Chapter 64 Gracelynn's Current Situation
Chapter 64 Gracelynn's Current Situation
Eliza got up as soon as she announced.
Seeing that, Penelope called out to her. Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.
"Eliza, you just came back; how are you going out already?"
Penelope wasn't too happy about it. She had been living with Gracelynn until she moved out recently.
So why the rendezvous as soon as she came back?
"Mom..."
Stumped, Eliza choked on her words.
She nearly blurted she hadn't seen Gracelynn in a long time.
Thus, she immediately corrected herself.
"We... I, we have something going on. It's urgent. I have to go now."
Leaving these words behind, she fled.
Penelope didn't put too much thought into it, but Raelyn knew why. How shameless; who knew just how
many people she had lied to!
"Why the rendezvous as soon as she's home?"
Penelope couldn't help murmuring.
"Mom, maybe Eliza has gotten herself a boyfriend. She is all grown up now; you don't have to worry too
much."
Raelyn smiled gracefully, and her suggestion stumped Penelope. Yeah, the two girls never met up so
frequently in the past. How did she not think of the possibility? Leave it to Raelyn and her wit.
"Oh, that brat! Why wouldn't she tell us? I… She has to let me see what kind of guy he is still!"
Penelope got anxious; this child was simply too naive. After all, she was the second young lady of the
Stone family; there'd inevitably be men with ill intentions.
"Relax, mother; I'm just guessing. We can ask her when she comes back later."
Raelyn's calmness eased her mind gadually.
"Okay, we'll ask Eliza when she comes back."
……
Eliza trotted out of the door. The Stone residence wasn't far from the city center; she managed to hail a
cab very quickly.
Her heart pounded as she got into the vehicle, wondering if her mother and sister got suspicious when
she acted so abnormally.
Sitting jittery, clenching her phone, it wasn't until she didn't receive any calls or texts from home even
after a long while that Eliza gradually eased.
She arrived in the city center swiftly. Though it wasn't as hot as in the summers anymore, there weren't
many people on the streets at noon.
She settled the fare and alighted the vehicle. She came out early; it was only one-thirty.
Despite her early departure, she saw Gracelynn already sitting inside when she reached Hot Treats
Cafe.
However, Eliza was a little hesitant. That was Gracelynn's figure, no doubt, but her haggardness got
her doubting.
Gracelynn sat in a corner, looking out the window with a soulless gaze, not even responding when
Eliza was close.
Eliza had only wanted to approach her to get a clearer look at first, but the closer she got, the more
horrified she became.
Gracelynn didn't grow up filthy rich, but she didn't have to worry about when her next meal would be or
not having a roof over her head, and she lived a carefree life too.
Looking at her now, she seemed to have aged in a heartbeat.
Her outfit didn't look good on her, and she didn't wear any makeup at all. In the past, even if she was
still heartbroken over her husband's multiple love affairs, she'd still insist on dressing up before leaving
her house no matter what.
"Gracelynn."
Eliza called out to her hesitantly, still having a hard time believing.
Gracelynn came back to her senses; her supposedly youthful and exuberant eyes now looked dull and
lifeless. Slowly turning her gaze to the direction of the voice, she then smiled, seeing it was Eliza.
"Eliza, you're here."
Hearing her weak voice, Eliza worried that she might actually pass out the next second.
Slowly sitting down next to her, Eliza only thought her throat felt dry.
"You... What happened?"
Hearing her words, Gracelynn immediately burst into tears, choking with sobs.
Eliza had never seen her like this before; she was at a loss of what to do. She couldn't help blaming
herself for being too immersed in that... uncertain marriage, neglecting what Gracelynn was going
through.
She didn't know what had happened, so she naturally didn't know how to comfort her, only embracing
her, patting her back.
Her embrace brought warmth to Gracelynn's bleeding heart, and slowly, she calmed down.
She then mumbled in Eliza's arms.
"Eliza, I'm divorced."
The news shocked Eliza beyond words.
"Gracelynn, why did you... get a divorce?"
She took pains to mention the word 'divorce'.
Gracelynn's husband was their senior. The two of them were so sweet in school that many people
envied them, and there was a time they were inseparable after they got married.
Gracelynn fully supported his career at that time, and Eliza had also contributed to it. However, it
seemed that a man would change after achieving some success in his career...
It was evident how much Gracelynn loved her husband from how she put up with his constant love
affairs. Eliza knew she had always been trying to salvage this relationship.
However, it seemed that being gentle and tolerant could not keep a man's heart. Gracelynn was met
with such a significant affair, yet she wasn't by her side when her best friend needed her most.
Eliza dared not imagine how she even managed to overcome it.
"Ever since he brought up the divorce, he became hell-bent. He doesn't come home at all but still
sends me the divorce papers every day."
Gracelynn took her time to tell the story after she was more composed.
