Naomi watched as Celeste entered the kindergarten. Then, she turned and headed to the law firm.
She took out the divorce settlement agreement James had drafted and asked if it was legally valid. When James married her back then, it was under the condition that he could ask for a divorce at any time, and she wasn't allowed to refuse.
The agreement had been prepared before the marriage. It was undated, with only James' signature.
Once its validity was confirmed, Naomi signed it and asked the lawyer, Arthur Langford, to handle the divorce procedures.
"Please mail the divorce decree here," Naomi said, leaving the address of the villa before getting up to leave.
Her nose stung as she tilted her head back. She tried not to let the tears fall.
She had loved James. After they got married, she had tried her best to make it work. She had dreamed of a life with him. But after she was ignored and neglected again and again, her once-passionate heart had grown cold.
Now that Sophia was back, it was time for her to go.
Unfortunately, Naomi ran into James and Sophia again on the first floor of the mall right after her trip to the law firm.
Sophia was a gorgeous woman. Her beauty was strikingly bold and arresting.
At the moment, her arm was linked with James', and she was smiling radiantly. James held Liam with his other arm, his eyes full of affection.
Naomi's breath hitched. Once, she had also dreamed of James walking through the streets with her and Celeste.
She couldn't stop the tears from streaming down her cheeks as she stared at them, her heart breaking into pieces. She forced herself to turn and leave.
Back at the villa, she prepared a résumé with her portfolio and sent it to several companies in Aberford that she admired. Then, she printed her resignation letter and brought it to the office.
After Naomi married James, he immediately switched her to another department so that she wouldn't be by his side. Now, she was just an ordinary secretary.
Hence, resigning was a relatively simple process for her. Once she had handed over her duties, she could leave at any time.
Soon after tendering her resignation at the HR department, Naomi returned to her office and began packing her things.
Barely a few minutes had passed before she heard footsteps and flattering words coming from the doorway. Upon looking up, she saw several top executives walking in with James and Sophia.
Sophia had changed into another outfit. Gone was her bold, hot look. She now wore a sharp, professional suit, which immediately drew everyone's attention.
James kept his arm protectively around her waist. His eyes were glued to her. Obviously, he was unwilling to look away for even a second.
Naomi's heart throbbed painfully. She looked at James, but he remained stoic, showing no sign of acknowledging her. So, she lowered her gaze.
The next moment, they were standing in front of her.
"Ms. Sloane, this is Ms. Hadley. She is Mr. Hudson's girlfriend. She'll be taking over your position, and you'll be transferred to the marketing department. Please finish the handover as soon as possible."
Naomi raised an eyebrow slightly at the mention of "Mr. Hudson's girlfriend".
However, James didn't deny it, causing Naomi's eyes to sting as tears welled up. She clenched her fists tightly.
Without a thought for either her or Celeste's feelings, James was impatient to restore Sophia to her position.
Naomi looked at him and called out, "James…"
But before she could finish speaking, the piercing and cold gaze James directed at her made her clam up.
"Ms. Sloane, if you're unhappy with the reassignment, talk to your immediate supervisor," he said, frowning. He clearly did not want her to bring up their relationship.
Then, he quickly added, "Sophia's more suited to this role than you are."
Naomi understood that he wasn't just talking about the job.
She could feel her heart shattering painfully, but she kept her expression detached and professional. As she had expected, James didn't care about her at all.
"Alright," she said, nodding as she turned to shake Sophia's hand politely.
James looked pleased and turned back to Sophia. The coldness in his eyes was instantly replaced by warmth and tenderness.
He had never looked at Naomi or Celeste with such an affectionate gaze.
Naomi thought, "So this is the difference between love and indifference. Fortunately, I'd stopped expecting anything long ago."
The company hastily arranged a dinner to celebrate Sophia's first day that evening. Although Naomi had resigned and was reluctant to attend, Sophia just wouldn't let her go and kept pestering her.
Sophia asked, "Ms. Sloane, are you mad that I took your job? Is that why you don't want to come to my welcome dinner? I didn't mean to take anything from you. James made the arrangements.
"I just joined today and would love to get to know you better. I don't know many people here. Can't you attend the dinner with me?"
Naomi caught the subtle glint in her eyes. In response, she plastered a slight smile on her face and rejected Sophia's invitation by explaining, "You're overthinking it. I need to pick up my daughter. Sorry."
"What about your husband? Can't he pick her up?" Sophia asked, not giving up.
Her husband?
"I don't have one," Naomi replied lightly, even though her heart ached deeply at that moment.
James had never acknowledged their marriage; their lives were completely separate, making his presence as a husband irrelevant.
"I'm sorry. I didn't know," Sophia apologized, but still wouldn't let it go. "Why not bring your daughter along? My son's coming too. They're the same age. They can play together."
"No, thank you. My daughter doesn't like socializing."
But as they spoke, a small figure came running toward Naomi.
"Mom! Mr. James picked me up from kindergarten today!" Celeste ran into her arms cheerfully. "And he brought me here to you!"
Naomi's heart skipped a beat. James didn't even know which kindergarten Celeste attended. Why would he suddenly pick her up?
She looked up and saw James strolling over from a distance, smiling as he gazed at Sophia but not sparing even a glance at her.
"James, do you know Ms. Sloane's daughter?" Sophia asked in confusion.
"I ran into her while picking up Liam, so I brought her along. She's Ms. Sloane's daughter. She's been to the company a few times," James explained, afraid that Sophia would misunderstand.
His tone was distant as he talked about Celeste and Naomi. It was as if they were strangers, and he was afraid of being associated with them.
Celeste was about to call out to James.
Naomi looked at her daughter and shook her head discreetly. Celeste caught her signal and lowered her gaze in disappointment.
Sophia spoke up with understanding. "Oh, I see. You probably didn't know, but this young girl doesn't have a father. Maybe you shouldn't reassign Ms. Sloane to the marketing department. It's not easy for her to raise a child alone."
James frowned slightly as he glanced at Naomi before saying, "Alright. It's your call."
Sophia was pleased and nodded sweetly at him.
Their eyes met in a way that suggested an intimate, personal exchange between them. It was as if no one else existed in their world.
Celeste clung to Naomi and buried her face against her leg.
"Hey, Mommy. Hey, Daddy," Liam greeted, breaking their tender exchange.
He rushed over with pattering steps and hugged James' leg playfully. "Daddy, pick me up!"
