Sebastian himself.

Jasmine and Julian were overjoyed. Jasmine smiled, “Mr. Harmon made the decision himself? Aveline, he obviously did this for you.”

Aveline was a bit surprised, too, but she thought Sebastian had probably done it for Fiona’s sake.

Next, they would begin preparing the design proposal.

The first task at hand was the conceptual design, and their first step was a site visit.

Vivian said she could accompany them to the site at any time. After some discussion, Aveline, Julian, and Jasmine settled on the next day. They didn’t have any other projects at the moment anyway.

In the evening, Jasmine and Julian left. Then Aveline was about to enter the kitchen to make some dinner.

Just then, her phone chimed. It was a text from Xavier.

“Mom’s upset. Call her to explain.

Even throwing a tantrum has its limits.”

Xavier had never called her. He’d only text her when necessary, and his messages were always

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concise.

She glanced at the message and then set her phone down, her face expressionless, and entered the kitchen

She wanted a divorce because of his infidelity. Now that Lauren was upset, she was supposed to be the one to explain things to her? Why should she?

And how dare Xavier claim that wanting a divorce was nothing but a tantrum?

The fact that he had brought Josephine back to the Beltran’s mansion said it all.

Aside from Leona, no one in the Beltran family liked Josephine. Lauren, Xavier’s stepmother, of course, despised homewreckers. Her assessment of Josephine was, “She’s the daughter of a homewrecker. What else could she be but trash?”

Lauren, a proper wife, of course, despised homewreckers. Her assessment of Josephine was, “She’s the daughter of a homewrecker. How decent could she be?”

But if Xavier was determined to marry Josephine, there was nothing anyone in the family could do to stop him. After all, he was in control of the Beltran Group now.

He was both the CEO and Chairman of the Board.

Aveline smiled sarcastically and turned on the stove.

Over her dead body would she call Lauren to explain.

Hadn’t they humiliated her enough already?

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