THE LOST HEIRESS RETURNS AFTER DIVORCE
Chapter 80: It doesn’t matter

Chapter 80: It doesn’t matter

Heather stood just outside the room, her eyes scanning the faces of the men seated inside.

She recognized them instantly. Weren’t these the same council members from the other day?

So this was the "surprise" Amaranth had mentioned?

It hadn’t even been two hours since she arrived, and they already wanted her to sign something—the ledger of inheritance.

She didn’t need to guess because she already knew exactly what was happening.

Behind her, she could hear Caius speaking in a low voice with his mother.

She couldn’t hear every word, but enough floated to her ears to piece things together.

"Why are you doing this today?" he asked.

"You know very well we have to do this," Amaranth replied.

"But does it have to be today, Mother?"

Of course it did. Of course they couldn’t wait.

Heather thought, for a second, about turning around. Maybe she could just walk away, go back to the bedroom, and lock the door behind her.

But then she reminded herself: the sooner she gave Caius what he wanted, the sooner she could leave. The sooner she could get her life back.

She never expected to be handed divorce papers the same day she arrived, but if that was how it was going to happen, she would sign them without blinking.

"You can come in," one of the councilmen called gently. She’d been standing there too long.

Heather stepped into the room. The large table in the middle held a thick document and a feathered pen.

The setup looked formal—almost ceremonial—but this time, she wasn’t nervous.

She wasn’t scared, neither was she going to fumble her words or second-guess herself.

"You already know how this goes," one of the men said, pushing the pen closer to her. "So we’ll get right to it."

She looked at the pen for a moment, then picked it up.

"Are you the wife of Caius Thorne?" another asked.

She paused, her hand still in midair. The answer made her stomach twist, but she said it anyway.

"Yes."

"You may proceed," Gerald.

She leaned over and signed her name on the document. That was it, no fanfare, no drama, just ink on paper.

It was done. Maybe she didn’t even know exactly what she signed, but she didn’t care. She had no intention of staying here longer than necessary.

"Well done," one of them said as he picked up the document and tucked it away.

Heather glanced around. The Thorne family was smiling. Why were they smiling? Because she had just handed them something valuable?

But she didn’t care. All she wanted was peace. These past few days, ever since Alex survived the brain tumor, she had been so happy.

Estelle whispered behind her. "Thank you, Heather. You don’t know what you’ve just done for this family." Then she turned and walked out of the room.

Heather followed shortly after. Even outside the room, the family was still celebrating. She could hear them laughing and clapping like they were about to throw a party.

Atleast she was done playing her part.

Caius was waiting just outside. He looked at her like he didn’t know what to say.

"I apologize," he said finally. "For all of that."

Heather raised an eyebrow. "Apologize for what?"

"I told them not to do it today. I told them to wait."

"But it still happened."

"It shouldn’t have." his said, jaw clenched.

"It doesn’t matter," she said, brushing past him.

"It does to me," he said, stepping beside her again. "They had no right pressuring you like that. You just got here."

She looked at him, and for a second, her eyes softened—but only for a second. "It’s fine. It actually made things easier."

Caius blinked. "Easier?"

She stopped walking and turned to face him. "When are you planning to give me the divorce papers?"

His face shifted, almost like he hadn’t heard her right.

Then he laughed.

It wasn’t loud, or mocking. It was confused. Something in his brain just couldn’t compute what she’d said.

She frowned, it wasn’t funny. She hadn’t said anything amusing. When he noticed she wasn’t laughing, his laughter stopped.

"You’re serious."

"Dead serious."

There was a long pause that made his eyebrows pull together, and he just stared at her, like she had grown another head.

"You think I’m going to divorce you?"

She didn’t answer.

"You’ve been waiting for it, haven’t you?" he said, as if something had finally clicked. "You’re just sitting here waiting for the moment I screw up again. Like before."

She didn’t have to be afraid of him. That’s what he wanted to say. But she didn’t look like she was afraid of him. She looked like she hated him.

And maybe that was worse.

"Caius, dear," his mother called out. "Would you be a love and bring Alex out for dinner?"

He nodded and left.

Amaranth turned to Heather. "Oh, dear, I have a surprise for you!"

Heather didn’t move. She was still looking at Caius, waiting for an answer he never gave.

She finally turned to Amaranth. "Wasn’t that"—she gestured toward the room she just left—"the surprise?"

"That?" Amaranth smiled. "What? No. Come on, I’ll show you. I think you’re going to love it."

She followed, Amaranth, who was already leading the way, though every part of her said she shouldn’t. She didn’t like surprises, she hated them.

They stopped at a large set of double doors. Two men in uniform stood guard. When they saw Amaranth, they bowed slightly and opened the doors wide.

She wasn’t going to like this. She knew it.

Inside the room sat her father. She hadn’t seen him in years, but there he was, one leg crossed neatly over the other, looking as smug and cold as ever.

And across from him, looking like a well-fed snake on the velvet armrest, was Evelyn.

Her father’s wife. The woman who had replaced her mother before the grave dirt had even dried.

And then there was Lauren. Beside her was a child, a little boy. He looked about the same age as Alex.

Heather almost laughed. She had to, it was either that or scream.

Wasn’t that the same child Lauren was pregnant for before she divorced Caius?

Bold enough for her to bring him here.

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