The Ex-Wife's Redemption: A Love Reborn Chapter 136

The private room at the high-end entertainment club was eerily quiet, occupied by a single man surrounded by the overwhelming stench of alcohol. Henry sat slumped on the leather sofa, his eyes bloodshot, an almost-empty glass of vodka clutched in his unsteady hand.

When Benjamin and Frank pushed open the door, they were greeted by the sight of their normally composed friend in a state of complete dishevelment.

"Who the hell are you?" Henry slurred, his glassy eyes struggling to focus on the two men standing before him.

Frank let out an exasperated sigh. "Henry! Weren't you the one who called us here to drink? What the fuck is wrong with you?"

The two men exchanged concerned glances as they took in Henry's dilated pupils and vacant expression. Benjamin quickly strode forward and snatched the glass from Henry's hand.

"Jesus Christ, how much have you had?" he demanded, his brow furrowed with concern.

Henry instinctively reached for his confiscated glass, but the movement threw him off balance, and he collapsed back into the sofa. Benjamin pressed his hand firmly against Henry's shoulder to keep him from toppling over.

"Henry, you're completely wasted," Benjamin muttered, restraining his friend's flailing arms.

A nervous waitress hovered at the edge of the room, wringing her hands anxiously.

"Mr. Wall, Mr. Harrison," she ventured timidly, "did Mr. Harding just go through a breakup or something? He ordered six bottles of vodka the moment he arrived and started drinking straight from the bottle." She shook her head in disbelief. "You can't drink vodka like that—it's dangerous! He could die! Please try to stop him." With that, she quickly backed out of the room.

Frank surveyed the empty bottles scattered across the floor and whistled low. "Six bottles of vodka? That stuff is potent as hell. Who pissed him off enough to make him drink like this?"

Benjamin shrugged helplessly. "How should I know? But if I had to guess..."

"It must be Sophia," Frank finished for him.

Benjamin nodded. He'd seen the news earlier that day while scrolling through social media. He'd waited and waited, curious to see how Henry would respond to Sophia's divorce post. When Henry finally replied with that pathetic "When are you going to repay the ten million dollars?" comment, Benjamin had cringed hard.

"I saw his response to Sophia's divorce post this morning," Benjamin explained. "Ten million is nothing to him. His attitude made it crystal clear—he doesn't want the divorce at all! But instead of just saying that, he comes up with this pathetic excuse. No wonder Sophia isn't coming back. With that approach, she never will."

Frank burst into laughter after hearing the full story.

"I never thought I'd see the day—the great Henry Harding reduced to this!" he exclaimed. "He deserves it! That's what he gets for being so damn stubborn and clueless!"

After their laughter subsided, Frank approached the sofa and gripped Henry's shoulders. He held up two fingers in front of Henry's face. "How many fingers am I holding up?"

Henry just stared blankly, completely unresponsive.

"Henry, you're drunk out of your mind," Benjamin said with a touch of sympathy. "Let me take you home."

The seemingly catatonic man suddenly jerked upright. "Sophia!" he shouted, his voice desperate and raw. "I want Sophia!"

Benjamin frowned and shoved him back down. "I thought you didn't even like Sophia? What do you want with her now? She doesn't like you anymore—she's desperate to divorce you!"

Despite his intoxicated state, Henry seemed to register these words. He slammed his fist against the leather sofa. "No divorce!" he bellowed.

Frank couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity of the situation. "No divorce? What's that going to accomplish? You refuse to divorce her, but you're still tangled up with Isabella. You're treating marriage like it's some kind of game. It's not about you anymore—Sophia wants out."

Henry's eyes shifted slightly, suggesting he'd at least partially processed Frank's words. After a moment, he shouted again, "No divorce! No divorce!"

The two friends exchanged amused glances.

"This is ridiculous," Frank remarked. "When Sophia loved him, he couldn't care less about her, trampling all over her feelings. Now that she doesn't love him anymore and wants a divorce, he suddenly can't let her go. What kind of twisted logic is that?"

Benjamin nodded thoughtfully. "Men are like that sometimes—always wanting what they can't have. I doubt he even likes Isabella as much as he thinks he does. She's probably just unfinished business from his youth, a lingering regret."

