Chapter 468 Reached Out and Grabbed Her Arm

James stared at Emily for a long time without saying a word.

Emily, not wanting to waste any more time, lifted her foot to leave.

The sound of a seatbelt unbuckling filled the air. The next second, James opened the car door, got out, and grabbed Emily's wrist, shoving her back into the car.

Emily panicked. "James, what are you doing?"

"I told you, I want to talk."

Emily struggled. "We're about to get divorced. There's nothing left to talk about."

"Snow Mountain Willow."

Emily fell silent.

She let James close the car door and hit the gas, driving them away.

If it were about anything else, she wouldn't have the heart to discuss it with him, nor would she see the point. But Snow Mountain Willow was worth a conversation.

The car drove for a long time before stopping by the lake.

James got out first, but Emily didn't rush to follow as she was busy chatting with friends on her phone.

James didn't know how many people she was talking to, but from the occasional laughter and the few voice messages she sent during the drive, he could easily guess there were at least two.

One was Harper, the other was Finn.

Thinking about her laughter along the way made James feel incredibly irritated. He instinctively pulled out a cigarette, lit it, and took deep drags.

If he remembered correctly, five years ago, before they got married, Emily was just as happy.

When did she stop being happy?

It started when they got married, when she repeatedly tried to please him, and he stubbornly refused to respond.

From that moment on, she seemed to forget how to be happy, how to smile.

It had been so long that even he had started to believe that Emily was just naturally not a cheerful person.

So, was it his fault she had been so unhappy?

If it weren't for him, she could have been happy her whole life.

This realization made James even more frustrated, and he smoked more intensely.

Emily finished her chat and got out of the car.

The weather hadn't been great lately, and it was a chilly night by the lake.

As soon as she stepped out, a cold breeze blew from the lake, making her shiver.

Emily rubbed her arms and walked up to James without saying a word.

James had something to discuss, so she waited for him to speak.

After finishing his cigarette, James threw it to the ground, stomped it out, and looked at the rippling lake, finally speaking, "Tomorrow morning at eight, I'll be at the courthouse to get the divorce decree."

He didn't want it to come to this, but after thinking it over, this was the only path left for them.

"Okay." Emily responded, saying nothing more.

In the distance, countless lights shone from the windows of the buildings, adding a touch of warmth to the chilly night.

After those few simple words, neither of them spoke again, standing quietly by the lake.

After a while, James couldn't help but turn to Emily, who was standing a little distance away. "Do you have anything you want to say to me?"

Emily, admiring the night view, found the question amusing. "No. Haven't we said everything that needed to be said? What's left to talk about?"

James fell silent.

Yeah, it seemed like there really was nothing left to say between them.

Tomorrow morning, once they had the divorce decree in hand, they would be completely done.

After another long silence, Emily spoke first, "Thank you for selling Snow Mountain Willow to me."

No matter what, Emily was genuinely grateful to him for that.

James looked at the distant night, a hint of a smile without any emotion. "It doesn't matter who I sell it to. You wanted to buy, I wanted to sell, so I sold it to you."

A straightforward transaction. Neither she nor he needed to dwell on it.

Hearing this, Emily felt a sense of relief.

She had been worried James might use Snow Mountain Willow to make other demands.

Now that he saw it as a simple transaction, that was the best outcome.

After standing for a while longer, Emily felt tired and said, "It's getting late. I should head back."

With that, she turned to leave.

James had driven her here, but she could call a cab to get back.

Even if it was hard to find a cab, she could call her driver to pick her up.

James didn't say anything at first, but as Emily turned to leave, he couldn't hold back and reached out to grab her arm.