Urging Him to Get a Divorce (Aveline and Xavier) novel Chapter 718

He headed straight down the stairs. The living room was empty and quiet, but voices drifted from the dining room—Amy and Miranda were there.

Curious, he stepped into the dining room and asked, “Haven’t you eaten dinner yet?”

Miranda shook her head. “We already finished.”

That simple answer gave Xavier a pretty clear idea of what had happened. A small smile tugged at his lips. “Aveline told you not to wake me, didn’t she?”

Miranda nodded in confirmation. “She said you were sleeping and wouldn’t be joining us for dinner.”

“Do you want me to fix you something to eat?” Xavier offered kindly. Then, with a slight change of subject, he asked, “Where are Aveline and her maternal grandparents right now?”

“The elderly couple are still over at Matriarch’s house. Aveline should be upstairs. Didn’t you see her, Mr. Beltran?” Miranda replied.

Xavier gave a brief nod. “Just make me a bowl of noodles, then.”

With that, he turned around and left the dining room, making his way up the stairs.

He didn’t find Aveline in the bedroom, so his next thought was the study. Without hesitation, he headed straight there.

The door was closed. His hand reached out and grasped the doorknob, turning it gently before pushing the door open. He stepped inside.

There she was—Aveline, seated on the sofa, absorbed in a book. Hearing the door, she glanced up, her eyes locking onto him as he entered.

Her face instantly hardened, her expression icy. In a voice sharp and cold, she said, “Mr. Beltran, isn’t it about time you left?”

Xavier moved toward the armchair, crouched down to her level, and looked up at her with a soft smile. “Sutton, can I at least have dinner before I go?”

But Aveline remained unyielding, her tone frosty. “Xavier, stop wasting your energy trying to bother me. I’m determined to divorce you. Acting like this will only make me despise you more.”

Xavier held her gaze, his dark eyes deepening with resolve. “Aveline, please give me some time. Once I figure out what’s really going on and identify who’s trying to hurt us, I promise I’ll make sure they pay.”

His voice softened as he added, “When that time comes, we can talk properly. Don’t shut me out like this, okay?”

Aveline scoffed, a bitter edge to her words. “Investigate what? If someone truly wants to harm you, you know exactly who it is. You just can’t bring yourself to destroy them.”

He understood she meant Josephine. “Courtney and Josephine—I want to make their lives miserable, no doubt. But they’re not capable enough to pull off these schemes alone. Someone’s behind them.”

“Aveline, it’s all my fault. I’m serious. I was just stupid.”

She sneered again. “You’re right. Now that I know you’re an idiot, I don’t plan on staying with you.”

“I’m not an idiot. Why would I have an idiot for a husband?”

Xavier’s face tightened, wondering if he should take back what he said.

“I was only stupid about that one thing. Not everything else,” he added quickly.

Aveline replied coldly, “Yeah, you men always lose your senses around women. You can’t think straight when a pretty woman is near.”

Xavier closed his eyes in frustration, then opened them with a sigh. “I have a feeling you’re going to hold this over my head forever.”

She shot back, “I’m not spending my life with you, so forget it.”

With that, Aveline gave him a sharp kick. “Go away. Stay away from me.”