Sweet Subterfuge

Chapter 6

Larissa’s office was situated on the side of the hotel facing the street.

Not long after she went upstairs, the sounds of police sirens could be heard below. She pushed open the window and looked down. There was a police car parked in front of the hotel’s main entrance. A few minutes later, two policemen led the Hardy couple out.

What really surprised her was that they were not resisting. They did not even pull away from the police and followed them obediently into the car. Larissa only found out the reason later from Livie, who said, “Mr. Rogers said he was going to pay two million dollars for their lives. It scared them well. When they saw the police, it was like they’d found their saviors and insisted on going with them so that they would be protected.”

Livie continued to narrate with rapture, “You didn’t even see how they looked afterward, Ms. Seymour. They were just two total losers. It was hilarious.”

Larissa could not bring herself to laugh about it, however. Now that those two had made fools of themselves, they had embarrassed her too. After all, to strangers, they were still her in-laws.

…

Unsurprisingly, Larissa was summoned by the general manager before noon.

She stood ramrod straight, her hands clasped neatly in front of her. Her head was also bowed as she waited for the storm that was sure to come.

However, it did not.

On the contrary, the general manager asked kindly, “Do you need a few days off?”

Larissa’s head snapped up in surprise. She wondered if the guy was possessed—when she made mistakes previously, all that usually awaited her was a scolding. As if he had read her mind, the general manager’s face darkened and reverted to his usual stern appearance, which actually reassured Larissa.

“Although what happened today was not something you could control, it did start because of you.”

Larissa’s head went down again.

“You have three days. Sort out your private affairs, and don’t let it affect your work again. If there’s ever another incident like this, your year-end bonus will be entirely forfeited.”

Larissa’s heart skipped a beat, and she immediately promised, “I will definitely do everything I can to solve my issues.”

After she left the general manager’s office, Kevan emerged from the partitioned waiting area he had been hiding in.

The general manager smiled quickly and greeted him, “Mr. Rogers.”

Kevan dipped his head slightly and sat across from him.

“As you instructed, I have given Ms. Seymour a few days off,” Mr. Compton said.

“I heard you.” Kevan’s face was impassive, and his tone was mild too. “One more thing.” His gaze became frosty, causing the general manager to recoil.

“Yes, sir?”

“Have Karin Gallagher check out from the hotel. Inform the other Regal Dynasty branches that she is blacklisted henceforth and is not allowed to stay.”

“But…” Mr. Compton was a little hesitant. “Ms. Gallagher’s room was reserved by her production crew. Their crew has several big-shot celebrities who are staying in our hotel this time. I’m afraid that if we force Ms. Gallagher to check out, the others would too…”

“Then let them.” Kevan did not waver. In fact, his face got colder too. “It’s not like the Regal Dynasty can’t handle a minor loss like this.”

The general manager was intimidated by his imposing aura, and he nodded quickly. “Yes, sir. It will be arranged.”

…

Despite suddenly getting three days off, Larissa was not happy at all. She called Travis and said, “Are you free today? Let’s meet up.”

He said, “Fine. I’ve been looking for you anyway.” His tone was not friendly. It sounded like he was trying to suppress his anger.

Now that a few hours had passed, it was more than enough time for his parents to tattle to him.

“3:30 pm, at the Elegant Indulgence Cafe next to the Victory General Hospital.” Travis made the decision without bothering to consult her, then hung up without waiting for a reply.

Larissa had already been boiling with anger. If it was not for the fact that she wanted to deal with this dumb thing as soon as possible, she would not have bothered to show up due to Travis’ attitude.

She reached the Elegant Indulgence Cafe at the appointed time. The place was not big and only had about ten tables. But it was already considered a location with an “excellent environment” compared to the other diners around the hospital.

There were not many people inside at this time. The moment Larissa said she was looking for someone, the waiter immediately led her to Travis’ table. Just as she imagined, Travis did not look amiable. He did not even greet her upon seeing her arrival. His eyes were filled with wrathful resentment.

Larissa acted as if she had seen nothing and sat down gracefully. She then proceeded to accept the menu handed over by the waiter.

“A cup of lemon tea, thanks.”

She smiled at the waiter, who froze before saying, “Of course.”

Then, he left with a blush on his face.

Travis looked even more pissed than ever.

“The divorce isn’t even finalized yet, and you’re already trying to seduce other men?” He glared at Larissa as if she was a criminal that deserved to be condemned.

Finding it funny, Larissa chortled out loud.

“Never mind whether I was seducing someone or not, even if I did—” Her smile faded, and her eyes became cold. “What right do you have to accuse me anyway, Travis Hardy?” Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

Travis stiffened for a few seconds before changing the subject. “Didn’t you want a divorce? Sign this divorce agreement and I’ll go to the City Hall with you tomorrow.”

Seeing the file in front of him, Larissa’s heart sank.

It was less than two days from the time she found out about him and Amber until now. Even if he got a lawyer right after sending Amber to the hospital, an official divorce agreement would not have been

drafted so quickly.

That could only mean one thing—

This was something he had prepared long ago.

“How long have you been waiting?” Larissa smiled coldly.

Travis was stunned. “What?”

“To divorce me.” Larissa kept her eyes fixed on him.

Travis looked away nervously before huffing with irritation. “What’s the point of asking me this now?”

Larissa sneered and took the file from him. She opened it and began to read the document carefully.

As they had no children, the main point of the agreement was naturally on asset division. Travis requested for this to follow the law strictly and to have both their marital assets divided equally.

To that, Larissa had no objections.

Their income levels were comparable, so splitting it equally just meant that they would keep their own assets to themselves. Neither would be taking advantage of the other. The only thing she really cared about was—

“The house?”

She had read through the whole agreement, and there was nothing mentioned about the house.

“Who’s getting the house?”

The house was bought after their marriage. Because Travis had used his money to buy stocks, he did not have any savings. Larissa sold the one-bedroom apartment that she had lived in for years and barely managed to pay for the down payment.

Travis, on the other hand, used the condition of “helping to pay back the mortgage” to get his name on the deed. But he’d never paid a single cent during these years.

Based on Larissa’s thought process, she was the one paying for the house, so it was natural for her to have it—at most, she would just give Travis some money to go through the arduous procedure of removing his name from the deed.

“What do you mean, who’s ‘getting’ the house?” Travis retorted, a smug gleam in his eyes. “You had better get this straight, Larissa. The house has nothing to do with you!”