Chapter 13

He felt as if those words were meant for him and that she was expressing her feelings to him indirectly. It seemed as if she wanted to tell him that she had made a lot of efforts and sacrifices in their marriage. If he chose to get divorced, he would have to deal with the consequences. "Ms. Goodwin, I understand all the reasoning, but I just can't accept it! Tom wants to divorce me and marry a young lady. "But what about me? What did I sacrifice all those years for this family and him for, then? Should I find a young man too?" "Why not? I don't see why you shouldn't," Naomi replied. On the other end, the woman chuckled and said, "Ms. Goodwin, your emotional intelligence is impressive. I love chatting with you." "I've learned a lot from you myself," Naomi answered. Brendan's face darkened. Naomi was proficient in handling divorce cases, and she worked hard to earn money. Maybe it was all for another young man in the future. "Ms. Goodwin, you're still young, so you don't understand. Tom and I met in our 20s. Back then, he was..." As Naomi listened attentively, she noticed a stiffness in her neck. She lay down on the bed with her phone. After lying down, she glanced at Brendan and whispered, "My client is going through a divorce. Let me comfort her first." Brendan gave her a disdainful look, then continued reading his book. Annie spent the whole night talking to Naomi. She told her about how she and her husband had met 30 years ago and delved into various aspects of their life until Naomi fell asleep. Brendan was awake the whole time, and he nearly broke down listening to Annie. At this moment, he realized that Naomi's calm demeanor and preference for speaking less were notable qualities. Otherwise, he would have been driven insane. When the vintage clock on the bedside table struck midnight, Annie finally sighed and said, "Ms. Goodwin, you've been listening to me all night. I appreciate your patience. "It's getting late. You should rest early. You have to work tomorrow." Picking up Naomi's phone, Brendan gave a noncommittal hum in reply. On the other end, Annie was too focused on venting her emotions and didn't realize that she was talking to a man. After saying a few more things to Brendan, she finally ended the call. He threw Naomi's phone aside, glancing at her as she slept. Then, he thought about how she had happily clung to his arm as she urged him to have a baby together. Brendan's expression turned extremely grim. She would always make promises to him, but when he hesitated, she would ignore him. Brendan was so angry that when her leg accidentally touched his, he kicked it away without hesitation. After turning off the lights, Brendan lay down quietly next to Naomi. Naomi snuggled into Brendan's embrace and murmured, "Brendan, you… Don't…" Each time she reached an important word, Brendan couldn't clearly hear what she was saying. But her tone didn't sound promising. "Brendan." "Yes," he responded indifferently, pulling up the blanket around her. The night was quiet. As he looked at the night light on the bedside table, Brendan recalled some memories of the past. "Brendan, you're more despicable than me." "Without all this and the Ludwig family, would we have ended up like this?" Back then, he had slapped Naomi. That was the first and only time in his life that he had hit a woman. He never thought that he would ever slap her. Unwilling to think about the past, Brendan turned off the night light and closed his eyes. The next morning, Naomi woke up to see Brendan already dressed, standing by the floor-to-ceiling windows and fixing his tie. Seeing that he was ready to leave, Naomi said, "Brendan, let's make up for last week tonight." She had planned to be intimate last night, but she had fallen asleep without noticing. Brendan ignored her as he put on his suit jacket and left. Jason and the driver were already waiting for him downstairs. After getting into the car, Brendan took the documents from Jason. He asked calmly, "What happened last night?" Jason, who was sitting in the passenger seat, turned to look behind and told him, "Ms. Yates' mother had a medical emergency last night, but it's been sorted out now. Her younger brother is now temporarily staying at a teacher's house." Following that, Jason added, "Ms. Yates' situation doesn't seem good either." "Keep an eye on her." "Alright. By the way, the handover procedures for the legal affairs have been completed. From now on, Solaris Law Firm will be responsible for the company's legal affairs." Brendan showed a hint of disdain as he said, "Naomi only handles divorce cases. She doesn't know anything about corporate law. From now on, all legal matters will be handled by me." "Understood," Jason replied. … Back at the villa, Naomi headed straight to the court after getting ready. She had a divorce case to attend to today, one that Brendan still looked down upon. Apart from the cases for Ludwig Corporation, almost all of her cases were divorce cases or civil cases regarding disputes. Although she had reminded Brendan to return home that night, he hadn't seemed to take it seriously. Naomi finished her work and returned home. Even as she got ready to sleep, Brendan still hadn't returned. In the following days, he didn't return. He had chosen to ignore her completely. On Friday night, after having dinner with Reuben and several other leaders, Brendan was about to tell the driver to take him back to Yellowind Bay when Jason urgently knocked on the car's window and said, "Mr. Ludwig, something has happened to Ms. Yates."