"One letter a day; I really can't stand it anymore. Sometimes, I really want to just sign my name and
give up everything. There's nothing left in this marriage anyway."
"But whenever I pick the pen up, I can't help but put it down again."
"Then, he would send me intimate photos of him with all sorts of women every day."
"I can't believe he forced me like that!"
Gracelynn got emotional again, so Eliza quickly caressed her head to comfort her.
"I got used to it somehow."
"Then, when I was at work one day, a... young woman in luxurious clothes walked up to me."
Eliza mused, "Gracelynn didn't choose a job related to fashion design after graduating but worked as a
guide, recommending fabrics and their costs to customers."
She wasn't working in a big company, so no one influential would go there, by right. Listening to her
words, Eliza could tell the story would turn for the worse…
Gracelynn continued opening up to her.
"Her first words were, so you're that wife that went through hardship and poverty with Mr. Pace?"
"Eliza, you have no idea how vile she sounded, how disdainful her gaze was."
"I really... I..."
This must be the one that really tipped her over the edge; she was even talking faster now.
"Alright, alright, don't think about it anymore. Let's not talk about those upsetting things..."
"No, no... I want to."
Being in her arms, Eliza couldn't see Gracelynn's face, but she could tell she was already choking with
sobs.
"She... she said, leave Cason… and she'd give me... twenty million. Then she chucked both the check
and divorce papers on the table."
Gracelynn was shaking as she spoke.
"If it wasn't for her… I wouldn't have known… he had hooked up with... a bratty affluent young lady."
"I, I was thinking... why didn't she... just throw it at my face?!"
"Alright, alright, calm down, take your time."
She was very emotional, so Eliza could only try her best to comfort her.
"My colleagues wanted to help me... but I refused."
"And then… I got impulsive, and I… I just signed it."
Gracelynn moved away from her arms right then. The tears helped put some brightness back into her
eyes, finally looking a little more alive.
"Twenty million, I'm telling you." She took a deep breath. "That's a lot of money." She then suddenly
tittered.
It pained Eliza to see her best friend doing awfully.
"I… I can save it in the bank, and I won't have to work for the rest of my life!"
"Do you know how she looked at me when I signed the papers?"
"She was reeled. Then after looking into my eyes, she laughed insolently."
"She then diatribe loudly, saying I loved money like it was my life and that I could sell anything for it..."
"She then said marrying me was the stupidest decision Cason has ever made!"
Gracelynn was emotional, speaking rapidly.
"I, I'm not."
"I didn't want to..."
"I wasn't… greedy for his money..."
She was speaking incoherently again. Eliza could only gently pull her back into her arms.
She was currently like a mentally unstable patient, drifting between consciousness and disorientation.
"Okay, okay, it's all in the past now. You're okay."
She tried to calm her down and comfort her softly.
"Did I make a mistake..."
Gracelynn's voice was very soft, and Eliza thought she heard Gracelynn's heart shatter.
"Gracelynn, you made the right decision. That man isn't worthy of your gentleness. You weren't wrong."
Eliza long wanted to persuade her, but that was her life, her marriage. It wasn't her place to tell her
what to do.
Now that Gracelynn was being brave, she had to support her decision no matter what.
"But... I thought I wouldn't feel anything anymore. Why does my heart still hurt so badly?"
"I realized after divorcing him that... I still love him."
"I don't want to let go..."
After expressing all her thoughts with difficulty, Gracelynn lay in her arms and cried. She had been all
alone in the past few days, not daring to tell her parents about the news, shouldering everything
herself.
She was genuinely exhausted and needed comfort, feeling much better now that she had said it all out.
Eliza was already teary-eyed, and as she continued to comfort Gracelynn, Tanner popped up in her
mind.
Maybe in a few days, she would end her short marriage with tens of millions just like Gracelynn.
As the sadness engulfed her, she shed a drop of tear and quickly wiped it away. Gracelynn wasn't
emotionally stable; she couldn't affect her any further.
In fact, it was just a matter of time until she would leave Tanner. No matter how reluctant she was, he
wasn't hers. Maybe she'd have to attend her sister's wedding one day and give them her blessings...
Gracelyn had it better than her; at least she had a relationship with her beloved.
"Okay, okay, it's all in the past now. You're a brand new you."
Those words were for Gracelynn and for her future self to hear as well.
Gracelynn was much more relaxed after venting it all out, crying in her arms, slowly falling asleep...
Knowing she was worn out, Eliza didn't wake her up, letting her lean against her, finding her a more
comfortable position to sleep in.
The cafe was rather high-class, and all the waiters were well trained. She hadn't managed to make an
order since she walked in, and someone finally came to them after their table calmed.
"Hello, what can I get you?"
"One mocha. Thank you."
Eliza replied, and the coffee scent-filled night suddenly popped up in her mind.