"We all have regrets from when we were young," Frank replied. "Does that give anyone the right to disregard their current marriage? He's been constantly defending Isabella, getting tangled up with her—they even kissed! Which wife wouldn't be furious seeing her husband like that with another woman?"

"Imagine if Sophia had done the same—kissed another man," Frank continued. "Henry would have destroyed that guy, no question."

At that moment, the drunken Henry suddenly lurched to his feet. "Destroy Thomas!" he shouted, staggering toward the door. He'd barely taken a step when his legs gave out, and he pitched forward. Fortunately, Frank and Benjamin reacted quickly, catching him before he hit the ground and forcing him back onto the sofa.

"Give it a rest," Benjamin said firmly. "In your current state, you couldn't even hurt a fly, let alone Thomas. Just stay put."

Henry continued to struggle against their restraining hands, his words slurring together. "Destroy Thomas! I'll destroy him! Call James—buy up all Sanders family stock! I'll bankrupt them! Get Sophia here! I want Sophia! Sophia, get over here! I'm your husband! You have to listen to me!"

Benjamin shot Frank a worried look. "He's completely out of it. What should we do?"

"Taking him home isn't an option," Frank replied. "Should we... call Sophia? Ask her to come?"

By this point, it was already 11:30 PM. Henry was still ranting incoherently, leaving them no choice but to call the woman he kept mentioning.

Sophia had just put Billy to bed when her phone rang.

Almost immediately, I heard Henry's drunken voice through the speaker: "Sophia, get over here right now!"

I ignored him and hung up immediately. After hanging up, I switched my phone to silent mode, but after a while it lit up again with an incoming call.

When I saw Frank's name on the screen, I answered. I had a good impression of Frank—during Henry's heart transplant recovery, Frank and Benjamin had visited regularly. When I was exhausted, Frank had even helped care for Henry, and we'd become friends during that time.

"Mr. Wall, if you're calling to convince me to see Henry, I suggest you abandon that idea immediately," I said firmly. "I've always appreciated your help and consider you a friend, which is why I'm taking your call. But I hope you're not trying to advocate for Henry."

Frank could hear the determination in my voice and smiled slightly. "Not at all! I completely understand and support your decision to divorce him."

"All these years, we've seen how well you've treated Henry, and we've always felt you deserved better," he continued. "Henry was too blind to appreciate what he had. Divorcing him is his loss, not yours."

I felt a wave of gratitude at having my feelings validated. My tone softened. "Mr. Wall, since you're a psychologist, could you perhaps counsel Henry and help him accept the divorce sooner?"

"Absolutely," Frank agreed without hesitation. "I'll bring it up with him at the right moment."

"Thank you for your help," I said sincerely. "If my divorce goes through, you'll be the first person I thank."

Frank chuckled. "No need. Henry might have been blind to your sacrifices all these years, but his friends weren't. You have nothing to feel guilty about—he's the one who wronged you."

"I think now is actually the perfect time for you to secure that divorce," Frank suggested. "Henry is completely drunk—he can barely recognize anyone. If you brought the divorce papers now and guided his hand to sign them, everything would be settled, wouldn't it?"

My eyes lit up. Frank's suggestion was brilliant—perfect, even!

"Thank you for the suggestion, Mr. Wall. I'll come right away. Please text me the address."

Frank smiled triumphantly. "Of course. I'll send it as soon as we hang up."

Benjamin was horrified by what he'd just witnessed. He knew how desperately Henry wanted to keep his marriage intact, despite his inability to express it properly.

He leaped up from the sofa and grabbed Frank by the collar.

"What the hell are you doing?" he demanded. "You know Henry cares about Sophia—he's just too proud to admit it! Once he realizes how important she is, he'll naturally go back to her and make their marriage work. With your suggestion, you're setting him up to hate you forever!"

Frank remained perfectly calm, gently removing Benjamin's hand from his collar with a slight smirk. "Isn't this exactly what Henry wants? For Sophia to come here?"

"Benjamin, you're still too naive. A man this drunk—do you really think he could hold a pen steady enough to sign anything?"

Benjamin's eyes widened as understanding dawned. He lightly slapped his own forehead. "Frank, you sly bastard! I can't believe you came up with this trick. That's genius!"