Nathan had no clue.
So many things didn’t make sense to him anymore.
Everything seemed to be slipping out of his control.
Nathan sat on their marriage bed and called Eddie.
“Ask the cleaning lady at the hillside villa how long it’s been since Amelia came back,” Nathan said.
Eddie immediately got on it.
Soon after, Eddie sent a message: Mr. Harrison, this is complicated. I’ll have the cleaning lady talk to you directly.
Then his phone rang.
Nathan hit answer.
“Hello Mr. Harrison, I’m the cleaning lady for the hillside villa,” the voice said immediately.
Nathan cut to the chase. “You clean the whole villa? When did my wife move out?”
The cleaning lady thought for a moment. “I’m not sure of the exact date, but it was about 20 days ago.”
Twenty days.
Right around when they’d gone to city hall to file for divorce.
Nathan asked a few more questions, then hung up.
Nathan lay on the big bed, staring at the stark white ceiling.
Twenty days.
Had it really been that long since they’d gone to city hall?
In just a few days, they’d be getting their divorce certificate.
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Divorce.
Did Amelia really want to divorce him?
Nathan thought about it for a long time.
But he couldn’t figure it out.
It couldn’t be real.
She’d followed him around for seven years. Her eyes had always been on him.
He’d confirmed that love in her eyes countless times.
And most importantly.
Amelia had always cared deeply about her father’s company. She’d said it was her father’s life’s work, something she’d been involved with since childhood. She’d been managing those businesses at Harrison Group all along.
So far, Amelia hadn’t mentioned her father’s company at all.
If she really wanted to leave, she should take her father’s old allies with her.
With that thought.
Nathan felt somewhat reassured.
So she was just angry.
Once she knew the truth about everything, she’d understand him.
Six months.
He just needed six months.
After he handled everything, he’d be good to her.
But he still needed to talk to her about this thing with Louie.
Night slipped away quickly.
Late April, the weather was getting warmer.
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Chapter 90
And rainier.
It had poured that night.
Luckily the rain stopped by morning, so picking up and dropping off Mila wasn’t too much trouble.
After kissing Mila’s check outside the preschool, Amelia said, “Aunt Amelia will pick you up this afternoon. Aunt Harper made us an appointment, so after school we’ll go to the hospital for some tests, okay?”
Mila nodded and kissed Amelia’s cheek back.
The sweet, soft little girl made Amelia hug her one more time before reluctantly watching Mila walk into the classroom with her little backpack.
She’d gone to see Dr. Rogers for a follow–up last night. Dr. Rogers said her condition was improving.
Amelia felt the same way.
Ever since Mila came into her life, she’d been getting better little by little.
She believed that by forgetting the past and moving forward with determination, she’d fully recover.
With that thought, Amelia looked away and headed to Mars’s place.
There were still some things to handle today.
Plus, she needed to prepare seriously for the Voice of Heaven semifinals.
Time slipped by quietly in the busyness.
Nathan woke up around noon.
Checking his phone, besides the usual daily stuff, Amelia hadn’t contacted him.
Despite all the calls he’d made and messages he’d sent
Everything had disappeared into silence like stones dropped in water.
He’d spent the night at the hillside villa, lying alone on the master bedroom’s big bed. Even after drinking, the emptiness made it hard to sleep.
Strangely, a phrase popped into his head: alone in an empty room?
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Chapter 90
Nathan pushed that ridiculous thought out of his mind.
He went to the study to handle some work that had piled up that morning, and replied to messages Vivian had left him.
When he looked up again, it was already afternoon.
He needed to find Amelia.
But she wasn’t returning messages, answering calls, or at their house.
How could he find her?
Then a thought jumped into his head.
Amelia would go pick up that little girl named Mila from preschool.
With that in mind, he got the preschool’s address and drove his Maybach there before dismissal time.
Nathan had only planned to stake out the place for Amelia, but first he saw that little girl sitting quietly on a stone ledge, drawing.
After thinking for a moment, Nathan walked over and sat on another stone ledge next to her.
He looked down at her drawing.
It was a kid’s stick figure drawing.
She’d drawn a long–haired adult holding hands with a small child.
Right now, Mila was carefully writing the characters for “mommy” next to the long–haired woman.
Nathan knew she was drawing herself and Amelia.
Strangely, Nathan felt like this picture was missing someone.
When he looked up, he found the little girl staring at him.
Her big round eyes were full of confusion.
“Mister, are you sitting here waiting for your kid?” Mila asked in her clear little voice.
Mister…
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She called Amelia mommy, so she should call him daddy.
Nathan instinctively wanted to correct her, but looking into the little girl’s clear eyes, he couldn’t speak.
Amelia had never mentioned him to her.
Whatever.
Nathan tried to smile gently. “I was watching you draw”
After a pause, he added, “It’s very good.”
Mila smiled sweetly and pointed to the long–haired woman. “This is my mommy. She’s pretty, isn’t she?”
“Yes,” Nathan nodded.
“I think so too,” Mila said with a big smile, looking at her drawing. “My mommy is the prettiest person in the whole world!”
Nathan was infected by her joy and smiled genuinely.
Yes, Amelia was beautiful. He knew that.
“Mister, can I ask you for a favor?” Nathan asked gently.
Mila looked at him curiously.
“Could you draw me in too?” Nathan pointed to an empty space. “Here, with you guys.”
Mila hugged her drawing and shook her head.
“Mister, this is me and mommy. I can’t draw you in it.”
Nathan’s smile froze slightly.
“Be good, I’ll buy you ice cream,” Nathan coaxed.
But Mila still shook her head.
“Mommy says I can’t have ice cream,” Mila said seriously. “Not just ice cream–mommy says I can’t take things from strangers.”
Before Nathan could say anything, Mila continued, “Mister, if you want to be in a drawing, you should go
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Chapter S
find your own kid and have them draw you in their picture.”
She looked completely serious.
Mila was now looking at him with wariness.
Like she was looking at some creepy stranger.
Nathan felt helpless.
This little girl’s innocent words could wound him in a thousand places.
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