Chapter 197 You Deserve It
The officers walked Tammy back to the Forton County police station — her steps slow, her silence louder than anything she could have said.
Parker had been transferred to another hospital for treatment, and with Sophia's help, he had finally woken up. He went in a wheelchair to testify for Sophia himself, proving that the land where she built her house belonged entirely to Mira, with all the paperwork legal and proper, without any issues.
Tammy had come to Rain Village through marriage, long after the roots of these secrets had already taken hold — she was never meant to know. But Terry had always known the truth and never said a word. When it finally came to light, the revelation didn't just shock Tammy — it shattered her.
To make matters worse, Terry and Russell had been taken into custody for illegal hunting in the mountains — another blow the family hadn't seen coming. Under the law, they faced no less than twelve years behind bars. Tammy, for her part, was sentenced to six months in detention for malicious slander — a far lighter punishment, though no less humiliating.
This family was completely done for.
When Sophia received the results, she was in the car with Lyra on the way to court for her divorce. Emily sat curled in Lyra’s arms, quietly watching cartoons on the screen, completely absorbed.
When they arrived at the courthouse, Philip hadn't shown up yet.
It wasn't until there were only five minutes left before the scheduled time that he finally arrived.
Today, Lyra was dressed even more beautifully than on her wedding day, radiant as though she were here to celebrate something joyful.
This made Philip very uncomfortable. He said coldly, "Lyra, have you really thought this through?"
“Divorce is a serious matter, not something you use to throw a tantrum. If we really go through with it today, I will never remarry you.”
Philip was trying to pressure Lyra this way.
Even as they stood at the courthouse entrance, he still wasn’t worried.
He simply didn’t believe Lyra truly wanted a divorce. How could a woman who had loved him for more than ten years just let go like that?
In his view, the divorce was just her trick to get his attention and win back his affection.
Sophia stepped out of the car with Emily in her arms. When she heard Philip’s self-righteous words, she rolled her eyes.
“Mr. Banks, if you’d been born in ancient times, you could certainly have become a great general.”
"After all, you're incredibly shameless. Your face is thicker than a city wall, impervious to swords and spears—perfect for defending against enemies."
Perhaps sensing Philip’s terrible attitude toward Lyra, even Emily—just over a year old—didn’t like him.
She looked at Philip with a smile and mimicked Sophia's tone, saying, "Shameless, so great."
Emily had quite a talent for sarcasm.
Just then, William also got out of the car behind them.
When Emily saw William, she immediately remembered what Lucas had taught her yesterday: you become like the people you spend time with.
She pressed her lips together and regarded Philip and William seriously. “You’re a bad example,” she said.
William, who had just gotten out of the car, fell silent.
Philip truly hated Sophia’s sharp tongue. He was about to retort, but Lyra interrupted him with a look of disgust.
"Philip, stop wasting time. Let's go sign the papers and get this over with quickly."
The divorce agreement had already been drafted by lawyers.
Since they had been married only a short time and both were financially secure, Lyra felt there was no need to waste time dividing their assets.
Philip gritted his teeth and squeezed out through clenched teeth, "Lyra, don't regret this."
Lyra nodded, "OK, whoever regrets it is a puppy who'll be poor and miserable for life."
Everyone in their circle knew that Lyra was a true hedonist—depriving her of money would be worse than killing her.
Then Lyra and Philip walked into the hall to sign the agreement.
Sophia was about to follow them in with Emily, but the little girl said she wanted to stay in the car.
Considering the driver and bodyguards were there, and safety wasn't an issue, Sophia agreed.
She instructed, "Then you wait nicely in the car for me, okay?"
Emily nodded obediently, "Okay."
After all the adults went inside, Emily poked her little head out of the back seat window and saw William, who still hadn’t gone in.
He was leaning against the car door with his legs slightly bent, looking up at the courthouse sign.
Two years ago, it was at this same place.
He and Sophia had ended their marriage.
Emily followed his gaze, but then her attention was caught by the flower shop and coffee shop next to the courthouse. Her big eyes swung back and settled on the distracted William.
She waved at him and called out, "Mr. Smith, pick me up."
Hearing Emily's soft voice, William snapped back to reality. Seeing her with half her body out the window, he was startled and strode over to lift her out of the car.
