Chapter 415 Tormenting Oliver: No One is Irreplaceable!
The next afternoon, at City Hall.
When Sarah arrived, Oliver was already there.
He was sitting in his car, smoking. His hair was a mess, and his clothes were nowhere near as sharp as the night before. His eyes were bloodshot, and he looked exhausted.
Through the car window, he watched her.
His eyes were filled with longing.
After a long while, he opened the car door and walked into City Hall with her.
Sarah spoke softly, "You really didn't have to come. Don't you have a lawyer? He's always handled this for us."
Oliver's gaze was intense.
They were about to get divorced, and she was in a good mood, willing to talk to him. In the past, no matter how much he begged or even when he was rough with her in bed, she wouldn't say a word.
His eyes were fervent, and he murmured, "Say a few more words, Sarah."
Sarah thought he was being ridiculous.
She stopped talking, pressing her lips tightly together, but even like this, he found her adorable.
In a moment of emotion, he grabbed her hand.
"Oliver."
Sarah's voice was cold, with a hint of anger, "We're getting divorced. Do you think this is appropriate?"
His face was expressionless. "You're still my wife right now."
Sarah shook off his hand.
During the divorce proceedings, she remained cold and distant.
The staff watched them.
It was clear one of them was still invested, while the other was indifferent.
The staff member was efficient and quick. After all, people who came to get divorced usually wanted it done as soon as possible.
Oliver frowned. "We're not in a hurry."
Sarah spoke up, "I am."
The staff member looked at them.
The man was a well-known figure in Evergreen City, the soon-to-be-bankrupt president of the Windsor Group. His wife was now the eldest daughter of the Moore family... No wonder she was in a hurry to get divorced.
If it were her, she'd be in a hurry too.
She had seen it all and had no patience for unfaithful, philandering men. As she processed the paperwork, she sneered, "Mr. Windsor sure knows how to take it slow, stringing along seven women at once."
Oliver suspected she was being sarcastic.
The staff member handed them the divorce decree. "All done! Next in line!"
As they walked out of City Hall, Oliver looked at Sarah and said softly, "It's almost five. Let's have dinner together."
Sarah refused.
She walked to her car, opened the driver's door, and said calmly, "We're divorced now. There's no need for us to be entangled anymore. I'm sure you won't lack for company at dinner."
His face turned pale, and he couldn't find a word to refute.
He held onto her car door.
Sarah looked up at him. "Let go. I need to get back to the gallery. I have work to do."
She was so rational. She didn't hurl insults at Oliver or say anything unpleasant. It was as if this marriage, this relationship, had long ceased to matter to her. The divorce was just a formality.
She probably didn't feel any pain for him anymore.
Oliver lowered his eyes.
He said, "Yeah, I guess I don't lack for female company. In the future, I can have as many female friends as I want without a wife to control me."
Because he was single now, he was free.
Sarah smiled serenely. "Then you should celebrate."
She was about to drive away.
He took out a small box from his pocket and handed it to her. "It's the pink diamond you lost. Even if you don't wear it, keep it as a memento. Or give it to Nicole."
Sarah knocked the jewelry box to the ground.
Sarah looked straight ahead, restraining herself, and said in a calm voice, "Seeing it reminds me of Diana. Oliver, if you hadn't forced me, I wouldn't have gotten pregnant with Diana... She wouldn't have been born with developmental issues and miscarried. Over the years, you've brought me nothing but mental and physical pain. What makes you think that a few soft words and a show of deep affection would make me forgive you and start over? I wouldn't have before, and now that we're divorced, I definitely won't."
"You're right. After the divorce, you're free."
"Ellie is still waiting for you."
Sarah finished speaking and slammed the car door shut.
She didn't care if his hand got caught.
Thinking of Diana, her eyes filled with tears, and she hated him deeply. The white BMW quickly drove past him.
As the car passed,
the jewelry box was crushed.
Oliver picked up the box, brushed off the debris, and retrieved the diamond ring inside. The pink diamond was still there, but the size 12 ring that fit Sarah was now twisted and deformed.
He stared at it quietly, his heart aching.
A week later.
Late at night, he left the Windsor Group building.
The once-glorious Windsor Group was on the brink of bankruptcy.
The company's stock had been suspended.
Oliver had mortgaged almost all his personal properties and luxury cars, barely keeping the shell of the Windsor Group, but the company still had operational issues, and many employees had left.
He had given them severance pay.
They were ordinary people who needed to live. There was no need for them to pay for his marriage.
Now, he had nothing left but the Windsor Group.
He didn't have a home anymore.
He moved into an apartment of only 1,000 square feet, without even a housekeeper to take care of his daily needs. Now, everything had to be cost-effective.
Oliver sat in his car, smoked two cigarettes, and started the engine.
