Chapter 2

In the living room of the Donovan residence, Ethan rolled a white suitcase up to Grace. "Grab your stuff and go be with that loser you're always hung up on." Ethan crossed his arms, his tone downright rude. "Ethan, don't send Mommy away," Clara whimpered. She knew Grace might really go and never come back. Clara clung to the suitcase that was even taller than she was. Her round eyes were brimming with tears, looking heart-wrenchingly sad. "Mommy, please don't leave." Ethan yanked Clara away. "She never wastes a single tear on us! She only cries for that creep! Don't beg her!" Adrian said, "Nora, take Ethan and Clara upstairs to rest." Once Nora Danniel led the children away, Adrian passed a document folder to Grace. When she opened it, she found eight separate pieces of real estate, dozens of luxury cars, and one billion in stocks. It was more than enough for Grace to splurge on for the rest of her life. "These are your divorce settlement assets. If you have no objections, sign the agreement," Adrian said coldly, his eyes showing no emotion. Grace couldn't understand. What on earth had gone wrong in her future self's head? She had a husband who was willing to hand over an enormous fortune, yet she'd chosen that broke, unfaithful man instead. She picked up the pen, then slowly set it back down. Lifting her eyes, she looked at the cold, distant man in front of her. Her voice turned soft, almost coy. "Honey, I'm hungry." "What did you just call me?" Surprise flickered across Adrian's face. In all six years of their marriage, she had only ever looked at him with disgust and hatred. The words she used most often with him were "get lost". Yet now, she was acting all sweet and calling him honey. "Yeah, honey," Grace said again. "Even if we're getting divorced tomorrow, you're my husband right now." The hope in Adrian's eyes faded again. What was he even expecting? That she'd somehow change for him? It was too bad she'd only ever change for Jesse. "Grace, stop wasting your time. I'm never letting you use Clara's bone marrow to save Jesse's daughter." He assumed all her changes were for Jesse's sake. Grace tried to explain herself, but he got up and walked out. She sighed deeply and slumped her chin on the table, recalling what Sabrina had told her. "For six years, Adrian put up with everything you did. If you just say a few nice words to him now, there's no way he'll still go through with the divorce." She thought about Adrian's frosty gaze as well as her son's open animosity, and she let out another sigh. "Guess he's not that easy to coax..." She hadn't even finished her thought. All of a sudden, a steaming bowl of pasta landed right in front of her. Grace looked up and saw Adrian standing there. He was so striking that even the overhead lights seemed to pale by comparison. Whether as a young man or the man he was now, Adrian always took her breath away. Grace thought to herself that, despite his cold words, his actions said it all. After all, he had gone and made her a bowl of pasta to eat. She beamed as she reached out for the bowl, but he simply said, "Eat and then go." His voice was distant, as if he were ushering her out. Grace realized she'd been reading too much into it. After he spoke, his phone suddenly rang. Adrian got to his feet and headed out to the garden to take the call. Grace was actually starving, so she finished the bowl of pasta in just six minutes. After that, she started feeling sleepy. She decided to doze off right there, figuring Adrian wouldn't be able to send her away if she was asleep. About 20 minutes later, Adrian came back, instinctively looking toward the living room. Everything looked neat. No shattered bowls, no chaos. The bowl of pasta had been completely finished. On the couch, Grace was asleep, her face serene and lovely. Adrian spaced out for a moment. This all seemed too surreal, like a dream he'd dared to have countless times before. He remembered how Grace used to toss aside any food he made for her, calling him "nasty" and "full of himself". He grabbed a blanket and gently placed it over Grace. His eyes showed a longing he kept tightly under wraps. "Grace, for the sake of the kids, I can't let you trick me again." ... Grace had a really sound nap. When she was awakened, she saw Ethan glaring at her with reddened eyes, his little fists balled up tight. "Grace, where is Clara?" Grace hadn't even gathered her wits before Ethan flung a piece of paper at her. On it was Clara's handwriting. "Ethan, I won't let Mommy leave Daddy or leave us. I'm going to save our family!"