Chapter 2

"Who were you talking to on the phone?" Seeing that Dylan hadn't returned to the dining room after a long while, Violet looked for him in the kitchen and saw him staring at his phone. Dylan snapped back to the present and answered calmly, "No one." It was dark and quiet at night. Dylan listened to Violet's faint breathing next to him as he stared up at the ceiling, unable to sleep all night. The following day, at breakfast, Violet frowned at the steak sandwiches on the table. "You know that I hate steak sandwiches. Why did you make them today?" Dylan looked down and took a bite of his sandwich, chewing slowly. "These were the only things left in the fridge." That wasn't the truth. However, he was preparing for when he would be living abroad. He wanted to try to get used to the cuisines there beforehand. Luckily, Violet didn't seem to pay much heed to him. She placed her phone on the table and kept glancing over every few seconds as if she were waiting for someone's messages. Dylan didn't even have to ask to know whose messages she was waiting for. Suddenly, Violet's phone started buzzing, and she immediately snatched it up. Archer must have sent her something funny. She looked thoroughly amused as a slight smile decorated her usually cold and aloof expression. Dylan watched her quietly for half a minute. Then, he brought out the divorce agreement he'd prepared way beforehand. He had been waiting for this moment from the second he signed the five-year contract with Mandy. He was well-prepared for this. Finally, he would regain his freedom. "Violet, let's get a divorce." Dylan said it ever so calmly, as if he were just talking about the weather. Meanwhile, Violet was so engrossed in her conversation with Archer that she didn't seem to have heard what Dylan said. She just answered with a perfunctory hum. Dylan wasn't surprised. Violet had been treating him like this for the past five years. Even though she was physically there, she treated him as invisible most of the time. Now that Archer was back, even the last ounce of attention Violet used to give Dylan was also retracted. Dylan flipped to the last page of the agreement and handed the papers to her, along with a pen. He pointed at the signature line and said, "Please sign your name here." "Okay." Violet was so busy chatting that she didn't even look at the papers before signing her initials on the signature line. She was still typing away with her other hand on the phone. Dylan then kept the papers away and said, "Violet, I'll be leaving at the end of the one-month cooling-off period." Violet still answered him with a nonchalant hum. She then set down her knife and fork and got up to leave. Dylan looked at her disappearing back and called out to her, finally unable to hold it back anymore. "Violet Padden, did you hear anything I just said?" Violet paused in her steps and turned around to look at Dylan with a puzzled expression on her face. "Weren't you telling me about the resources we'd be sending over to the orphanage? Isn't the contract I just signed for that? You've already told me about this a few days ago. What's wrong?" Dylan laughed self-deprecatingly in silence. He had let her sign that orphanage resources contract last month. Just as he expected, Violet never cared about him or paid attention to anything he said. However, none of that was important anymore. So he was just going to let it be. That was all. Violet would be much happier with Archer in the future. So, Dylan just smiled and said, "It's nothing." … That afternoon, Dylan drove a truck of resources over to Sunnyside Orphanage. After he was done delivering the things, he purposely made his way to the orphanage director's office to bid goodbye to her. "Ms. Williamson, I'm furthering my studies abroad." Becky Williamson was overjoyed when she heard this from him. Dylan had always been gifted in art, and Becky had thought it was a huge pity that Dylan had given up on continuing his studies back then. "That's really good to hear, Dylan!" Becky held both Dylan's hands happily. She then thought about something and frowned. "But if you're leaving for your studies in another country, you will be separated from Violet. Long-distance relationships are particularly hard to maintain too." Dylan stared off into the distance where a few kids were happily chasing each other on the field. Then, he shook his head. "We won't be in a long-distance relationship. We're both divorced." Becky was stunned at first. Then, she let out a long sigh. "Just as I thought. I hadn't been wrong then. I thought back then that your marriage wouldn't last very long. If she really loved you, why would she have never accompanied you every time you came here to visit? I guess it's for the better that you're both divorced now." Becky then patted Dylan on the back, comforting him softly. Dylan smiled and hugged Becky in return. She was right. It was good for them both that they were divorced now.