This car was the only one he had kept.
For business, he needed to maintain some appearance.
Half an hour later, he parked the car outside the apartment building, opened the door, and walked toward the entrance.
"Oliver."
A familiar voice called out.
It was Ellie.
Seeing Ellie again, Oliver felt neither joy nor sorrow. He asked her coldly, "What are you doing here?"
Ellie was holding a thermos.
She walked up and said softly, "Oliver, are you hungry? I made your favorite cream of mushroom soup."
Oliver's face turned cold.
Probably out of anger, he knocked the thermos out of her hand and used harsh words to humiliate her, "Even if I were hungry, I'd look for fresh food. What are you doing here? Did you hear about my divorce and want to get back together? Ellie, get it straight. There's no chance for us. Two people who can't even have sex together can't be together. You don't think I'd bring a wife back just for show, do you?"
"Or do you think, now that I'm broke, I need a free maid?"
Ellie looked hurt.
She hurriedly took out a bank card from her bag and shoved it into Oliver's hand. "There's over three million dollars here, all saved from what you gave me before. Use it to rebuild, Oliver. I've always truly loved you!"
"I haven't!"
Oliver crushed her hopes.
He looked at her and said word by word, "There was never anything between us but physical pleasure, at most a fleeting romance. I've never had real feelings for a woman in the business world."
Ellie shouted, "You're lying!"
Under the dim light, Oliver's voice was cold, "If I really liked you, how could I watch those men touch you, watch them grope your thigh? Because I didn't care! That's why I didn't stop it!"
Ellie couldn't take the blow.
She ran out.
Because one of her legs was a prosthetic, her running posture was always awkward, but she didn't care.
He had always known.
He knew about the under-the-table dealings.
He knew those men would touch her thigh during drinks, but he never stopped it.
He never cared about her!
The place was a mess.
Oliver looked down, then slowly picked up the thermos and threw it into the trash can by the door.
He didn't need a woman's pity.
He always drank.
He drank until he was dead drunk, and when he sobered up, he would call out Sarah's name.
Sometimes, he would dream of the first time they met.
When he woke up, there was the young girl from last time.
She carefully wiped the sweat from his forehead, her head lowered, her voice soft, "Mr. Windsor, you were calling 'Sarah' just now. Is she someone you love?"
Oliver wasn't fully awake.
After a while, he said hoarsely, "She was my wife."
The girl bravely asked, "Why don't you go home?"
Oliver looked a bit dazed.
After a moment, he took out a cigarette, lit it, and smoked slowly. His eyes were red. "Home is gone. She left too."
The girl didn't dare ask more questions.
She hesitated, then took his hand and placed it on her chest.
She guided him to touch her.
Oliver's blue eyes stared at her, but he didn't touch her body.
The girl bit her lip, her voice as small as a whisper, "Mr. Windsor, take me. My body... is still clean."
Oliver withdrew his hand. He had heard from the manager that the girl's family was poor, and she had no choice but to work here to make quick money.
He took out a check from his pocket.
It was for two million dollars.
For Oliver now, it was a large sum.
He gave her the check.
His tone was indifferent, "I won't tell the manager about this money. Find a proper job or go back home. You'll regret spending your youth sleeping with men."
The girl's eyes turned red.
Her fingers trembled as she held the check. She wanted to speak, but her voice choked.
She wanted to kneel and thank Oliver.
Oliver didn't accept the gesture.
The girl took the two-million-dollar check, feeling very grateful to him. She said she wanted to see him off.
Oliver didn't refuse. He walked ahead while the girl followed beside him. Maybe it was a habit from her job, but she clung tightly to his arm, softly calling him Mr. Windsor and expressing her gratitude.
She said she wanted to sleep with him once to repay him.
Oliver said calmly that he didn't want that. He opened the car door, about to get in, when he unexpectedly saw someone across the street.
Sarah, in a light purple dress, was also about to get into her car.
She looked over at them.
She immediately recognized the girl as someone from the neighboring club, a place that catered to wealthy men.
A night of sex there cost tens of thousands of dollars.
Her eyes held a faint trace of mockery.
Oliver hadn't expected to run into Sarah. The disdain in her eyes provoked him. He held the girl close, his eyes red. "Actually, nothing is irreplaceable."
The girl guessed that this was Sarah.
Oliver's ex-wife.
Sarah's expression was indifferent. She didn't say a word.
Just then, a tall, well-dressed man walked over quickly, holding a woman's coat. He smiled at Sarah, "You forgot your coat!"
Sarah apologized. "Thank you."
The man seemed to notice Oliver for the first time. He asked gently, "Sarah... did you run into someone you know?"
Oliver's eyes turned red.
They had only been divorced for a short time, and she had already found someone else!