Chapter 9 She Doesn't Deserve

Leona forced a smile as she tried her best to suppress her sadness.

She just forced two words, "I know."

Elmer had always been a man of his word.

Ever since he told her that he wanted a divorce, she knew that it was inevitable for it to happen down the line.

Right now, Leona was just buying time.

After all, she liked Elmer.

Although she knew that the situation wouldn't change, she was trying to extend their time together.

When Elmer saw that there was no more need to persuade Leona, he turned around and headed towards the stairs.

"Don't forget to eat your dinner," he reminded her before leaving the master bedroom.

There was a softness in his tone this time around. He wasn't as cold as usual.

How considerate of him.

A bitter smile flashed across Leona's lips.

If he hadn't mentioned divorce, all of this was the scene she had always dreamt of.

The light fell on Elmer's receding figure. Leona stared at his broad shoulders and long legs.

She couldn't help but recall what had happened in the past.

At that time, Elmer was already a very outstanding and famous person. He had always been the center of attention.

As for Leona, she was just one of his many admirers in the school. She was just plain and ordinary.

If it weren't for that encounter, they wouldn't have known each other at all.

He would've never seen her nor known that she existed at all!

Her teachers were indifferent towards her, and her classmates bullied her and always used violence against her.

Every day, she suffered great torment from unpleasant schooling experiences. The life she was leading was miserable, and her heart was always in despair.

At that time, she felt as though there was no more hope left in her life.

Once, she was besieged in a dark corner, being punched and kicked.

Meanwhile, Aurora just stood on the sidelines, with a complacent smile on her face, as she watched Leona being bullied.

Leona was on the ground, curling up in pain, her body trembling.

The one who ended up helping her was Elmer, who dispersed the crowd.

The sunlight poured down on the side of the young man's handsome face.

In Leona's eyes, he was like a beam of light, dispersing the haze that shrouded her world and bringing brightness to her otherwise gloomy life.

Since then, Elmer had become Leona's only hope.

For several years, she harbored a secret crush on him.

When she finally got the chance to marry him, she thought that God was finally favoring her.

However, their marriage only lasted for a year. He had decided to divorce her.

It was just like a dream. She had never won Elmer's heart.

Leona recalled what Elmer had said before leaving the room. So, she jumped out of her bed and kept the necklace he had given her. Then, she went downstairs to eat dinner.

That night, Elmer didn't come back.

The next day, Leona was planning to go to the company.

Although she was still on vacation, she had nothing to do at home. Left on her own, she was afraid that she might just end up thinking too much and making herself feel worse. She thought that going to work early could serve as a distraction.

However, as soon as she went out, she received a call from Hilda, Elmer's mother.

Seeing her name flash on her phone made Leona feel uneasy. "Hello, mother," she greeted respectfully.

She had been married for a year, and yet, she had very limited contact with Hilda.

Even when they attended the same family feast together, they didn't talk to each other at all.

Elmer wasn't close with his parents, and Leona didn't know how to get along with them.

"If my memory serves me right, you are still on vacation, right?" Hilda asked on the other end of the line. Her voice was cold but pleasing to the ear.

"Yes. What's the matter?" Leona responded obediently.

While she was speaking, she turned around and went back to the villa.

"Come see me later at two o'clock in the afternoon. I've texted you the address," Hilda said concisely.

Shortly after saying that, Leona's phone vibrated.

When she looked at it, there was a message containing the address of a cafe.

"Okay. I'll be there on time."

Immediately, Hilda hung up the phone.

Although Hilda and her son seldom met each other, the way they dealt with things was the same.

Leona tried to play out the conversation between them in her mind, but she couldn't figure out what Hilda's motive was.

She was so nervous that the idea of going to the company completely slipped her mind. Later at one o'clock in the afternoon, she left for the cafe.

It wasn't far from her villa. Leona managed to get there in half an hour by taxi.

She was afraid that Hilda would wait for her, so Leona decided to go there ahead of time.

At two o'clock, Hilda arrived on time.

She wore a pair of sunglasses, which covered most of her face. This further accentuated her sexy red lips as well as her delicate face. Her long wavy hair was parted to one side, falling gracefully on her shoulder. Overall, she looked magnificent and eye-catching.

If she hadn't taken off her sunglasses, revealing her cold and elegant eyes, she would've looked like a young lady.

Hilda sat down in a relaxed manner and crossed her legs. After settling in, she stared at Leona.

Her gaze made Leona's scalp tingle as Leona's heart almost jumped out of her throat.

Did something happen to the family?

Was it about Alfie or Elmer?

As Leona tried to figure out the purpose of this meeting, Hilda picked up the cup and took a sip of coffee. Casually, she asked, "How did you get here?"

"I took a taxi," Leona answered honestly.

Hilda raised her eyebrow. "Elmer didn't arrange a driver for you?"

Leona was stunned a bit and answered, "I have a driver at home, but I'm used to taking a taxi whenever I go out."

Usually, the driver was responsible for picking up Elmer.

She didn't want to bother the driver, and she was also afraid that she might delay Elmer's schedule if she had asked the driver to drive her. Thus, she always took a taxi when going out.

At first, Leona didn't think too much about it. However, now that Hilda had mentioned, it was no different from talking about Elmer's indifference towards her.

Realizing this, Leona felt a bit embarrassed.

She remembered Elmer hiring someone to take care of Aurora. And yet, she, his wife, didn't get such treatment.

Hilda didn't seem surprised by this. She snorted as she slowly took out a stack of photos from her bag and threw them on the table.

"Take a look."

As Leona's eyes fell on the photos, her lashes began to tremble.

In the photos, Aurora was holding Elmer's arm intimately and naturally, as though they were a sweet couple.

The photos pierced her heart like a knife.

In the photos, Elmer accompanied Aurora to see a doctor, stayed with her all night, and went shopping with her. They had had intimate behavior, and the way they looked at each other was full of affection.

The romantic scenes set by these photos only furthered Leona's disappointment and sadness.

The latest photo was taken last night.

Now she knew why Elmer didn't come back. It turned out that he went out to accompany Aurora.

Leona pursed her lips as she tried her best not to burst into tears in front of Hilda.

But why was Hilda showing these photos to her?

She already knew that Elmer didn't love Leona.

When Leona looked at Hilda's cold eyes, she felt her heart slowly sink.

She thought that Hilda was different from the others.

It turned out that her purpose was to persuade Leona into getting the divorce!

Elmer and Hilda weren't close, and they seldom contacted each other.

Thus, Leona never expected that Elmer would ask his mother to persuade her into taking the initiative to ask for a divorce.

A self-deprecating smile appeared on Leona's face. How pathetic she was.

Elmer rarely paid attention to her, but he did it just this time in order to kick her out of his life.

Underneath the table, Leona's hands were trembling slightly, clutching the hem of her clothes.

She took a deep breath and mustered all the courage she had in her body to say to Hilda, "I know that I don't deserve him, but can we wait a little longer before we discuss the divorce?"

It was clear that she didn't want to get divorced yet.

She still wanted to gather some more memories before permanently leaving the Hayes family.

When Hilda heard this, she straightened her back and shot her a stern look. "Have you already decided to divorce him? But he's the one cheating. Why are you saying that you don't deserve him?"

Her voice raised uncontrollably, as the pictures also triggered unpleasant memories for Hilda.

"Leona, don't forget who you are. You have to let your marriage be under your control." Then, with her finger painted with red nail polish, she pointed at Aurora in the photo. She looked up at Leona and gave her a cold, sharp stare. "Do you think Aurora deserves to be compared to you?"