From Divorce to Dazzling: Don't Waste My Time

Hannah Taylor felt a lump in her throat as she stood frozen outside the women's clinic.

There was her usually quiet husband, Benjamin Scott, looking after another woman whose face lit up with a smile she rarely saw.

The woman was laughing, covering her mouth with one hand and gently rubbing her slightly swollen belly with the other.

Hannah dialed Benjamin's number, her voice shaky, "Benjamin, where are you?"

Hannah could hear the laughter fading from Benjamin's end. His voice turned hard, "What's up?"

"I'm asking, where are you?" Hannah enunciated each word clearly.

"In a meeting," Benjamin curtly responded before hanging up.

When the woman asked who was on the phone, Benjamin just shook his head, not giving anything away.

Feeling watched, he glanced back The hallway was empty.

He turned around, leading the woman into the doctor's office.

——

Back home, Hannah sat on the couch, deep in thought.

The familiar noise of footsteps made her stiffen.

Walking into the living room, Benjamin saw Hannah sitting in silence.

"What was so important that you had to call?"

"I know her, Evelyn Harris," Hannah said, the name of Benjamin's high school sweetheart, who had moved back to town six months ago.

Judging by her belly, it seemed they had been together since she came back.

Benjamin squinted.

Not many people knew about Evelyn.

How did Hannah, a stay-at-home wife, find out about it?

What was she trying to pull by bringing this up?

Or did she know more than he thought?

Hannah, stung by his silence, asked, "So, is it true? Good. Mr. Scott, are you bringing your pregnant girlfriend to your hospital meetings? Right?"

"Hannah, have you been snooping around?"

Benjamin seemed to be missing the point, and Hannah was tired of this kind of talk.

Hannah stared back at Benjamin's cold look, "Let's get a divorce."

Benjamin's fist clenched, his usually calm face showing a hint of surprise, "Hannah, I'll give you one chance. Forget what you said tonight."

"See you at the Civil Affairs Bureau tomorrow morning," she shot back.

He had given Benjamin too many chances. Is he giving her a chance?

She wasn't interested.

The next day, at the Civil Affairs Bureau.

The clerk asked for the final confirmation, "Are you both agreeing to the divorce?"

Benjamin was stone-faced, silently waiting for Hannah to back out.

She always had a way of getting his attention - burning dinner, ruining his expensive suits, denting his car, or hoarding hotel toiletries.

Now, it was stalking, prying, and pushing for a divorce.

Beneath her endless antics, he saw Hannah's nasty and spiteful side.

"Yes, we're divorcing by mutual agreement," Hannah's voice was unusually cold.

Watching the official stamp hit the paper. She felt her emotional and legal ties to Benjamin break.

She had tried desperately to hold onto their relationship, but now she was relieved.

It had only been her taking their marriage seriously.

Walking out into the bright sunlight, Hannah held up the divorce certificate.

It glowed under the light. This was her fresh start.

Benjamin's eyes flickered, the usually cold and rational gaze momentarily stunned.

He had expected her to back down, but the whole process went smoothly.

Hannah didn't even demand any money or property.

What was she going to do next?

Blackmail him about Evelyn?

"Where are you going? I can give you a lift," Benjamin offered, showing a rare patience towards Hannah.

It was like a high and mighty god watching how long a pitiful human could struggle.

Hannah laughed, pulled out her phone, and dialed a number she hadn't used in three years, "Be at the Civil Affairs Bureau in ten minutes."

Ignoring the person's surprised reaction, she hung up and turned to Benjamin with a bright smile, "No need, Mr. Scott. I have someone to pick me up, someone who cares me indeed."

Her brilliant smile was almost blinding.

Benjamin ignored the unease in his heart and turned away gruffly, "Fool!"

He walked towards his car, leaving Hannah with memories of his cold indifference.

"Benjamin," Hannah called out, her voice filled with three years' worth of bottled-up frustration, "I have something to say. Your mother arranged so many medical checks for me, but I'm perfectly healthy. You, on the other hand, can't even react when I undress... "

"If you're gay, you should tell your family. Society is pretty accepting these days. Or is there some sort of problem with you? Don't worry. Medicine has come a long way. Get help early and stop using me as a cover!"

Every time she tried to get close to him, he would always find a way to avoid her, always with the excuse of being tired or stressed from work.

It was a clever way to hide his true feelings, but Hannah was no fool.

She felt held back by her parents, who seemed determined to use her marriage as a stepping stone for her half-brother.

She was certain that she didn't deserve Benjamin.

But she wasn't just some naive country girl. Her grandparents were more than just simple country folk, and she had received an education that was anything but ordinary.

Benjamin, though, had never really seen her for who she was.

But all of this pondered now, seemed pointless.

The crowd at the Civil Affairs Bureau was thin, but each person threw an odd look at Benjamin.

Turning his face to the light, Benjamin's expression was cold and hard.

Hannah glanced back at him.

Benjamin drove off, a growing unease washing over him. Hannah was slipping out of his grasp, and he began to doubt his decision to seek a divorce.

The smile on Hannah's face slowly faded. After three years of a shared bed but separate lives, her marriage to Benjamin was finally over.

No longer the quiet Mrs. Scott, she could finally go back to being...

"Boss!"

With a playful whistle, Sofia leaned against the car door.

Shaking off her sadness, Hannah jumped into the passenger seat, and Sofia handed her a pair of bright pink glasses. "Smart ones don't fall in love; love gets you nowhere, Boss. Congrats, no man can hold you back now."

Sofia revved the engine of the flashy red sports car and zoomed onto the highway, with Hannah stretching out her arms, "Let's go, girl. Let's go paint the town red!"

Around the corner, a black Bentley waited until they had left before starting its engine.

During their three-year marriage, Hannah had been obedient, attending to Benjamin's every need. She had never been this defiant.

She asked for a divorce, hinted that he was infertile, and called a friend with a fast car.

All of these things were so unlike the Hannah he knew.

Hannah was a scholarship student funded by Grandpa and was even chosen by him as his future granddaughter-in-law on his deathbed. Benjamin, wanting to give his grandfather peace, went along with this. He gave her the best life, and they both got what they needed.

Hannah's behavior after their marriage had always led him to believe that she was a humble and honest girl. But now, everything was strange.

Thinking about the bank card he gave Hannah after their marriage, which she seldom used, Benjamin was even more puzzled. Was she really not after the Scott family's wealth?

But if she thought she could use Evelyn's situation to manipulate him, she had another thing coming!

With a serious face, Benjamin told his assistant, "Keep tabs on Hannah."

The thought of the investigation he had been conducting just getting some leads and Hannah starting to act up, Benjamin didn't think it was just a coincidence.