Apologize.

It had been several days since Amara sent the divorce paper but there was still no response. Pacing in front of the window, Amara called her attorney Philip. "Hasn't Larsen signed it yet?" "My apologies, Ms. Crawford," Philip sighed at the other end. "I have urged the side of Mr.Larsen but they just ignored us. I am applying for court procedures for you but we have also encountered resistance. The judge suggests that you should communicate with Mr. Larsen first." Hearing this, Amara chuckled out of anger. What was Tobias doing now? He was the first to ask for a divorce, and now she was giving him what he wanted, yet he started to obstruct her in every possible way. What's wrong with him?!! Taking a deep breath, Amara calmed herself. Since he wanted to play, she could play. "I understand, Philip. I'll meet Larsen later." Amara picked up her handbag, heading to Tobias' company, Labyrinth. She had barely walked through the revolving doors when she heard a rather familiar voice ring out from behind her. “Amara?” Against her better judgment, Amara turned around and met the two annoying faces. Fiona and Giselle Larsen, Tobias' sister and mother. And the extra reason for her pain in this marriage. Fiona and Giselle never liked Amara as they believed an "orphan" girl like her never matched a perfect man like Tobias. “What the hell are you doing here, girl?” Giselle asked as she matched forward and forcefully seized Amara’s wrist. She looked her over before scoffing. “And dressed like a maid? Do you want to disgrace my son?” Dressed like a maid? Amara didn’t really think the dress she had on, a pair of blue waist-high jeans, a white inner and stripe-colored cardigan, were clothes befitting of a maid. But oh well, this is Giselle Larsen speaking, the woman would go to any length to diminish Amara. Except this time around, Amara wasn’t going to stand by and listen to her words. Forcefully, she freed her hand, surprising both Giselle and Fiona. “I’d watch my mouth if I were you.” Her words, cold and disrespectful to Giselle’s ears, had the woman's eyes going wide and blinking in surprise. Had Amara just talked back to her? And in such a manner at that?! “Look at this poor rude thing!” she barked. “Have you forgotten where you stand in my son's life? How dare you be so arrogant to me?” Amara remained silent, but the cold glare she fixed both mother and daughter with was enough to piss them off. “This bitch seems to forget what miserable life she should have,” Fiona sneered, tanzanite eyes shining with hatred. “If it wasn't Grandpa who had taken her in, how could she be alive until today?” “Leave, now,” Giselle demanded, her daughter's words reminded her of some unhappy memories. "Don’t bother pestering my son. Stay home, or else I’ll ask my son to divorce-” “That won’t be necessary,” Amara interrupted. She held up the brown envelope. “Once this is signed, I'll have nothing to do with you Larsen guys. I won't give you any glance even if you beg to.” “What?!” Fiona and Giselle exchanged looks filled with disbelief. How dare Amara file for divorce? Before either of them could get the opportunity to question Amara, the revolving doors spun around, and out came several bodyguards in black; in the middle of them, guarded like a national treasure, were Tobias and a middle-aged man. “What's going on here?” Tobias creased his brows when he noticed some figures stuck in the way. With Timothy Carson, his valuable client, beside him, he didn't want anyone or anything to ruin his business. The sound of his voice had all the women turning in his direction. And at the sight of Amara, Tobias felt a sense of victory swell in his chest. See? All he had done was a little trick and she would come and surrender. Her sugar daddy was just some nouveau richer with no gut to challenge him. “This woman is crazy, brother,” Fiona spoke up before anyone could. Her voice was so loud that it seemed like she was trying to explain the situation to an entire team rather than one person. "She said she's here to divorce you! How ridiculous!" Tobias' face darkened at once. Amara approached him with her head high, handing him the divorce papers as soon as she was right in front of him. “Do you think I’d come here, to beg you?” Amara chuckled. “You’re not the world’s ace, so I suggest you climb down your high horse, and oh, while you’re at it, don’t forget to show up for the court hearing.” Tobias’s eyes twitched, clearly annoyed. Scoffing at his rather readable expression, Amara turned back around and marched to leave. However, Giselle suddenly caught her and slapped her. "How dare you bitch speak to my son like that?!" This slap was delivered with full force. Amara felt a stinging pain on her face. She looked at Tobias, whose disapproving gaze was fixed on his mother, but he just stood there, not stepping forward to defend her. "Slap!" Without a second thought, Amara slapped Giselle back. She had considered telling Tobias about how Giselle and Fiona had humiliated and abused her before. However, Tobias had always been indifferent towards her. She worried he would dislike her even more if she did so. 