Chapter 5

"That's your signature on the agreement, right?" Joe said to Warren. "Although you might have signed it without knowing what it is, we're both lawyers, and you know what this means. Your marriage is already long over.

"I told Rose I could not accept an open relationship, and that's why she divorced you. Now that you know, maybe you'll stop hanging around. You shouldn't even be here in Clearwater Manor. But it's alright—I'm a reasonable man, so I'll give you time to pack."

Warren read every page of the agreement. He knew Joe was not lying. Rose was too careful to leave a loophole in something like this.

And here he had thought getting a divorce would be a headache. He did not expect she would save him the trouble. That did not make it hurt any less despite the relief he was feeling.

They had been through so much in their five years together. To think that Rose would end it all without even telling him. What was he supposed to feel if not sadness?

He ignored Joe's smug look and put the agreement away. "Then I hope you two will be happy together."

The last words came through his teeth.

He barely slept that night when he returned to his room. Instead, he packed everything he owned.

He found out Rose and Joe would be gone the next day. So, he hired someone to haul his things away.

The courier stared at the boxes of expensive suits and cufflinks, a little surprised. "Sir, are you sure that the address is right? You want all this delivered to the incinerator?"

Warren carried out the last box without much expression on his face. "That's right. The details are correct."

Then, he gave the man an extra tip. "Make sure all of it goes into the incinerator. I don't want any of it back."

They were all gifts from Rose. The love behind them was worthless, and so were the gifts.

He had just finished packing up when Angelica called, and he could hear a commotion in the background. It took him a moment to make out what she was saying through her sobs. "Warren, they're taking away Mia's burial plot! My little girl can't even rest in peace even when she's already dead! It's all my fault. I can't even do this for her!"

He tried to calm her down, then hurried to the cemetery. He arrived to find several bodyguards shoving her away.

She fell, wrapping herself around the urn to protect it. For a long moment, she couldn't get up from the pain. She looked so helpless through her unclear eyes.

Warren quickly ran over and helped her to her feet. "Who did this?"

She clung to him and pointed. "Him. His dog died. Now, he wants the plot I bought for your sister."

Joe stood nearby, wiping his eyes over a dog's body.

Warren felt a fresh surge of anger. He took Angelica over to him, his tone cold. "What? Is stealing someone's wife no longer enough for you, and you want to steal someone's burial plot too?"

Joe's wounded look slipped for a second. His mouth twisted in an instant. Then, he bit his lip, as though Warren had just said something unforgivable.