"I've got it right here. How would I dare slack off when you're my boss?" Liam stopped his cheeky act and handed the woman a thick stack of documents.
Joanna couldn't care less about her sick state and skim through the pages quickly.
After a few moments, a pleased grin formed on her lips. "Good. I knew these lawyers weren't as simple as they seemed. They're worth way more than what he offered as compensation!"
"Tsk, but they're Ace Moran's employees. How great can they be?" Liam questioned, crossing his legs while leaning against the side rails of her bed. "I know lots of lawyers who are better than them. If you need any, I can give you some recommendations."
"No, I want them," Joanna said with a determined expression. She seemed in a great mood, absolutely unbothered by her divorce.
"Boss, are you planning something? I feel like I can smell a scheme coming our way." Liam expressed sheer excitement.
'three years! It's been three whole years! I'm so thrilled the goddess herself has returned! The goddess who's always so passionate in her craft!'
"C'mon, tell me!" He continued.
Joanna put up a soft, sly smile. "What's the hurry? You'll know soon enough."
Since Liam was familiar with Joanna's personality, he didn't ask further questions. He already knew that he wouldn't get an answer out of her no matter what, and she might even get so irritated that she'd have to block him again if he continued to prod.
If that were to happen, Liam would definitely cry his eyes out.
"But…" Liam straightened his posture, carefully testing her limits. "Are you sure you can move on from that… ice block?"
More than anyone, he knew that Joanna really was deeply in love with Ace. It would be rather difficult to give up on someone she loved that much.
"So what if I can't?" Joanna felt defeated, replying softly. "Being his wife is so tiring. It's basically a loss on my end… I just want to be Joanna Pierce now."
At the Moran family manor, Robin Moran and Susan, Ace's parents, had extremely different reactions towards Alice's baby bump.
Susan was absolutely delighted, clinging to Alice as she looked her up and down. "Oh my god, you're pregnant with our son's child!"
"You have no idea but… I couldn't stop crying when my eldest son died three months ago. I felt like there was no point in living since then…"
"This baby must be an angel sent from the heavens, and it's here to save me! It might even be Dylan's reincarnation! You have to take care of yourself and deliver it safely!"
On the other hand, Robin looked upset. His eyebrows furrowed as he glared at Ace.
"What have you done, you brat?! You got another woman pregnant while still being married to Joanna? What is she going to do now? We should never forget what her grandfather has done for us! If he hadn't saved the old man, us Morans would've met our demise long ago!"
"The old man and I had promised to take good care of Joanna back then. And yet, you… What am I supposed to say to the old man now, huh? How can we possibly live on knowing we broke our promise to the late Mr. Pierce?!"
Out of anger, Robin tried to slap Ace. "I… I'll kill you!"
Alice quickly put herself between the two men, whimpering as she said, "Please don't be angry, Mr. Moran. This is all my fault. I shouldn't have gotten pregnant! If this is really that big of a problem, I'll just schedule an abortion tomorrow!"
"No, you mustn't! This child is part of the Moran family's bloodline! You have to give birth to it no matter what!" Susan put Alice behind her as she howled at Robin, "Why are you so protective of Pierce anyway?! If she really did have an actual relationship with Ace, they'd have children by now! Other women wouldn't have been able to get in between them!"
"Just think about it. She's just the daughter of a fallen family! She doesn't even have any useful talents! She didn't do anything for our family, and she's nothing but a drag! We've been taking care of her for three years already. Isn't that enough to repay their kindness? How is she being mistreated?!"
" We've got a choice to love and marry whoever we want! Ace should be the one to make that decision, so who are you to butt into his business?!"
After her long rant, Susan looked toward the silent Ace and asked. "Tell us, what are your plans, Ace?"
Ace stood tall and proud, an indifferent look on his face as he pondered over his father's words.
His eyes landed on Alice's stomach, and he said dismissively, "As you can see, Alice is already four months pregnant. This child is part of the family bloodline, so she will need a proper title before the child is born. I've already proceeded with the divorce with Pierce. Once we're legally separated, I will register my marriage with Alice."
Susan and Alice let out a sigh of relief at the same time after hearing this.
However, this statement only made Robin even more furious. He was on the verge of slapping his son. "You b*stard, so you're being serious about this?! You… You're so foolish that you kicked your wife out to make space for your mistress! Are you insane?!"
"If Joanna's grandfather found out about this, how should he rest in peace? You should know that he used to be quite the soldier and was even appointed as an esteemed general! Aren't you worried that he'd haunt you in your dreams?"
"Just break off this nonsensical relationship!"
Susan crossed her arms, rolled her eyes, then said scornfully, "The Pierce family wouldn't have fallen if he really was that great. If we didn't take his only granddaughter in, their bloodline would've ended right then!"
"Don't you remember how many enemies the Pierces had back then? We endured the pressure and let her marry into the family regardless! We even made a few enemies ourselves just because of this! Even if we were repaying his kindness, shouldn't this be more than enough?"
"Besides, the old man himself said that their marriage would only need to last three years. If they still didn't love each other after that, they could just go their separate ways! Ace is not the bad guy in
this!"
Seeing his parents fighting made Ace rather annoyed, so he spoke up in a chilling tone. "I've said what I needed to say. If you'd like to argue, find another place to do that."
"Ah, whatever!" Robin sighed deeply. "You've always been pretty stubborn, son. Your brother was the only one who could talk you out of things… If he were still alive, he might have been able to try convincing you, at the very least…"
With that, the atmosphere instantly became quite heavy.
Four months ago, news of Dylan Moran's death brought devastation to the Moran family. Ace, who was already cold, became even more closed off after the accident.
"I can't do anything if you really intend to marry this woman, but you have to promise me one thing, or else I'd rather we cut ties completely!"
"What is it?" Ace stared at his own father, still expressionless as always.
"You have to keep this a secret from your grandfather. You know that his heart is unwell, and he has a transplant surgery coming soon. We can't afford to agitate him. And you know how much he loves Joanna. He's always treated her like she was his own granddaughter! If he found out you divorced her over a mistress, he'd lose his marbles!"
Ace nodded. "I'll be sure to do that."
Finally, the old couple left the manor. Susan also made sure to remind Alice over and over again to be careful with her health, clearly viewing her as her future daughter-in-law now.
Due to his guilt towards Joanna, Robin refused to act friendly with Alice the whole time, unlike his wife. Hence, Alice was very anxious during their interaction, as if she had just experienced a rollercoaster.
Despite what Ace's parents thought of her, Alice knew that the most important person was actually Ace. He had the most say within the Moran family and the entire City, after all.
At this time, Ace was standing by the window on the second floor, spacing off as he looked at the sunflower garden in the backyard. He didn't stop by the manor much, so he never noticed the field of sunflowers in their garden. To his surprise, he found this sight rather beautiful.
'Sunflowers, huh…' He wondered.
He only found out earlier today that sunflowers were Joanna's favorite type of flowers.
'Loyalty and new hope? Does that mean the divorce is giving her new hope? Was being my wife really that bad?'
"Ace!" Alice then walked up to him, wiping her tears. "I'm sorry the baby and I are giving you trouble. Why don't we just… give up?"
Ace turned around, his starry eyes filled with endless sadness. With a lump in his throat, he said, "No, we can't. This was Dylan's last and only wish.