I Once Married You (Harper and Benjamin)

Divorce

"Are you saying I'm meddling too much?" Paul angrily asked and slammed his hand down on the table.

Scott quickly intervened, "Benjamin, how can you speak to your grandfather like that? Take back what you said and tell him you won't get a divorce."

Benjamin, however, remained expressionless and silent.

Meanwhile, Lily was caught in a difficult position.

Paul sneered, "I see, you really have quite the guts now, huh? You won't even listen to me anymore. If you insist on divorcing, then wait until I'm dead. As long as I'm alive, you can forget about marrying Lauren."

He was very agitated, and as soon as he finished speaking, he began to gasp for breath and cough uncontrollably.

Harper hurriedly went to Paul's side, grabbed a glass of water, and handed it over to him. "Grandpa, please don't get worked up..."

He continued, "Harper, I have let down your late grandfather. If I had known Benjamin was such an ungrateful person, I wouldn't have let you marry him."

"Grandpa, it's not like that," Harper replied solemnly. "Actually, the divorce was my idea too. We've been together for a year without really connecting emotionally. I just don't want to keep wasting our time." Upon hearing her words, everyone instantly fell silent.

Harper looked on apologetically and smiled, "Grandpa, Scott, Lily, I'm truly sorry for letting you down. Benjamin and I are parting on good terms. We will no longer be husband and wife, but everything else remains the same. Why not let each other go if it makes both of us unhappy, am I right?"

Paul's expression then turned grave, and he looked conflicted.

"Harper, I need some time to think about this, so I can't agree to your request just yet," Paul said with a heavy and hoarse voice. "You all go ahead and eat. I'm feeling a bit tired."

With that, he got up from his chair. Harper instinctively reached out to support him, but Paul merely smiled at her, then leaned on his cane and left the dining room. Afterward, Scott worriedly followed suit.

Lily shot Benjamin a glance before turning to Harper with a kind look. "Harper, please sit down and eat. Paul won't really be angry with you. He just can't bear to let you go." Harper smiled faintly in response, but deep down, she felt guilty and uneasy.

She caught a glimpse of Benjamin's gloomy expression from the corner of her eye and thought, "He must be very disappointed now, isn't it? After all, if Paul doesn't agree, he can't divorce me and marry Lauren."ConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .

With that thought, Harper couldn't help but smile bitterly.

Paul didn't come out again. Scott said that he was feeling unwell and had already taken his medication and gone to bed.

Scott advised, "You two have to rethink over the divorce again. Marriage is not child's play. Feelings can develop over time, you know? Surely you wouldn't want your grandpa to be worried and upset at his age, would you?"

Harper nodded and pondered, "But this isn't something I can decide alone. If it were up to me, I wouldn't want to leave either. But how can there be a perfect outcome if we're forced to stay together?" On the way back to the Pineview Villa from the Martin Manor, Harper and Benjamin didn't exchange a word the entire journey, making the atmosphere in the car eerily quiet.

All she could think of were memories from when she and Benjamin just got married. Harper even thought about how wonderful it would be if time could freeze at that moment. Just then, his phone suddenly rang.

Benjamin took it out and answered the call. Immediately after, a clear female voice came through, asking, "Benjamin, how did it go at the Martin Manor? Did your grandfather agree to the divorce?" Harper heard every word clearly, and a self-mocking smile then played on her lips.

She pondered, "He must really love Lauren. Otherwise, why would he share everything with her without holding back?"