No Wife, No Life Chapter 35

There was a brief silence on the other end of the line.

Then Alex's voice got even colder. "Yeah, I know. The lawyer said it'll take at least two weeks because of the asset redistribution."

He took a beat, then asked, "Can't wait to find a new boyfriend, huh?"

Harper felt her heart clench but didn't want to explain further. She just said, "Just let me know when you're ready."

With that, she hung up.

Afterward, she picked up her phone and started snapping pictures of everything in the room.

"Before the papers are signed, not a single thing here can go missing." Her voice was icy, like it could freeze the air, "Otherwise, I won't let you off the hook!"

She walked past them without even a glance.

Her footsteps gradually faded away.

Emily angrily kicked the door.

"Dad, did you see how arrogant she is?"

Brad frowned, saying nothing, lost in thought.

Emily stomped her foot in frustration. "Dad!"

Brad looked up. "Emily, isn't your birthday coming up in a few days?"

Emily nodded, not understanding why he was bringing this up now.

Under the light, Brad's expression was hard to read.

"In three days, it's also that bitch's death anniversary. I want to celebrate your birthday early. By the way, invite Alex over. It's a good chance for everyone to get to know each other."

Emily's eyes lit up.

What a great idea!

The two of them left the room, closed the door, and went downstairs to make detailed plans, not going to bed until the early hours of the morning.

The next two days passed quietly.

Harper was busy meeting clients and rarely went back to the office, so she hardly saw Alex until that afternoon, Harper came to the office and knocked on the door of the CEO's office.

Inside, Alex was in a video conference.

She walked in quietly and pushed the documents in front of him.

Alex glanced at her but continued with his meeting.

Ten minutes later, the video conference ended.

"Mr. Lavien, the procurement contract is complete. Please review it when you have a moment." Her tone was calm, her expression indifferent.

Alex casually flipped through a couple of pages and was about to sign when he suddenly remembered something.

He looked up at her. "Tomorrow is Emily's birthday. You should come too."

His tone was commanding, not seeking her consent at all.

Harper's heart tightened.

Why tomorrow? And why should she attend Emily's birthday?

She smiled faintly, but her tone was cold. "Sorry, I have plans tomorrow. If you want to please her, send someone else."

She turned to leave, not wanting to say more.

Her cold attitude made him a bit frustrated.

"You're her sister. Why can't you just be nice to her?"

In the morning, Emily had come and persuaded him for a long time, saying tomorrow was her birthday and she hoped Alex would come to her place to celebrate. And her father also wanted to meet him formally.

He remembered he had promised her before to meet Brad for dinner. He had been too busy to arrange it during these days.

She claimed that she had spent her birthdays alone while she was abroad. Now that she was back, she really wanted him to attend her birthday party.

Feeling guilty, Alex agreed.

As for inviting Harper, he couldn't explain it, but he just wanted to.

Harper slowly turned around, her tone still calm.

"Why should I be nice to her? Because her mom took my dad away?"

Alex's heart skipped a beat.

"Mr. Lavien, we've been together for five years. Have you ever celebrated my birthday?" she asked. 

Every year on her birthday, she would text Alex.

[Alex, today is my birthday. Where should we go for dinner?'

And Alex would reply the same way and transfer the money to her.

[I'm busy. Buy whatever you need.]

For five years, he had transferred money five times, but she had always sent it back to his account.

"And now, you are celebrating Emily's birthday and even asking me to attend?"

Her green eyes stared at him, cold and distant. "Sorry, I'm not interested." 

With that, she turned to leave again.

"Then are you interested in First Love?" He asked.

She stopped again.

First Love, her mother's First Love, hadn't he given it to Emily?

He took out the box from the drawer and pushed it to the edge of the desk.

"If you attend Emily's birthday party, I'll give you back First Love."

He didn't want to admit that he had bought it because Harper liked it. And he had never intended to give it to Emily. 

The moment he knew that First Love was Harper's mother's keepsake, he decided to give it back to her as soon as possible. But he didn't mean to sound like a transaction. 

Seeing First Love, Harper walked over step by step, her smile growing colder.

"Why not? The item is more than worth it."

First Love was her mother's keepsake, of course, she wanted to keep it.

But for him, everything was a transaction, devoid of genuine feelings.

No, maybe he had genuine feelings, just not for her.

She grabbed the wooden box on the desk and said, "Deal. Don't worry, Mr. Lavien, I'll be there on time."

She clutched the box tightly and left quickly.

That day, she left work early and went to buy flowers and offerings.

She knew tomorrow was Alvina's death anniversary.

Every year on this day, she would go to pay her respects.

After finishing her errands and having a simple dinner, she returned to her apartment, washed up, and went straight to bed.

She slept soundly through the night.

The next day.

Harper got up, bare-faced, changed into a black dress, and took the things she had prepared the night before. She took a cab directly to the cemetery.

Alvina's grave was on the east side of the cemetery.

She walked over and placed the flowers in front of the tombstone.

She stared at the tombstone, which had the words "Loving Mother, Forever in Our Hearts" engraved on it.

The photo of Alvina showed her smiling, beautiful, and kind.

Tears seemed to well up in Harper's eyes.

She held them back and looked up at the sky.

The morning sun was rising.

Mom, you must be doing well in heaven, right?

All those things that troubled you were long gone, and you could finally be yourself.

That's the life you always wanted.

In the end, you got your wish, didn't you?

But in this world, you left behind a lonely me.

Mom, did you know how much I missed you?

"It seems we have a lot in common." A playful voice suddenly sounded in her ear.

Startled, she turned to see Caden walking over.

"Are you following me?" Harper asked bluntly.