Chapter 210: You're Not Married—You Wouldn't Understand
Before Isabella could finish her sentence, William had already stridden after her.
He thrust the carefully arranged bouquet forward, its rich fragrance filling the air between them. With just a glance, Isabella recognized every bloom—all varieties she'd once mentioned liking.
"Do you like it?" William pushed the flowers closer, his eyes brimming with expectation.
Emily and the other colleagues stood frozen in shock. They knew Isabella was married, but they'd never imagined her husband would be such a strikingly handsome man—the kind who commanded attention without trying.
Yet Isabella simply took the bouquet from William's hands with an expressionless face. She glanced down at it briefly, then turned and walked straight toward the trash bin in front of the office building.
Thud.
The exquisite arrangement disappeared into the garbage without ceremony. She didn't even blink.
William's reaction caught everyone off guard. Instead of anger, he showed even more patience. "Don't you like this combination? I'll change it next time. Red roses? White roses? Lilies or lisianthus?"
In six years of marriage, Isabella had never witnessed such patience from him.
Was it only now, because she carried the identity of "Victoria," that she'd suddenly become worthy of his love?
The thought pierced her heart like an icicle. When Isabella looked at William again, her face held nothing but cold indifference. "I won't accept anything from you."
Her warning was merciless. According to their agreement, they were supposed to file for divorce this morning. She'd called him countless times. He'd ignored every single one.
Fine. If that's how he wanted to play it, they'd settle this face-to-face.
"If you don't like this bouquet, I'll get another. There must be one you'll accept." William adopted a shameless, clinging stance, completely ignoring her icy words, even wearing a smile.
A nearby colleague shifted uncomfortably, unable to help whispering, "Isabella, married couples shouldn't hold grudges... he seems to realize his mistake..."
But halfway through, even that colleague realized how absurd the statement sounded. Their voice faded to barely audible.
Isabella stared coldly at William, enunciating each word: "William, we agreed to sign the divorce papers today. Even if you drag your feet and refuse to sign, after two years of separation, I can file for divorce anyway. What's the point of playing games like this?"
William pressed his lips into a tight line, finally falling silent.
"Everyone, let's head to the cars." Richard intervened at just the right moment.
The colleagues snapped out of their daze and filed into the reserved business van. When Richard had booked the vehicle, he certainly hadn't included a seat for William. Once everyone was settled, he shot William a contemptuous, triumphant look through the window.
Belated devotion is worthless, Richard thought. Regretting it now? Too late.
The vehicle glided smoothly down the road. Isabella kept her eyes on her phone, responding to messages from her daughter Olivia.
"Look behind us! Isn't that Maybach following us?"
"That's... Isabella's husband's car, isn't it? It's a limited edition in the country—worth a million dollars!"
Her colleagues' envious gazes converged on Isabella again. Talented, from a good family—practically the definition of winning at life. Their stares were so intense she couldn't possibly ignore them.
The moment their van pulled up at the restaurant, William's Maybach arrived right behind them.
Even more shamelessly, he followed them straight into the same private dining room. Though completely out of place amid the lively atmosphere, William settled into a corner without a care, listening to their conversation as if he belonged there.
"William, you've truly reached new levels of shamelessness." Richard finally lost his patience. He approached William holding half a glass of red wine, his eyes full of contempt. "You'd actually crash this kind of gathering?"
The private room fell instantly silent. Every colleague froze, their eyes darting between the two men in bewildered fascination.
They'd long noticed Richard's extraordinary attention toward Isabella. Now, two of Seaside City's most powerful business magnates were confronting each other over the same woman—a scene they wouldn't dare imagine even in dreams!
Confronted so publicly, William defied expectations by remaining calm instead of erupting in fury. He merely lifted his eyelids lazily. "You've never been married. Naturally, you wouldn't understand the struggles of a married man."
The word "married" struck like a needle, precisely targeting Richard's vulnerability.
He knew that as long as William refused to sign, he could legally drag things out for two full years. Two years—enough time for countless complications to arise, enough time for this man to continuously harass Isabella using his status as her lawful husband. That fact hung over Richard's heart like a ticking time bomb.
An impulse surged through him. Richard raised his wine glass, staring directly at William.
"Do you dare to have a drinking contest?"