His deep voice carried a hint of reproach, "That was very dangerous just now, you know?"
“I doh,” Emily said. She had been obsessed with cartoons lately and was imitating the little fox’s way of speaking.
She wasn’t fazed by his cold tone. Instead, she nestled herself comfortably in his arms.
With one hand around William's neck and the other pointing at the shops in the distance.
Emily said, "Go over there."
With William as her “escort,” she first stopped at the coffee shop and ordered two signature drinks, then moved next door to the flower shop to pick out two bouquets.
William could tell at a glance who she was buying them for. He was about to pay when a small hand stopped him.
Emily raised the children's smartwatch on her wrist and said proudly, "I have money!"
Meanwhile, Lucas, watching cartoons in the living room of the Johnson Villa, felt his phone vibrate twice.
He had just linked his payment code to Emily’s watch yesterday, and today two spending notifications popped up. Lucas felt a surge of satisfaction.
Girls should be pampered as they grow up.
On the other side, after paying, Emily turned to the female shop clerk and said sweetly, “Miss, please make the flowers as pretty as you.”
The clerk was so delighted that she added extra flowers for free, creating two lavish bouquets.
Emily had originally wanted to carry the bouquets herself, but when she compared their height to her own, she reconsidered.
After hesitating for just a second, she turned to look at William with a sweet smile and said, "Mr. Smith, you're the best."
William's mouth twitched slightly.
This Emily... just now when standing up for Lyra, she called him a "bad example," and now that she needed help, she said "he's the best." Her little mind worked so fast.
So William carried the two large bouquets in one hand while keeping the child safe with the other. Emily bounced along toward the courthouse, holding the two cups of coffee.
Along the way, she didn’t notice a small pebble and stumbled forward, instinctively calling out, “Mr. Smith—”
Someone grabbed her collar from behind, and in the next instant, she was swept into a firm embrace.
William frowned, ready to scold her, when Emily’s mouth drooped into a “if you dare yell at me, I’ll cry” expression.
William had to swallow the words that were on the tip of his tongue.
Inside the courthouse.
Lyra and Philip's paperwork went very smoothly.
The staff reminded them, "According to regulations, there's a one-month 'cooling-off period.' If there are no objections within a month, you can return to collect the official divorce certificate. “If either party changes their mind during this period, the application may be withdrawn at any time.”
Hearing this, Philip glanced at Lyra beside him, expecting to see even a flicker of regret or hesitation on her face.
However, there was nothing.
Lyra was already happily heading toward Sophia, who sat in the waiting area, excitedly discussing where to have a celebratory lunch, radiating the joy of newfound freedom.
Sophia had been observing the other people in the hall.
Some were happy, some were sad; some glared at each other, others looked relieved, and a few even brought their new partners. This place was simply a microcosm of all kinds of marriages.
At this moment, the anger on Philip's face was particularly obvious.
Sophia took Lyra’s hand and walked out with her. “Let’s go,” she said as they moved, “I’ve already had the chef at home prepare your favorite dishes.”
"Let's go. Today is a good day; we must celebrate properly."
The two had just walked out of the courthouse entrance.
Emily came bouncing up with two cups of coffee, presenting them like treasures.
"One for Mommy, one for Lyra."
Lyra picked her up and gave her a big kiss, "My little sweetheart, I love you so much!"
Sophia glanced at William, standing at the bottom of the steps with a dark expression, holding two bouquets.and thought the scene looked awkward no matter how she looked at it.
Emily, who had already been kissed several times by Lyra, pointed at the flowers in William’s arms and said, “I bought them.”
Lyra saw William’s gloomy expression and his helpless attitude toward Emily, and laughed as she took the flowers. “Mr. Smith, thank you so much for your trouble.”
William said, "You're welcome."
Emily took the initiative to pull out another bouquet and handed it to Sophia. “Mommy has one too,” she said.
Sophia and Lyra exchanged smiles and took Emily's hand back to the car.
Philip, who came out a step late, happened to see this scene. He watched William handing flowers to Lyra and asked, incredulous, “Whose friend are you anyway? I’m here getting divorced, and you’re giving Lyra flowers?”
William glanced at him coldly and said:
"You deserve it."
Philip, "?"