'He's never going to stand up for me. I have to protect myself!' Amara realized it bitterly. "Amara! What the hell are you doing!" Tobias yelled angrily. He believed this was the first time his mother had ever hit Amara. How could Amara hurt his mother? "This is just the first time I've fought back. Compared to the humiliation I've endured before, she still owed me a lot," Amara said with a cold laugh, her gaze unflinching. "You mean, my mother often hit you before?" Tobias frowned. He knew his mother disliked Amara, but he believed his mother was a kind-hearted woman. She may regard Amara as a gold-digger and be cold to her, but she would never lay a finger on Amara. "You bitch! How dare you hit my mom!" Fiona wanted to cover the truth, so she shrieked and tried to slap Amara again, but Tobias grabbed her arm. "Enough! We're in the office! Do you want the employees to see our family's embarrassment?!" "Brother, you're actually defending Amara? This crazy woman hit Mom, we should send her to jail!" Fiona roared, waving her arms, still wanting to scratch Amara's face. "Security!" Tobias called for security. His business partner, Timothy Carson, was still present. He wouldn't let his partner use this as leverage to lower prices. "Mr. Larsen, is this how you manage your family? Letting your mother and sister bully your wife?" Timothy Carson, who had been quietly watching, finally frowned. He had recognized Amara at first glance. Her grandfather was his good friend. Although Amara had been missing for six years, he still recognized her instantly because his friend always mentioned her. But he guessed his friend never imagined his beloved granddaughter - Amara - would end up in such a miserable marriage. Did the Larsen family know what they were doing? Who gave them the audacity to bully the only daughter of the Crawford family? If Elvis Crawford knew about this, he would tear them apart! "No wonder this lady wants to divorce you," Timothy snorted. "I need to reconsider our partnership with your company." His words made Fiona and Giselle panic, their faces frozen in shock as they nervously looked at Tobias, whose face turned pale. Tobias was displeased that his business partner was interfering in his family matters, but he recalled Amara's words. He looked at his mother and sister. "Leave here right now, or I'll cut off your financial resources." Giselle and Fiona kept cursing Amara as a bitch and left in anger. Amara swas confused about why Tobias defended her. Perhaps, he only cared about the company's reputation. Recalling her purpose for coming here, Amara said to Tobias, "Don't forget to attend the hearing on Monday morning. Besides that, I don't want to see anyone from the Larsen family. Not even a minute." As Amara was about to leave, Tobias grabbed her arm. Seeing the clear handprint on her cheek, a flicker of guilt passed through him. He said in a fake nice tone, "Go to my office, there's ointment there." "No need," Amara brushed off Tobias' hand coldly. "Please drop the act. The only thing you need to do is to finalize our divorce!" After that, she left without waiting for Tobias to respond. "Amara...where are you going? Need a ride?" Timothy called as she stood by the road. Amara immediately recognized her grandfather's old friend. But she declined his kindness, asking Timothy not to tell her grandfather about her ordeal. Her car arrived, and as soon as she got in, she hacked into Tobias' computer with her phone. Then she used Tobias' email to send that intimate photo of him and Celestine to an entertainment newspaper. She was certain Tobias would agree to the divorce after this. —— In the office, Tobias stared at the divorce agreement. She didn't want a single penny from him, which surprised the lawyer who reviewed it. However, he believed things wouldn't be that simple. He dialed the number of his private investigator, James. The phone was answered immediately. “Sir?” “Your twenty-four hours expired yesterday as of nine p.m. James. Are you testing my patience or have you just grown tired of the things you’ve built here in London?” “N-no. It’s nothing like that, Mr. Larsen. Please forgive me for not calling sooner, but…” James hesitated. “But?” “I… ran into a little trouble while gathering data on Mrs. Larsen-“ “What trouble did you run into?” “The more serious data of Ms. Amara is being heavily guarded!” James quickly admitted. Tobias couldn’t stop his brows from creasing. “What?” “It’s just as you heard, Mr. Larsen. Some mysterious power is protecting the information of Ms. Larsen. But don’t worry Mr. Larsen, I can-“ Tobias hung up before James could finish what he was saying and slammed his phone down on the table. Incompetent! He thought. All of them were fucking incompetent. Give them one job and they fucking fail at it! The entire thing was starting to get on his nerves. Failing to acquire Melanie’s company and now information on Amara. He glanced at the brown envelope on his table, containing the contents of his divorce papers and glared at it. Everything was getting on his fucking nerves. Why did things keep going wrong after he asked for a divorce? “How much have you been fcking hiding from me, Amara?!”