Chapter 10

Many people told Lauren to let Jensen go.

They said that the longer she held on to a man who didn't love her, the more she would suffer.

She never believed them.

She became consumed by her determination to stay with Jensen.

Elliot said nothing more.

"Call me if you need anything," he told her before he left.

Lauren sat on the sofa and read the divorce agreement.

She studied every line, though tears blurred the words.

When she married Jensen, she expected it to last a lifetime.

She vowed never to leave him.

Deep love didn't necessarily fade with time.

But when the other person refused it, that love could slowly turn into resentment.

She signed her name on the last page of all three copies.

Her hand trembled when she finished.

Lauren gave herself a bitter smile.

"Mrs. Shaw."

One of the movers approached her. "We've loaded everything you asked us to. Is there anything else?"

She stood and looked around. The house seemed half empty.

"I noticed a few things left in your bedroom. Did you want to take those too?"

He thought she was moving out for good, so he asked.

Lauren went into the bedroom. Her wedding portrait with Jensen still hung on the wall.

Five years ago, her smile was bright, and her face was full of hope for the future.

During the photo shoot, Jensen held her as the photographer directed, but his eyes were indifferent.

He looked as though he was only completing a task for her.

When she chose the pictures, she found one where the corner of his mouth lifted slightly.

Delighted, she had it printed and hung it in their bedroom, believing it marked a happy beginning.

"Please take that down too," she said hoarsely.

"Of course."

The movers went into the bedroom and lifted the framed portrait from the wall.

Jensen returned to find the house half empty.

He went upstairs and walked toward the bedroom.

The movers were taking down the wedding portrait.

Lauren stood beside them with tears in her eyes.

"What are you trying to do this time?" Jensen asked mockingly.

Lauren turned.

He stood in the doorway in his suit, but for the first time, she didn't greet him with a smile.

She simply stood there, her distant gaze so unfamiliar that he barely recognized her.

"That was the last thing."

Lauren turned to the movers. "Please take everything to the address I gave you. I'll be there shortly."

They sensed the tension between the couple and hurried out with the portrait.

They exchanged uneasy looks as they went.

Soon, Lauren and Jensen were alone.

"I didn't touch any of your things. I don't think you'll want to live here after this, though."

Lauren walked past him and headed downstairs without looking at him.

"Come down. I only have a few things to say before I go."

Jensen followed her.

Only then did he notice how thin she was.

Her face was pale, even paler than when she spent three months in the hospital after her car accident five years ago.

"You can have this house, everything else in my name, and my fifty percent stake in Shaw-Sullivan Group. Consider it compensation for the five years I took from you."

Lauren paused. "I'm keeping the house on the western outskirts. It was my parents’ favorite place, and you never liked going there anyway. You'll have more than enough without it."

She picked up a folder from the coffee table and held it out with both hands. "This is the divorce agreement. Please read it and sign it as soon as you can."

It was the most she could do for him.

Jensen stared at her, his expression dark. He seemed to radiate cold.

In the past, Lauren would have dropped everything to soothe him, no matter how upset she was herself.

Now, she was calm.

She left their marriage with the same certainty she once brought to it.

"Unfortunately, even if you sign now, we can't finalize the divorce today. You'll have to wait one more night. After five years, one day won't make a difference. You won't have any responsibility for the baby, and I won't interfere when you remarry."

Jensen didn't take the folder. His face darkened further.

He never liked Lauren. He despised her, even hated her.

Yet he never imagined she would leave him so decisively.

Was this all because of the baby?

He didn't believe it.

It was another way for her to get what she wanted.

"Didn't you always want to be free of me?"

Lauren smiled sadly. "Now you will be. I hope the woman you love loves you more than I did. I hope you have a good life together and grow old beside each other."

Jensen looked into her eyes. In the past, he avoided meeting her gaze.

He acted as though even looking at her would disgust him.

But at least half the stories Cloudhaven told about the Sullivan heiress were true.

She was once as radiant as the morning sun, admired by many young men from wealthy families.

Now the resolve in her eyes as she spoke of leaving him was impossible to miss.

"Do you think this will make me feel sorry for you?"

Jensen’s voice stayed cold and controlled. "Lauren Sullivan, does playing hard to get work so well on other men that you thought the same old trick would work on me?"