Chapter 1 1

In the middle of the night, the villa area of Los Angeles, California, was brightly lit. The Christmas trees in front of each house made the villa area look much more welcoming. A little white snow fell slowly from the sky. The whole area was as beautiful as a painting, except for the Steel family's villa, which was out of place in this scene.

It was a little difficult to see Astrid's face clearly; she only saw the piece of paper in front of her, the words that said "DIVORCE AGREEMENT" stinging her beautiful green eyes.

In front of her was the firm body and handsome face, the man who still made her heart ache, the man who took over every cell in her body the moment they met.

It took her a while to gather the courage to speak.

"Why?" She forced a trembling voice to ask Joshua. She didn't even have the courage to look at him, so she just kept her head bowed in silence.

He pierced her with a cold stare. "It was my grandfather who forced me to marry you in the first place, and now that my grandfather has died, there is no need for you to stay with me."

Astrid's breath seemed to catch in her throat at that moment, and she looked at Joshua pleadingly. "Don't leave me."

When she saw Joshua's cold face, her nose hurt. Although Joshua was indifferent, he had never looked at her so coldly, as if he were looking at a toy he was tired of. She could even say she saw something like disgust in his beautiful eyes.

Astrid tried to hold back her tears.

Joshua had told her he hated it when she cried, but no matter how hard she resisted, her eyes remained red. She hugged Joshua's thin waist tightly, fearing that if she let go, she would lose him forever.

"Please don't leave me," Astrid looked at Joshua pleadingly, like an abandoned cat. How she wished this were a nightmare, that Joshua would rub her cheeks and say it was a joke and that he had lied to her.

For three years, Joshua Steel had never asked for her opinion. She had obediently listened to Joshua's every command, even if she didn't like something; as long as Joshua liked it, she would do it for him.

And this time, she didn't want to listen to Joshua's orders either. This was the first time she had tried to resist Joshua, even though he made a disgusted expression. She forcefully broke free from the arms around her waist. This sudden force was like trying to break Astrid's arms, so Joshua spoke in an extremely cold tone, "You have no right to refuse!" Ignoring Astrid's plea, he forced the pen into her hand.

A tear fell on the divorce agreement, and Astrid's tears finally flowed down her cheeks as she looked at Joshua's clear name on the divorce agreement, a name that made her heart ache so much she could barely breathe. The pen was smooth, and she almost signed her name without hesitation. Joshua, the man she had loved for three years, said he didn't want her.

No, she mustn't let this happen. Joshua was her life. She couldn't imagine a day without Joshua, even if he didn't like her.

Only this time, she couldn't listen to Joshua.

"I'm sorry!" As if it were her last fight, Astrid reached out and grabbed the divorce agreement, quickly crumpling it into a ball and putting it in her mouth. She really couldn't think of any other way to keep Joshua from leaving, could she?

Joshua was a man of his word, and as far as she knew, he would definitely force her to sign the divorce agreement tonight. Even if he had to tie her up, he would make her sign it.

The sharp edge of the paper ball cut Astrid's throat, and she swallowed it with pain, but it was nothing compared to the pain she felt in her heart.

The dim light prevented Joshua from reacting to Astrid's action. By the time he heard the sound of the crumpled paper ball, it was already too late. Astrid swallowed the paper ball one step faster than him. If this had been a normal action, he would have reacted in an instant to snatch the agreement in advance.

However, Astrid's behavior did not surprise Joshua. After all, for three years, no matter what he said, even if it was an unreasonable request, Astrid would always unconditionally obey his orders. "Damn it! Spit it out! Spit it out, do it for me!" He looked at Astrid's clear face, a face that resembled someone he hadn't seen in a long time but would never forget.

"I won't spit it out! I don't want to divorce you." Astrid gathered her courage to look at Joshua, her heart beating fast. This was her last chance, even if she could only look at Joshua in the future. Even if Joshua hated her in the future, she didn't want to divorce him. Anyway, Joshua didn't like her in the first place, so it wasn't that bad.

Looking into Astrid's tearful and stubborn eyes, Joshua slowly lowered his raised hand and sighed.

He looked deeply at Astrid and walked up the stairs without looking back.

Seeing his figure disappear, Astrid exhaled a sigh of relief.

The dim light suddenly reminded her of the day Joshua proposed to her, the day he told her she would stay with him for the rest of her life.

No, she would never agree to divorce him; she couldn't live without Joshua.

Astrid got up and quietly climbed the stairs, stopping at Joshua's door. She didn't dare knock; she was panicked, afraid to see Joshua's eyes filled with contempt again.

After a long time, she finally gathered her courage and reached for the doorknob. Just then, the door suddenly opened.

In a second, her own body lost its weight, and the next, she was immobilized by Joshua. "Are you still so eager to throw yourself into my arms even though you're getting divorced?" Then Joshua snorted coldly, "Since you want it so badly, then I'll satisfy you!" Joshua didn't give her time to react. In an instant, pain and pleasure coursed through her entire body. The raw flesh hurt so much that she couldn't move. She could only grab the sheet tightly and take it all in. She liked it even though it hurt her.

"I didn't expect it to be so bad for you," Joshua's frivolous tone sounded from behind Astrid. Astrid wanted to say that it wasn't like that, but Joshua's next thrust only made her clench her teeth. She didn't want to moan and make Joshua feel disgusted. She was afraid, afraid that if she made a noise at that moment, Joshua would leave her behind without a second thought.

"Lin..." Joshua suddenly said softly a name unfamiliar to Astrid. Astrid just listened quietly, not daring to ask who it was. She was afraid of crying again. If she did at this moment, Joshua would definitely never do anything like this with her again in the future.

After Joshua calmed down, she tried to hug him from behind, but he got up and, in a still cold tone, said, "Go back to your room to sleep." With that, he went into the bathroom.

It wasn't until she heard the sound of water that Astrid knew it was time to go back. It didn't matter if he left her like this; as long as she didn't divorce him, she could endure anything.