Chapter 4 Filing for Divorce!

Anna lowered her gaze. Last night had been the most reckless and daring experience of her 27 years of life-a thrilling adventure that let her taste the joys of being a woman.

But this path had deviated from its course, and she needed to return to the right track.

"Sarah, don't overthink it. No matter who he is, we won't cross paths again," Anna said casually, taking a sip of her coffee.

Sarah gave her a disapproving look and scoffed, "You seemed pretty satisfied with him. Why not find him and keep him around for a while? You don't want to be celibate for too long-hormonal imbalance is no joke. Trust me, men are the best skincare product."

Anna nearly choked on her coffee. "I haven't even divorced Albert yet! Besides, if I do that, how am I any different from him?"

Sarah rolled her eyes. "How is this the same? He betrayed your marriage first. At most, this is just payback. Since you're going to get divorced anyway, why worry so much? Come on, girl, don't shortchange yourself. Think big-limitless happiness awaits!"

"I just want to divorce him as soon as possible. I'm not considering anything else for now."

Seeing how reluctant Anna was, Sarah knew that last night's one-night stand was already pushing her limits.

She sighed and shook her head. "Alright, I won't push it. But if he was as outstanding as you say, he's probably not lacking female attention. Maybe he's already being kept by some rich woman. Good men don't stay on the market for long."

Anna fell silent. The thought of that man being intimate with another woman made her feel strangely uncomfortable.

Sarah was about to say more when her phone rang. She glanced at it and smacked her forehead in frustration. "Anna, I was so caught up worrying about you that I completely forgot I have an important match today. We'll talk later."

Before Anna could respond, Sarah dashed off.

Sarah's fiery personality was nothing new to Anna. Watching her friend disappear, she hailed a cab back to Imperial Building.

Imperial Building was a newly developed luxury complex in Miami, built just eight years ago. It was part of The Smith family's real estate empire.

Anna owned three properties in total. One was a standalone villa that Baron had gifted her when she came of age; after The Jones family went bankrupt, Reese and Eric moved in. The other two high-end apartments in Imperial Building were gifts from Alan before she married Albert-a show of sincerity, with the ownership under her name.

The apartments were fully furnished, but dust had accumulated from months of neglect. Anna hired a cleaning service, then went shopping for daily necessities before officially moving in.

Standing in the hallway, she looked at the two apartments on either side of her and chuckled self-mockingly. "Even if love is gone, at least I still have real estate. That's not too bad, I guess."

Once she was settled, she took a taxi to the law firm.

-

Albert stumbled home drunk in the early hours of the morning. His gaze instinctively swept toward the dining table, searching for something. When he found it empty, he realized Anna was long gone.

He let out a cold laugh, his eyes filled with mockery.

So, after filing for divorce and seeing him ignore her, she decided to pull a disappearing act? In the end, she just wanted him to lower his pride and coax her back.

He wasn't going to bother. Give it a few days, and she'd come crawling back on her own.

After taking a shower, he collapsed into bed and fell into a deep sleep.

By morning, his throat was parched. He instinctively reached out for his water glass-only to grab at thin air.

Reality hit him-Anna wasn't here. No one had prepared his hangover tea.

Feeling hungry, he went downstairs, only to be greeted by an empty dining table. His face darkened instantly.

If she wanted a divorce, fine. But she better not come back.

He called his secretary, Colin, instructing him to order breakfast and hire a housekeeper from an agency.

When he arrived at the office, he saw a divorce agreement delivered via express courier sitting on his desk. His expression turned cold.

He had long grown tired of Anna. Divorce wasn't an issue for him-but the timing wasn't right. Internal conflicts within The Smith family were intense, and his ambitious cousin was still challenging his authority. His position as president was far from secure.

His status had been granted by his grandfather's favor. And Anna? She was the old man's favorite. She was even more valued than Albert himself. Before their marriage, his grandfather had warned him: no divorce-ever. Otherwise, he would lose everything.

Besides, even if there was to be a divorce, it wasn't up to Anna, a discarded woman, to initiate it!

Without even looking at the document, Albert tossed the divorce papers straight into the trash.

He opened the breakfast Colin had ordered, took one bite, and immediately spat it out. He sipped the seafood porridge, then froze.

His face twisted in disgust as he flung the bowl into the trash.

"How dare you bring me something this disgusting?" he snapped.

"President Smith, I followed your instructions exactly. Vienna Restaurant is a century-old establishment. Their food should be quite good," Colin explained cautiously.

Albert scoffed. "You call this good? The porridge is fishy and thick-it scratches my throat going down. And the taste is completely off. Get something else." His tone was laced with irritation.

Colin was at a loss. Albert had always been busy with work, and Mrs. Smith had taken it upon herself to personally deliver meals every day. Her cooking was different-take her millet porridge, for example. She added goji berries, red dates, sea cucumber, lily bulbs, coix seeds, shredded chicken-more than a dozen ingredients. It probably took hours of slow simmering to perfect.

Where could he possibly buy something like that?

But seeing Albert's foul mood, Colin didn't dare argue. He forced a smile and asked cautiously, "President Smith, aside from porridge, would you like anything else?"

Albert flipped through the files on his desk, his voice slightly calmer. "Forget it. Just get me a cup of coffee."

Colin wiped his sweaty palms and hesitantly said, "Uh... the coffee beans Mrs. Smith sent are all gone. Should I use the ones from the office break room?"

With a loud bang, Albert slammed the file onto the desk.

"Get out. Have them redo this document! If they mess up again, fire them all!"

Colin quickly picked up the scattered papers and backed away.

Just as he reached the door, Albert's cold voice stopped him. "Wait. Find me a proper chef. Someone who can make porridge."

Colin nodded hastily and left.

Outside the office, he muttered under his breath, "Turns out my job wasn't easy-it was just Mrs. Smith doing too much for me."

-

After lunch, Anna checked her phone. Still no response from Albert.

Recalling what her lawyer had told her, she opened the mysterious account again.

Her eyes flickered with thought. The account's owner likely wasn't Alice, the rising star who had been in the private room that night.

If it were Alice, and Anna exposed the evidence to Albert or the media, the actress's pure and delicate public image would be ruined.

Albert might even resent her, which could destroy her career altogether.

In the entertainment industry, only the shrewdest survive.

Anna's thoughts drifted.

Could there be another woman by Albert's side?

Who was trying to use her to eliminate Albert's other lovers?