Avery's POV
The ninety-ninth time Stanley Haynes’s little secretary accidentally booked us for a divorce registration instead of a marriage license, I stormed into his office.
“Stanley, this is what you call the ‘value’ of a graduate from a top university? If she can’t even handle this, just fire her already!”
Stanley finally lifted his head from the pile of documents, glanced at the screen on my phone, and said flatly, “I told you from the start, she’s too highly educated for this kind of menial work. If you’ve got time to argue with me, you might as well go and make the appointment yourself. It’d be faster that way.”
He didn’t even bother looking at me as he said it.
So I just kept my mouth shut, walked straight out, and texted my dad.
[Dad, I don’t want Stanley anymore.]
What Stanley didn’t know was that the only reason he’d been chosen as heir to his family was because of our engagement. If that arrangement fell apart, there were plenty of others ready to take his place.
——
On the other end of the line, my father sighed. He only told me to think it through before making a decision. But I already knew that there was no going back between me and Stanley.
I stared at my phone, showing the “divorce registration” notifications for the 99th time.
“She made a mistake, that’s all. Tell her to be more careful next time.”
“She’s got a lot on her plate. It’s normal to mess up sometimes.”
“Don’t pick on a young girl. I’ve already reminded her about it.”
Those were what he always told me. But every single one of those mistakes came with an excuse, and every excuse was Stanley covering for his secretary, Darlene Perkins.
My eyes burned, and my chest ached like needles were stabbing me.
Just as I put my phone away, Stanley stormed out of his office.
“All this fuss over something so trivial, and you even dragged our parents into it?” His brows furrowed as he glared at me. “Avery, when are you going to grow out of this spoiled princess act?”
His words were sharp and full of accusation.
I was about to snap back when I suddenly felt a tug on my arm. Turning around, I saw it was his secretary, Darlene.
“Avery, I really didn’t mean it. That page kept jumping around. I swear I clicked on ‘marriage license.’ Let me book it again for you and Mr. Haynes. This time, I promise I won’t mess up.”
Her voice trembled with grievance, her face downcast as she sniffled. She pulled out her phone and began tapping on it while sobbing pitifully.
I could see the sympathy welling up in Stanley’s eyes, ready to overflow.
Soon, she shoved the screen in front of me. “See? Here’s the page.”
“I don’t need you to book it,” I said coldly, trying to push the phone away.
But her hand slipped, the screen flickered to another tab, and in that brief instant, I caught sight of a close, intimate selfie of her and Stanley.
My hand shot out and grabbed hers. Startled, she let go, causing the phone to clatter to the floor and shatter into pieces.
The entire office turned to look, but no one dared say a word, except Darlene.
She burst into louder sobs, crying out dramatically, “Mr. Haynes! My mom’s last voice messages are in there. Those were the only things she left for me before she died. What do I do now? What do I do? My phone’s broken!”
Stanley’s expression softened immediately. He pulled her into his arms, his voice gentle as he tried to comfort her.
My fists clenched tight as that picture was already burned into my mind.
He hated cameras, so we didn't have a single photo together. He’d refused even to take wedding portraits, yet with another woman, he had a whole collection of intimate selfies.
I swallowed down the fire in my chest and turned, ready to walk away.
But Stanley blocked me. “You think you can just break her phone and leave? Didn’t you hear what she said? Those were her last memories of her mother.”
“Avery, even if you don’t mean it, at least pretend to apologize.”
