“Next Wednesday is the court hearing for my divorce with Hamish. I need you to testify,” Elisa stated her purpose directly.
In just a few words, Elisa had contemplated for the entire afternoon, asking Lila to testify in court as a witness to Hamish’s affair. It seemed ridiculous no matter how one thought about it.
“Testify for what?” Lila asked.
Elisa replied, “To prove that Hamish has been with you all these four years.”
“So, you want me to testify that Hamish had an affair?”
“Yes.”
“Lila, are you out of your mind?” After a moment of silence, Lila cursed. Asking her to testify in court to prove Hamish’s infidelity would be like publicly declaring herself a third party, a mistress.
Elisa tried to reason with Lila in a persuasive tone, “Don’t you want to marry Hamish? If you help me testify, once Hamish and I divorce, you’ll take my place.”
“Elisa, are you here to flaunt it?” Lila retorted.
Elisa was taken aback. She had spoken the truth and genuinely intended to discuss and advise with Lila. How did it turn into flaunting when it came out of Lila’s mouth?
Elisa continued, “I’m not flaunting anything. I just want to divorce Hamish and I genuinely wish you both happiness.”
Elisa tried to appeal to both reason and emotion, hoping to convince her.
Lila clearly didn’t believe her and thought Elisa was trying to deceive her. “Don’t think I don’t know what you’re up to.”
“What?”
“You just want Hamish to be at fault so that you can get a larger share of the property, right? Hamish owns so much property, and you want a piece of it. Lila doesn’t want to let you have any advantage.”
Elisa listened to Lila’s confused words and couldn’t help but burst into laughter. “I just want to divorce him without taking a single penny.”
“Who would believe you!” Lila sneered, “Elisa, you’re overestimating yourself. Do you really think Hamish will be bound to you forever and never divorce you?”
“When do you think he will divorce me then? Lila, I’m not like you, claiming something as your own after squatting in a pit once.”
Lila’s face turned cold as she clenched her phone. “Who are you insulting?”
Elisa covered her mouth and burst into laughter. There was a hint of sarcasm in her smile. “Never mind who I’m insulting. I just want to tell you, while you treat trash as treasure, others may not see it the same way. And let me remind you, don’t be too confident in yourself as a person. If Hamish truly loved you, how could he bear to see you being called a third party, a mistress, by netizens during the recent trending discussions?”
Lila retorted sharply, “I’m not a third party! According to the order of arrival, you are the third party!”
Elisa moved the phone away. They could argue even through the phone call. She had indeed overestimated Lila’s rationality. She was behaving like an old lady in a market.
Knowing that she couldn’t reason with her, Elisa hung up the call directly.
Lila cursed at the phone for a while. When she heard no sound from the other end, she thought the other party was afraid. But when she looked at the phone, it was already black. Elisa had hung up the call long ago without her realizing it.
She smashed the phone on the ground and muttered, “Bitch!”
Lila was infuriated to the point of heartache. Mrs. Gordon heard the commotion from upstairs and cautiously approached, knocking on the door.
“Miss Morris, are you awake? Dinner is ready.”
Lila calmed down, picked up the phone from the ground, and replied, “Hmm, I’m coming down now.”
Lila opened the closet and found a coat to cover the marks on her chest. She turned on the phone and returned to the text message page.
Looking at the subpoena, a thought arose in Lila’s mind.
…
Early the next morning, Lila called Hamish, but he didn’t pick up. She then called Tobias.
Tobias answered, “Mr. Burns has an important meeting today. I’m afraid he doesn’t have time to see you. How about another day?”
“I can wait for him, no matter how late. I have something important to tell him.”
“Then hold on, let me ask Mr. Burns first.”
As Lila waited, the afternoon arrived and Tobias still hadn’t replied. Lila understood that Hamish simply didn’t want to see her.
After waiting so long for the news of his divorce with Elisa, she didn’t want to give up easily.
Lila took ataxi directly to North Bankshire. She didn’t have the keys to the place, and the password for the front gate had been changed. She couldn’t enter and could only wait outside like a stranger.
The weather had cooled down these past two days, with a large temperature difference between day and night. When she arrived, she didn’t feel much, but as the sky gradually darkened, she began to feel the chill.
She wore a long dress and carried a bag, without a coat. The sky was misty, without a single star. It was the kind of weather that indicated rain would fall. Lila checked the weather forecast on her phone and indeed saw that rain was expected.
Rubbing her shoulders, Lila sat on an outdoor lounge chair. By eight o’clock in the evening, it started drizzling. She had to move under the eaves to take shelter from the rain while waiting for someone.
Lila shivered from the cold all over her body. The light rain mixed with the wind blew at her, and she couldn’t block much rain by staying under the eaves. In order to keep warm, Lila had to crouch down.
She waited for over an hour. As she saw that it was approaching ten o’clock, a ray of light shone in the distance. Lila’s eyes lit up, and she quickly stood up, adjusting her hair and dress.
The car stopped at the entrance, and Lila followed behind, watching as the iron gate opened. She eagerly called out, “Hamish!”
The driver, who was driving the car, heard the voice and looked at the rearview mirror, nearly getting scared to death. In the dim light, a woman in a white dress, disheveled hair, and a pale face looked like a ghost.
“Mr. Burns, there seems to be a woman calling you behind.”
Hamish furrowed his brows, his gaze as arrogant and cold as ever. He glanced back and his frown deepened.
How could Lila be here?