"Let’s get a divorce."

Vivian Fairmont was standing in the kitchen, flipping a steak in the pan, when Theodore Blackwood dropped that line out of nowhere.

Hot oil popped and splashed onto her face, but she didn’t seem to feel a thing.

"Our marriage was just for show from the start. There was never any real foundation between us. Four years are up. It’s time to end it."

His voice was cold, distant, flat like he was talking about someone else’s life, not theirs.

Vivian bit down hard on her lip.

So... this day had finally come after all.

Four years ago, the Fairmont family went under overnight. Her parents had chosen death together, and every last debt had landed squarely on her shoulders.

The reason she and Theodore had gotten married in the first place was simple: the friendship between their grandfathers, forged on the battlefield. Back then, Mr. Fairmont had risked his life to save Mr. Blackwood.

Before he passed, the one thing Mr. Fairmont couldn’t let go of was his youngest granddaughter, so he asked his old comrade to look after her.

That was how she and Theodore ended up in a marriage with zero emotional foundation.

But somewhere along the way, she had crossed the line of that contract long ago and handed him her heart for real.

She had kept waiting, waiting for him to open up to her, waiting for this fake marriage to maybe, just maybe, become something real.

In the end, what she got wasn’t love.

It was goodbye.

"I’ll give you four hundred million in cash as compensation, plus a penthouse villa in Changtan District. Here’s the divorce agreement. Take a look and see if there’s anything you want changed."

Theodore passed the papers over with a blank face, casual as if he were discussing some totally ordinary business deal.

Vivian took the document and glanced at the number on it.

Four years for four hundred million.

Yeah, that was very much the Blackwood family’s style.

"Do we really have to get divorced?"

She closed the file, then lifted her eyes to the man in front of her.

The man she had quietly loved for four whole years looked the same as ever. Every move of his carried that polished, effortless grace. Cold, distant, unreachable. Like the bright moon hanging high in the night sky, beautiful to look at, but never something she could truly touch.

"It has to end."

Theodore Blackwood answered without the slightest hesitation. His voice was flat, clean, and ice-cold.

At that moment, a dull ache spread through her chest.

Vivian Fairmont had always been someone decisive.

This time, after running headfirst into a wall, she finally got it. If she was already bruised all over, then dragging it out would only make her look more pathetic. Better to cut herself loose now.

Once she thought it through, it actually felt almost ridiculous.

Four years of marriage in exchange for four hundred million.

No matter how she did the math, she was not the one losing out.

"Fine. I agree to the divorce."

She picked up the pen and signed her name on the agreement without any extra drama.

Theodore froze for a second.

In his memory, this woman had always been soft, quiet, the kind who hesitated over everything.

He had not expected her to be this straightforward today.

That contrast hit him out of nowhere, and for some reason, his chest felt weirdly tight.

"When the appointment at the Civil Affairs Bureau is set, I'll let you know. You'd better move out today."

Theodore forced down that faint discomfort in his heart, threw out the sentence coldly, and walked straight out of the villa.

It was obvious.

To him, this divorce was never a discussion.

It was simply a notice.

That same night, once the servants who had never liked her heard she was getting divorced, they got even more shameless.

They dragged all her luggage out and dumped it right outside the villa.

"Finally got rid of you. You've been living off the Blackwood family for four years. You totally deserve to end up like this!"

In the biting wind, Vivian Fairmont crouched on the ground, picking up her clothes one by one from the mess. She looked miserable, hair blown loose, fingers stiff from the cold, more worn-out than she had ever allowed herself to be.

Right then, a car stopped behind her.

A tall woman stepped out.

"Ms. Pemberton, you're finally here. That trip must've been exhausting."

The same servant who had just been barking at Vivian instantly switched faces, smiling so hard it looked fake as she rushed over to help the woman with her luggage.

Rosalie Pemberton lifted her chin with open arrogance and couldn't even be bothered to spare Vivian a glance.

"Be careful. My things are expensive. If anything gets damaged, you can't afford it."

Beside them, Vivian stood frozen.

And in that instant, she understood everything.