Chapter 4

“I’m sorry, Miss Taylor. We can’t take your divorce case.”

The meeting had barely begun when Attorney Hugo Zimmer stepped out to take a call. When he returned, his attitude had completely changed.

He gave an awkward smile. “Apologies for wasting your time.”

Nina frowned. “Why?”

“Well…” Hugo hesitated.

“You’ll have to ask your husband about that. Someone from above put pressure on us. We’ve been instructed not to take your case.”

He had never imagined that this young woman was Mrs. Jackson, wife of the second son of the Jackson family.

And that man was famous for spoiling his wife.

It was common knowledge that Miles Jackson never missed a chance to talk about Nina in public. He was practically known as a doting husband.

But he had protected her well. There wasn’t a single photo of her circulating online. Outside of certain social circles, no one even knew who Mrs. Jackson was.

Hugo sighed inwardly.

“You really couldn’t believe everything you read online. What kind of man loved his wife so much but still got another woman pregnant? These wealthy families were such a mess,” he thought.

With things having reached this point, Nina had no choice but to let it go.

“Thank you for your time.”

She rose and left. Her figure seemed lonelier and more fragile than ever.

Unable to stop himself, Hugo called after her, “Miss Taylor, no lawyer in the city will dare take your case.”

In Harbor City, the Jackson family’s influence reached into every corner. No law firm was willing to risk crossing them.

On top of that, Miles and Nina were known for being madly in love, although no one could say for sure if that was true.

But the world of the wealthy was full of deep, dark waters. Ordinary working lawyers like them had no place getting involved.

If Miles and Nina reconciled after all this, anyone who had tried to help would pay the price.

*

Outside the firm, Nina sat in the car, lost in thought.

Nadia had reached out to several lawyer friends through her contacts. Every single one refused as soon as they heard Nina’s name.

Nina couldn’t find a lawyer, and Miles Jackson refused to cooperate.

She clenched her palms so tightly her nails dug into her skin.

For the first time, she truly understood what powerlessness felt like.

No wonder he had acted so fearlessly.

Now she understood. She didn’t even have a way to fight back.

Suddenly, Nadia’s eyes lit up. She practically shouted with excitement, “William Lawson!”

“Nina! You can ask William Lawson for help!”

Nina blinked, and an all-too-familiar face slowly surfaced in her mind.

She looked confused. “Why would I ask him?”

Nadia pulled out her phone and began furiously searching, then shoved everything she found in front of Nina.

“William Lawson. Head of SX Law Firm. His record is impeccable. To this day, he’s never lost a case.”

“He’s one of the top lawyers in the field. He’s handled more tricky cases than you can imagine.”

“If you can get him to take your case, it’ll save you so much time and effort.”

Even though Nina didn’t usually pay attention to the legal world, she had at least heard of SX Law Firm.

Every lawyer there was considered top-tier. Any one of them could easily take the lead on a major case.

Nina hesitated. “I’m guessing his fees aren’t cheap.”

In order to force her to give in, Miles had already frozen all of her bank cards.

The only money she had access to now was the six hundred dollars sitting in her digital wallet.

How laughable.

It wasn’t until this moment that Nina truly realized what kind of life she had been living all this time.

She had been like a clinging vine.

She had lost herself completely in the sweetness Miles had spun around her. She lost her independence and her sense of self.

That wasn’t her.

Who would have thought that the once-proud little princess of the Taylor family, Harbor City’s bright and dazzling golden girl, had ended up depending on a man to survive?

“No matter how expensive the fees are, they can’t be that high,” Nadia said, shooting Nina a look full of exasperation.

“You might not hold any shares in the Jackson Corporation, but in your marriage to Miles, he’s the one at fault. Just based on that, you could get enough in the settlement to hire ten William Lawsons and still have plenty left.”

That was true, but…

“Would someone like him even take on a simple divorce case like mine?”

“How would you know if you don’t ask?”

Nadia gave her a strange look, unable to understand why Nina seemed so hesitant and timid.

“You should still have his number, right? Send him a message and ask. Even though it’s been a few years since you last talked, you two were pretty close back then. You never know, he might be willing to help.”

Nina felt stuck.

It was exactly because she knew him that she felt too embarrassed to ask for his help.

That misunderstanding back then had caused such a scene. Even now, thinking about it still made her cringe.

But at this point, she had no other choice.

She pulled out her phone and found William’s number.

She tapped to send a message, but it wouldn’t go through.

Frowning, she muttered, “Did he block me?”

She clearly remembered they had exchanged numbers before.

Nadia blinked. “No way.

“He probably changed numbers or switched phones.

“Don’t worry. I’ll help you get the contact info for SX Law Firm.”

Nadia wasn’t just any doctor. She was the youngest professor at the university medical center and one of the brightest rising stars in the medical field.

Any surgery she performed drew crowds of eager colleagues. Many would jump at the chance to be her assistant, even if it just meant running errands, just to witness her famously steady hands that were said to rival the precision of any machine.

Her network was anything but shallow.

After a few calls, they finally tracked down William’s contact information.

Nina had just sent the contact request when it was instantly accepted.

She quickly typed out a message.

“Mr. Lawson, this is Nina Taylor. I have something I’d like to ask your help with. Would you be available to talk?”

Before she could even hit send, an incoming voice call popped up without warning.

“You want a divorce?”

William’s deep, steady voice came through on the other end of the line.

Nina blinked in surprise.

She hadn’t said a word yet. “How did he already know?” she wondered.

No wonder he was one of the most sought-after attorneys in the city. News certainly traveled fast in his circles.

Nina gave a soft hum in response. She kept it brief. “I want a divorce. He won’t agree...”

She hesitated here. It was hard to say the next part.

“No lawyer wants to take my case. Mr. Lawson, would you be willing to help me?”

On the other end of the line, William replied with a completely unrelated question. “Are you in Harbor City?”

“I am.”

“Nina.” He spoke her name softly, then added without any further explanation, “We’ll meet in eight hours.”

The call ended before she could say another word.

Nina stared at her phone, still trying to process the abrupt exchange.

What did that mean?

Was he agreeing to help her or not?

Eight hours. Not long, but not short either. The wait felt torturous.

And just then, Nadia got a call from Director Zeller.

His tone was urgent. “Nadia, where are you?

“There’s an important conference out of town you need to attend. There’s also a critical brain surgery scheduled, and you’re needed to perform it. I’ve already booked your flight. It leaves in two hours. Start packing. I’ll come pick you up.”

“Wait.” Nadia immediately tried to refuse. “Dr. Zeller, I already took leave. I have something important here...”

“No matter how important it is, this takes priority. Nadia, you know as a doctor there’s no such thing as a real vacation. Once this is done, I’ll give you a full week off. Deal?”

Before she could say another word, the line went dead.

Nadia turned to Nina, full of guilt.

The words caught in her throat. She didn’t know how to say it.

This was the worst possible time to leave Nina alone.

But her duty called.

“Nina, I...”

Nina smiled and shook her head. She was understanding as always.

“It’s okay, Nadia. Go.”

“Promise me you’ll call if you need anything. I’ll come back as soon as I can.” Nadia still looked worried.

“I will. Don’t worry.”

Eight hours later, Nina finally saw William at the airport.