All Chapters of Contract Over: You're Free to Go: Chapter 121 - Chapter 130

It was exactly 12:15 pm when Silas and Teresa stepped out through the main doors of the courthouse.Bellmere's weather had been gloomy and overcast for days, but right now, the sun briefly broke through the clouds. The midday sunlight spilled over the front steps of the lobby, bright enough to make them squint.Filing for the divorce turned out to be a far simpler and more mechanical process than Teresa had imagined. There were no earnest mediators offering heartfelt advice or melodramatic fights straight out of a soap opera.They took their number, waited in line, and submitted the original divorce agreement drafted by William. After photocopying their IDs, they pressed their fingerprints onto the application form. The entire process took less than 15 minutes.The clerk handed them two copies of the "Divorce Registration Application Receipt" with professional detachment and added a routine reminder."30-day reconsideration period. Within a month after it ends, both parties must a

The reconsideration period elapsed amid the biting winter wind of Bellmere, somehow both painfully slow and over in the blink of an eye.On the morning the deadline was up, Silas and Teresa met again at the courthouse. Without unnecessary chatter or pleasantries, they handed in their receipts, signed the paperwork, and collected their certificates.When the brief, one-page divorce certificate was pushed up to Teresa, her fingertips trembled uncontrollably.Meanwhile, Silas slipped his copy into the pocket of his old jacket, gave her a nod, and turned around to merge into the bustling street crowd.From that moment on, they were legally two complete strangers living in a city of 20 million people.…A month later, winter had fully settled over Bellmere. The sycamore trees lining the streets were stripped down to bare, empty branches.Silas was standing outside a print shop in the old district when his phone buzzed. A bank transfer notification popped up on his screen."Mr. Langs

Soundproofing in the old apartment building right on the edge of the working-class neighborhood was practically nonexistent.Silas was hunched over the floor, using a screwdriver to tighten the legs of his secondhand desk, when he heard a sharp crack from across the hall. The guy living opposite him had just lost a video game and slammed his mouse down.Down the street, the electronic megaphone from a food truck selling fried skewers started looping its robotic chant, shouting, "Fried skewers! Hot and crispy fried skewers!"Instead of finding the noise irritating, Silas was amused. He brushed the dust off his hands, stood up, and looked around his newly rented apartment. It was a 300-square-foot studio apartment, the kind of space one could completely take in with a single glance.To the left of the door was a tiny bathroom where turning around required a bit of maneuvering, and to the right was a basic kitchenette with a countertop barely three feet long. Further inside, a single

At that moment, a message notification from the freelancing design platform popped up in the bottom right corner of Silas' laptop screen.He rubbed the bridge of his nose, which was beginning to ache, and clicked to open the chat box.The client was named "Happiness Bakery", and they had sent over a 59-second voice message. He habitually lowered the volume and tapped play."Mr. Langston! I looked at the latest design, and honestly, that natural wood color is way too plain! We're opening right next to the campus to sell gourmet stuffed cookies, so we need this place to look celebratory, something that actually triggers an appetite!"Swap out that background logo for a bright, bold red, make the lettering a neon yellow, and let's throw a ring of flashing lights around it. Yes, that's right! It needs to feel high-end and upscale, but still relatable and trendy."Our budget is still capped at 500 dollars, though. Not a penny more!"High-end and upscale, but still relatable and trendy

Outside the window, the sky had gone completely dark. One by one, lights across the old district flicked on.Silas put on his headphones, played some light music, and completely immersed himself in adjusting parameters on his design software.Long after midnight, a single desk lamp stayed lit in the tiny rental apartment, casting light over his focused, serene work.…At 9:30 pm, lights on the top floor of TRS Group finally went out.Teresa rubbed the back of her sore neck, grabbed her bag, and walked toward her private elevator.Ever since she received the divorce certificate and unilaterally announced to Alice that she was going to "win Silas back", she hadn't immediately rushed to Cedar Lane to corner him at his door like a chicken with its head cut off.Teresa was an incredibly rational businesswoman.She knew perfectly well that Silas was currently doing everything he could to avoid her. If she forcefully barged into the peaceful life he had worked so hard to build just be