CHAPTER 96: CHAPTER 96: CAN’T WE JUST NOT GET DIVORCED?

Serena staggered and thought Caleb was going to push her off the building, breaking out in a cold sweat.

However, Caleb quickly held her and wrapped her tightly in his arms.

Serena was stunned, her heart pounding.

Caleb’s embrace always had the pleasant scent of men’s perfume.

And it was the same now.

But he had changed his perfume.

This one now smelled more like melting glacier snow, crisp and sharp, with a seductive and dangerous scent in the later notes.

Serena knew very well that her accelerated heartbeat was not because of Caleb’s embrace.

It was the lingering fear and unsettled nerves.

Caleb held her, still standing at the edge of the rooftop, only one wrong step or imbalance away from them both falling off together.

Falling from the 80th floor to the ground, turning into pulp.

Serena dared not move recklessly and had no choice but to let Caleb hold her.

The wind grew stronger.

Yet time seemed to slow down.

"Is this the outcome you wanted?"

Caleb’s cold voice seemed capable of scraping off a layer of frost.

Serena didn’t answer.

"Filing for divorce, causing the Lockwood Group’s market value to evaporate, forcing its employees to jump off buildings."

Before Caleb finished speaking, Serena suddenly pushed him away.

Caleb felt a jolt in his chest and reflexively grabbed Serena’s hand.

Pushing and shoving on the rooftop edge did seem like a death wish, but Serena was infuriated by Caleb’s accusation.

"How would forcing your employees to jump off benefit me? If I were to force anyone, it should be you jumping!"

Caleb shrugged with a smile as he watched Serena bristled like an angry cat.

"Angry words? Or truth?"

"Truth."

After Serena spoke, seeing Caleb smile even more, she knew Caleb certainly didn’t believe her.

"Regardless of your intentions or who leaked it, as long as we reach the stage of filing for divorce, we’ll face such consequences... Serena, the one who jumped today, Jordan Sanders, is a relative of Mr. Miller..."

Serena’s eyes widened.

"Fortunately, he was saved, but... those laid off, those with their salaries halved, those demoted, aren’t just Jordan... How many employees are affected by the Lockwood Group’s trouble, and how many families are involved? Have you thought about it?"

"So what exactly are you trying to say? You’re saying this is all my fault, aren’t you?"

"Can’t we not divorce?"

Caleb’s words still carried a faint tone, yet they weren’t as cold or assertive as usual.

For a moment, it even gave Serena the illusion that Caleb was pleading with her.

The cooling evening wind lingered between the two, stealing away each other’s warmth.

Serena clenched her fists.

Once, she never thought she and Caleb would end up like this.

At least, back when she married Caleb, she never thought it would come to this.

"Everything started when Claire Shaw returned to the country, and from the moment I miscarried... you should have realized, this marriage... must end."

Serena looked at Caleb, at the face before her, more mature and handsome than she remembered.

Perhaps the wrong one was her!

She fell too deep.

Placed too much weight on youthful promises and agreements, on the emotions and sweetness of first love.

To this day, the filter of the young man who risked everything for her in the juvenile detention center hasn’t completely shattered.

Yet the girl from the detention center had long disappeared from Caleb’s river of memories.

"We can divorce, but not now, and not through litigation."

Caleb’s voice, back to its cold tone, pulled Serena from the past to the present.

"If it weren’t for you asking for an exorbitant 30 billion, I wouldn’t have resorted to such measures."

Serena didn’t want to take the blame for everything.

"I’m a businesswoman; pursuing profit and being calculative is my nature."

Serena was too lazy to argue with Caleb, knowing Caleb always believed whatever he did was right, with full justification.

"I think it’s better to cut the pain short rather than suffer indefinitely. Let’s take this chance, with all this commotion, and get divorced. Your parents surely think so too."

After the incident, Arthur Lockwood indeed sought out Caleb, telling him that the Lockwood Family couldn’t keep a daughter-in-law who constantly threatened divorce, causing billions to evaporate from the family’s market value.

Caleb and Serena stood on the rooftop, buffeted by the cold wind, leaving their hair a bit messy.

Serena thought her mind was relatively clear.

Whether Caleb was calm or not, she couldn’t tell.

"Caleb Lockwood, I can withdraw the lawsuit, but you have to redo the divorce agreement. I don’t want your money, just don’t make me pay any compensation."

"Alright."

Caleb agreed more readily than she imagined.

"Once the Lockwood Group’s stock price stabilizes, we’ll visit the civil affairs office."

This time, Serena noticed Caleb hesitated slightly, not responding as quickly as before.

"Okay."

Seeing Caleb still agree, Serena breathed a sigh of relief.

Feeling nothing more needed to be discussed with Caleb, Serena turned to leave.

"Serena..."

Caleb’s calm voice came from behind her.

"Your reason for wanting a divorce at any cost... Besides Claire Shaw and the child, is there another reason?"

Serena’s footsteps froze.

She took a deep breath.

"Because you don’t love me."

The tail end of her words trembled a bit, and Serena’s heart trembled along.

The divorce was indeed what she wanted.

But in the game of love, she lost completely.

"Understood."

Caleb only said those three words to her.

Hot topics arise quickly and disappear just as swiftly.

But the dire effect had already been caused, and even though the Lockwood Group conducted urgent PR to refute rumors, the stock price couldn’t return to its original height immediately.

No more jumping from buildings was already a blessing amidst misfortune.

Claire Shaw didn’t get the news of Caleb and Serena’s divorce but received a message from joker.

He would temporarily lay low.

Because Caleb had already found out that this matter was secretly manipulated by a foreign company.

Lockwood Group.

General Manager’s office.

Claire Shaw walked in carrying two thermoses.

"Caleb, I’m here..."

Seeing Claire Shaw, Caleb’s icy expression eased a bit.

He knew Claire Shaw came to bring him food and medicine.

Since the Lockwood Group was thrust into the spotlight, Claire Shaw had been delivering meals for Caleb three times a day.

Everything she brought was homemade Chinese cuisine and herbal remedies specially prepared by Claire Shaw.

"You’ve been exhausted these days; eating out is unhealthy and unhygienic, don’t ruin your stomach, home-cooked is better."

Claire Shaw said as she took out the food one by one.

"You’re the one who’s been working hard these days."

After Caleb spoke, he saw Claire Shaw’s eyes redden.

"All this effort is nothing compared to being gossiped about..."

The softer Claire Shaw’s voice became, the lower she bowed her head.

Caleb knew what Claire Shaw meant.

Though it didn’t escalate, there were indeed people online implying that Claire Shaw was his mistress during the marriage.

"Claire..."

Caleb’s calm voice made Claire Shaw look up.

Their eyes met.

"If I divorce Serena, I can give you a position..."