“Everything here is perfectly legal.” Rowan Keller wasn’t trying to take advantage of him.
“As for our child, you have poor moral character.
I could never let him live with you.”
“You haven’t earned a single cent in the five years we’ve been married,” Zion Hawthorne said, his words merciless.
“Why should I have to give you half of my money?”
“I’m the one who took care of you and Summer, of our entire household,” Rowan stated.
Zion Hawthorne looked at her with a chillingly detached expression.
“So?”
‘So?’
Rowan Keller felt as if she were seeing him for the first time.
“If you’re thinking of using our marital assets to pay your mother’s exorbitant medical bills, I’d advise you to drop that idea right now.” Zion Hawthorne tossed the divorce agreement onto the coffee table.
Rowan stared at him.
“What do you mean?”
“There are no marital assets,” Zion Hawthorne answered, resolving her confusion.
“If you don’t believe me, you can sue for divorce and have the court investigate.”
Rowan froze.
After a brief, two-second pause, it all clicked into place.
In the time between her first suspicions and questions, and this moment of his open admission, he had already transferred all their marital assets.
‘No wonder that lipstick stain on his collar was so obvious.’
‘And he’d always been so cautious, so averse to his picture getting out.
How could he have let photos of him and Serena Sterling get plastered all over the media?’
‘So that was it.’
‘He was just waiting for her to discover it and confront him.
That way, he could make his outrageous demand—to keep his wife at home and his mistress on the side.’
‘Zion Hawthorne.’
‘You’re really something else.’
“That won’t be necessary.” Rowan understood now.
She knew Zion Hawthorne was meticulous, his actions watertight, leaving no trace of wrongdoing.
“Just sign it.
All I want is our child.”
Zion Hawthorne signed.
His signature was as handsome as he was.
But now, it only made Rowan feel sick.
「The next morning.」
Rowan went with him to the Civil Affairs Bureau to file for divorce.
Throughout the entire process, he made no attempt to stop her, showed no guilt—only the same placid calm he wore every day.
As she signed, Rowan glanced at him.
‘How,’ she wondered, ‘did he manage to treat me so well for so many years without loving me at all?’
‘What did our relationship even mean?’
“Your divorce application has been processed.
There is a one-month cooling-off period.
Within thirty days starting from May 13th, either party who no longer wishes to divorce can come here to withdraw the application,” the clerk said, handing them the receipt.
“You can come collect your divorce certificates with valid identification between June 13th and July 12th.
Failure to do so will be considered a withdrawal of your divorce filing.”
They each took their copy.
Leaving the Civil Affairs Bureau, Rowan didn’t go home with him.
Instead, she went to find her best friend, Willow Sterling.
After something this big, she needed to talk to someone.
Willow had just woken up when Rowan arrived at her home.
Noticing that her friend’s mood was off, she asked with concern, “Why the long face?
Did something bad happen?”
“Zion and I are getting a divorce,” Rowan said calmly, though her heart felt like it was being torn to shreds.
‘The man she had once loved with all her heart.’
‘How could it not hurt?’
Willow: “???”
Willow couldn’t believe it.
“Get out of here.
Everyone knows Zion Hawthorne dotes on you like you’re the most precious thing in the world.
He treats you so delicately, like you’d melt in his mouth or break if he held you too tight.
Even if every other couple on the planet divorced, that man is so utterly devoted to you, he’d never let you leave him.”
“It’s true,” Rowan said, her expression serious.
Seeing her expression, Willow knew she wasn’t joking and immediately pressed for details.
And Rowan told her everything.
Upon hearing the reason for the divorce, the already hot-tempered Willow exploded.
“Fuck!
That Zion Hawthorne is a real piece of work!
How could he make such a shameless demand!”
“Does he know about your relationship with Serena Sterling?” Willow asked.
“He knows.” Zion had investigated all of Rowan’s personal connections long ago.
“He knew and he still suggested it?
Is he nuts?!” The more Willow spoke, the angrier she got.
She grabbed Rowan’s hand and pulled her to her feet.
“Come on, let’s go confront him!
I can’t just let this go without giving him a piece of my mind.”
“Can you even get near him?” Rowan reminded her gently.
Willow: “…”
‘That bastard being so powerful really isn’t a good thing.’
“Are you sure there are no marital assets in his name?” After a brief silence, Willow considered it seriously.
“Could he just be saying that to trick you?”
“It doesn’t matter anymore.” Rowan’s perspective was clear.
Willow’s face was a mask of confusion.
“How can it not matter?!”
“Even if there were, so what?
With his personality, he’d never let me have a single cent,” Rowan said matter-of-factly.
“Besides, it’s incredibly difficult to gather evidence for a divorce lawsuit.
Even if I managed to find something, most of it would just be circumstantial, not direct proof.”
Suing for divorce was easier said than done, especially when the person you were divorcing was someone like Zion Hawthorne.
He was meticulous; he’d never let her trace the money he spent on Serena Sterling, much less find proof that they were living together as a couple.
The only thing she could do was take her child and leave a man with such a shattered moral compass.
“If you ask me, you shouldn’t divorce him.
Just hold on to your position as the official wife!” The more Willow thought about it, the more she felt Zion was a scumbag.
“Spend his money like there’s no tomorrow and let Serena Sterling be his dirty little secret for the rest of her life.”
“Wouldn’t that be giving him exactly what he wants?” Rowan was perfectly lucid.
Willow froze.
Realizing her friend was right, she nearly choked on her own fury.
‘And to think I used to believe Zion Hawthorne was one of the rare, genuinely good men in our circle!’
“So, what are you going to do now?” Willow still couldn’t stomach it.
“You can’t just let that scumbag and that homewrecker live happily ever after.”
“First, I’ll move out,” Rowan said.
She’d been thinking about it after her tears had dried last night.
“Once I’m settled, I’ll find a job.”
“You’re not the one who cheated, why should you be the one to move out?” Willow didn’t agree.
“You and Summer should stay right where you are.
I’d like to see him try to kick you out.”
“He wouldn’t kick me out himself, but he’d find ways to force me out.” After last night, Rowan felt she was seeing the real Zion Hawthorne for the first time.
“God, what a piece of scum!” Willow’s anger hadn’t subsided.
“And to think I used to believe he was a one-in-a-million good guy.”
Rowan pursed her lips, her gaze falling.
Before all this, she too had believed Zion was the light that had pulled her from the mire of her father’s making.
Only now did she realize he was just another abyss.
One absconded with all the money, abandoning her and her mother.
The other transferred away their marital assets and demanded she accept the existence of another woman.
‘Those two men, the ones who should have been closest to her.’
‘They were frighteningly similar.’
Just as Willow was wracking her brain for a way to help her friend get the best possible outcome, Rowan’s phone rang.
Seeing the call was from the hospital, Rowan answered immediately.
“Ms.
Keller, Mr.
Hawthorne has discontinued payment for your mother’s medical expenses, effective next month,” the doctor said.
“Would you be able to come in to discuss her future treatment plan?”
“I’ll be right there,” Rowan said without a second thought.
She hung up, told Willow she had to go, and left for the hospital.
Waiting for her in the office, along with the doctor, was Zion Hawthorne.