Exposing the Charade of Deep Affection (PDF)

Chapter 17 Mrs. Hinton Wants to See You

I stood still and looked at Walter in silence. At this point, I had no idea what he was thinking. At first, I thought that since he had risked his life for Ashley, he must have loved her so much, and he would definitely agree to divorce me and give Ashley a home. However, his aberration last night left me at a loss.

Seeing me standing still, he raised his eyebrows. "Today's sunrise is nice. Let's enjoy it before we head back."

Obviously, it was a notification instead of a question.

I took a silent look at the sun that had passed over the mountains. The bright morning light spread over me and kept me warm. I didn't know how long he was going to enjoy it, so I stood situ indifferently. Seeing that I did not move, he got up and walked towards me. Then he got in the car without glancing at me.

We didn't have much things to say. He drove the car in the direction of the city. All the way, neither of us said anything, and all we could hear was the sound of the wind outside the car brushing the trees. Seeing him drive the car in the direction of Water Villa, I frowned. "Pull over and let me down. I..."

"It's too early to go to work. Go back and sleep for a while longer," he said in a calm, magnetic voice.

"No need. I'll rest at Rachel's place." I didn't know what his plan was. No matter how he wanted to deal with Ashley, I had no intention of going back to Water Villa at all.

As we spoke, he had already parked outside the villa. Roy had a suitcase in his hand, which seemed familiar. Before I could ask, he looked at Walter and said, "Mr. Hinton, Mrs. Hinton's things have been taken back."

Walter nodded and looked at him. "Put them inside."

Roy nodded and carried the suitcase inside the villa.

I frowned and looked at Walter with great dissatisfaction. "You took my stuff back without my permission. This is how you handle it?"

He looked at me, saying in a low and calm voice, "You want Grandma to step in?"

I choked on his words. Indeed, if Carley knew that I had moved out, the fact that Ashley was pregnant and I wanted a divorce would be exposed soon, and not long after, the Conner family would all know. I took a breath, gave in, said no more, and went into the villa.

We were both in the villa. He didn't seem to be in a hurry to go to work. Instead, he was sitting in the living room with a cup of coffee. When I saw that he wasn't going to leave, I went up to him and said, "Walter, I don't want to put myself in a bad relationship. I don't care what you think. I insist on divorcing you. I hope that for the sake of our two years together, you will respect my choice."

He put down the cup and looked at me without blinking. Then he said in a tone that was the earnest than ever, "I won't divorce you, and you don't need to suffer any grievance. Tabatha, in our marriage, you get to be the same person as before. You will always be the granddaughter-in-law of the Hinton family, and you will always be my wife. You can continue to be arrogant and be yourself, no matter who you are facing."

Then he paused and continued, "About Ashley's pregnancy, I will make things right."

I had no idea what he meant by this, but the firmness of his gaze made me believe him for a moment. I had not slept well the night before, and perhaps my mind was confused, so I could not find a response to his words. I went back to the room in silence, wanting to go to sleep.

I didn't wake up till dusk. When I went downstairs, I saw Roy. I frowned. Was he waiting for me?

Seeing me, Roy said, "Mrs. Hinton, you're awake."

I looked at him. "What's wrong?"

He hesitated for a moment, and then he looked outside and said, "Those from the old home have sent Dale over to pick you up.”

"The old home?" After a few seconds of confusion, I looked out and saw that Dale's car was parked outside indeed. Dale seemed to have been waiting a while.

Roy nodded without saying anything anymore.

I didn't know what they wanted, yet I didn't ask more. I said, "Where's Walter?"

"Mr. Hinton has gone out on business," Roy answered and then paused. Then he added, "He asked me to stay here. You can tell me if you need anything."

I nodded, found a coat, and left.

Dale was waiting outside. When he saw me out, he greeted me with his usual smile. After a brief chat, he motioned for me to get into the car.

I asked him why I was wanted at the old home, yet he just smiled, "Mrs. Hinton wanted to see you. I don't know the details."

I nodded and got into the car.