Chapter 7

In the ward, the sickly Nigel immediately looked energetic again the moment he saw Bella. His eyes lit up. “Anna! Come to Grandpa!” Bella switched her persona in a split second and sat obediently next to Nigel. “Grandpa, how are you feeling? Do you have any discomfort?” “I feel much better now that I can see you!” Nigel held her hand and asked anxiously, “Anna, this punk told me that you two are divorced. Is it true?” “Yes, Grandpa. We are divorced.” Bella’s long eyelashes trembled, and her heart felt empty. “Justin, you imbecile! Why would you divorce such a good wife?! Anna is the best there is!” Nigel struggled to sit up, and he glared at Justin. Justin was worried about his grandfather’s health and dared not retort. “Grandpa, please don’t get mad. I didn’t want to continue this marriage, and Justin went along with it.” Bella comforted Nigel in a soft voice and gently patted the old man’s back. Justin was shocked that Bella did not complain to his grandfather or use his grandfather to get her revenge on him. He thought, ‘Was she trying to use an unconventional way to capture my heart and save our marriage? Did she think that I would be attracted to her?’ “Anna, did they bully you at home? Did Shannon treat you badly?” Nigel asked in distress. “No, Grandpa. Justin and I just have different views. We don’t love each other, so it’s in both our interests to go our separate ways.” Bella’s bright eyes held a hint of grief. “Don’t blame Justin. We’ve had some wonderful memories over the past three years, and that’s enough. I don’t have any regrets.” Justin frowned as he felt a surge of mixed emotions. He did not recall having any good memories with Anna. They did not even have a wedding when they got married. They only got their marriage license hastily at Nigel’s insistence. Then she moved into Tideview Manor with a small suitcase. Just like that, she became his wife for three years. Did she really have wonderful memories with him? She was probably saying the exact opposite. “Anna… Did I make a mistake?” Nigel’s eyes were watery as he sighed in remorse. “I really wanted you to be happy. That’s why I insisted that the two of you get married. I didn’t expect this punk to be so rude! I’m so sorry...” “Don’t say that, Grandpa. Everything happens for a reason. I’ve let the past go completely.” Bella let go of 13 years of infatuation. Only God knew how much it hurt her. Justin was determined to get a divorce. If she kept pestering him, she would only lose her dignity. Bella did not want to turn into a resentful woman just to win over a man’s heart. “Matt, bring me the birthday gift I prepared for my granddaughter-in-law!” Matt quickly put on some white gloves and took out an exquisite red velvet jewelry box. He opened the box to reveal an exquisite emerald-green jade bracelet. Bella knew how to appraise treasures, so she could tell at a glance that this jade was an antique that was at least a hundred years old. “Grandpa, isn’t this Grandma’s...?” Justin was stunned to see the bracelet. “Yes, this is the bracelet I gave your grandmother back when we first started dating. It’s a family heirloom that was passed down from your great-grandfather.” As Nigel spoke, he picked up the bracelet and looked at it under the light. His gaze softened as he continued, “Your grandmother told me that this was her favorite jade bracelet among all her jewelry. She hoped that I could give this bracelet to my favorite granddaughter-in-law. Now that your grandmother is gone, I want to give this to my favorite girl, Anna. Only she deserves this treasure.” “No, Grandpa! This is too expensive. Not to mention, I’m no longer Justin’s wife.” Bella refused in a panic. “Even if you and Justin are no longer together, you are still the only granddaughter-in-law that I will ever acknowledge!” When Nigel saw Bella’s refusal, he immediately pretended to get angry and said, “Fine. If you don’t want it, I’ll just break it!” “No, no!” Bella hurriedly grabbed Nigel’s raised hand. Her heart trembled with fear. “I’ll take it, Grandpa! Thank you.” “That’s my girl!” Nigel slipped the bracelet onto Bella’s wrist. Bella had fair and smooth skin. The translucent emerald-green stone made her skin glow brighter. Justin had never noticed her hands. Now that he was staring at the bracelet, he noticed that her skin was soft and fair. It was not at all dulled by the bracelet. Her hand was indeed beautiful. “Punk, what did you give Anna for her birthday?” Nigel asked angrily. “Grandpa, Justin gave me an unforgettable gift.” Justin secretly clenched his fists and pressed his thin lips so hard that they turned white. On her birthday, he did give her a big “gift”—the divorce papers. Justin thought, ‘Anna is certainly great at mocking me!’ “Anna, are you and Justin really over? You can’t get back together?” Nigel still refused to give up. “Grandpa…” Bella gently held Nigel’s wrinkled hand. “If you really love me, you should support me and let me live the life I want.” “Sigh! Since it has come to this, there is nothing that I can do. I just have one small request. Can you wait until after my 80th birthday to finalize the divorce? It’s only a slight delay…” Nigel tried his best to keep Anna around because he was extremely reluctant to give up such a brilliant granddaughter-in-law. “Grandpa, this is inappropriate.” Justin frowned and spoke decisively. “Why is it inappropriate? Is it only appropriate if you bring that Rosalind girl over to me and force me to acknowledge her as my granddaughter-in-law at my 80th birthday party?! Rosalind and Shannon think that they can do whatever they want because they’ve got you and your father whipped! They can dream on!” Nigel was so angry that he pounded the bed. “If you still respect me as your grandfather and want me to live for another two more years, you’d best stay away from that bitch! I will never acknowledge her as my granddaughter-in-law!” ...... Outside the door, Rosalind paced around anxiously. She gritted her teeth and stomped her feet in anger. “Stop pacing around! I’m feeling dizzy just looking at you.” Shannon rubbed her temples and shook her head. “You need to be more patient. You know that Nigel doesn’t like you. How long will he be able to call the shots when he already has a foot in the grave? You just need to put up with him for a while and keep Justin’s heart.” “Yeah, but if that old man doesn’t die, I can’t marry Justin because that old fart will never recognize me as part of the Salvador family!” Rosalind quickly covered her mouth and looked around nervously when she realized she had a slip of the tongue. “Back then, he also refused to accept me, but what could he do? In the end, I still married Gregory.” Shannon admired her newly-done manicure. “Humans are emotional beings. Justin is his grandson, so as long as Justin insists on you, you don’t need to care what that old man thinks.” Rosalind thought what her aunt said made sense and finally calmed down. At this time, the door to the ward opened. Matt sent Justin and Bella out. Rosalind hurriedly hid her scheming expression and stepped forward, looking meek. She was shocked to see the jade bracelet on Bella’s wrist. It was so beautiful that she could not take her eyes away. It was so much nicer than the so-called family heirloom she was wearing at the moment. Bella did not wear this bracelet when she went into the ward. Who else could have given it to her if not that old man? Rosalind was so jealous that she could barely think straight. She suddenly had a wicked thought. She walked in front of Bella and pretended to slip. “Ah!” Rosalind wanted to pretend that she had slipped and fallen on Bella so that she could pull out Bella’s bracelet and break it. However, Bella squinted her eyes and gracefully avoided Rosalind, so Rosalind fell flat on the floor. Suddenly, Rosalind heard a crisp clink. Rosalind’s bracelet had broken into two pieces.