Chapter 101: Divorcing The Duke
Evelina’s brow twitched slightly, ’Whoever told you I was playing a game?’ she thought back internally, ’I really want this divorce.’
[Host can’t be serious]
’Silence’
The system pinged again.
[Host, that is impossible! You shouldn’t go for it! Currently, the system is connected to Ace Alvarez. And he is the main target, making him your main source of Heart-Wrecker points. If you leave him, the grid will collapse!]
Evelina’s eyelids lowered slightly, ’In this world, I have grown to be unmoved by most people. But when it comes to Ace, whether I hate or love him, he has always had a huge control over my emotions. I need to end this cursed entanglement right away.’
"You locked yourself away for weeks, and the first thing you do when you step out is hand me this?" Ace’s voice had grown raspy, it was difficult to not sense how strongly felt about it.
She looked at him calmly, setting her glass back down, "I am merely focusing on my current needs, Your Grace. I need to travel for business. I have plans that require me to leave the kingdom."
Ace scoffed, "That’s all? You want to travel for business? Evelina, I will make all the arrangements for you! I will give you my finest ships, my elite personal guards, and buy out every harbor you wish to visit! For that, you absolutely shouldn’t divorce me!"
The man was ready sell everything of his, including himself, if it meant he could keep her.
"This was always a marriage of convenience, Ace," Evelina interrupted smoothly, "And in the long run, it has helped us both. You gave me the backing of the Alvarez name, which has helped me a lot along the way. In return, I helped you by taking care of the Duchy as a Duchess should do."
She shifted her gaze toward the window, pointing out into the peaceful night sky of the North, "The Alvarez Duchy is in a great condition. It is flourishing far more than when I had come.
So, although my contribution might not be that impactful in your eyes, it is still undeniable. We have given the desired profits to each other in this marriage. There is no reason to hold onto it until it turns bitter."
She leaned forward slightly, her emerald eyes fixing on him with determination, "We should completely cut ties right now, sign the papers, and—"
"No!"
The word slammed into the room like a thunderclap.
At that exact moment, the flashing System behind her eyes suddenly froze. The wild numbers tracking the Heart-Wrecker points stopped increasing and settled down.
The desperate panic vanished from Ace’s face, replaced by a dark resolve. He slowly rose from his seat.
His massive frame cast a heavy shadow over the entire dining table as he walked around it.
Before Evelina could even stand, Ace closed the distance between them. He reached down, gripped her chair, and smoothly pulled her forward, pinning her back flat against the edge of the dining table.
He leaned over her, his massive chest nearly brushing against her robe, completely trapping her within his frame.
"You are never leaving my side," he rumbled, his dark eyes burned with a possessiveness that brooked zero argument.
Evelina’s breath stuttered for a moment at the sudden proximity but she didn’t let it show on her face, "Ace, sign the papers."
"Over my dead body," he rasped, his face inches from hers, his voice laced with what she would call ’madness’, "You can take this estate, the Duchy, anything that belongs to me. Hell, you can desire the entire world.
For you, Eve, I will wage wars, I will burn the world!
Everything that you put your finger on, I will win it for you. I will put it at your feet, sweetheart... but don’t ever talk about cutting ties with me again.
I... I won’t survive it."
For a second, the only sound in the grand dining room was the ragged breathing of the Northern Duke, desperately waiting for a hint of softness from the woman pinned beneath him.
Instead, Evelina’s lips curved into a thin line.
"You are being too emotional," she said softly.
Before he could process her words, she shifted her weight and smoothly slid sideways, slipping right out from under his body before his hands could tighten around the wooden chair.
Evelina stepped out into the open space of the dining room, calmly smoothing down the wrinkles of her attire.
Ace froze, his hands still gripping the empty chair, looking like a powerful beast that had caught nothing but air.
Evelina didn’t look back at him.
She walked over to the edge of the dining table, picked up her glass and took a sip of her juice.
Then, she tapped her finger against the unsigned divorce papers resting beside his plate.
"I will leave the papers here. Think about it calmly and sign it at your convenience, Your Grace. I am leaving at dawn."
Without waiting for his response, she turned on her heel and walked out of the dining hall. Her footsteps were entirely devoid of hesitation.
Behind her, the heavy silence of the room was broken only by the sharp snap of Ace’s fist crushing the corner of the dining table.
Back in her bedchamber, Evelina immediately set to work, unbothered by the storm pressing upon the Duke’s heart.
She pulled a set of dark leather travel trunks from her closet and began packing.
She bypassed the heavy silk gowns and focused entirely on her essentials: her private ledgers, her communication jades, a few changes of durable traveling clothes, and her hidden textile blueprints.
Behind her eyes, the System screen was dead silent, probably still recovering from the shock of her genuinely wanting to divorce Ace. Evelina preferred it that way for a while.
Outside her bedroom doors, the atmosphere in the hallway was suffocating.
Ace stood there like a lifeless stone statue. The fearsome God of War, who had slaughtered thousands on the battlefield without blinking, looked completely defeated.
He leaned his broad forehead against the cold wood of her door, his large hands resting flat against it.
His mind was racing, a hint of confusion visible on his handsome face. How do I make her stay?
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