Chapter 495: Chapter 495: Fake Divorce

Sea City, outskirts.

Harry Whitley parted ways with Fiona Harper and returned to his rented apartment, feeling unsettled inside.

He looked down at his finger wrapped in a band-aid; not long ago, he’d given his blood to that person.

Even though it sounded utterly ridiculous, he believed it.

But Harry Whitley had no regrets.

Just giving a few drops of blood and some hair, even if it didn’t work out, he wouldn’t lose anything.

But if it did work out…

Thinking of the possibility, Harry’s eyes glimmered with excitement.

With these thoughts, he reached the doorstep, ready to take out his keys when the door was suddenly pulled open from inside.

Esme Duarte looked at Harry standing outside the door, her eyes slightly red, but her words were filled with complaints,

“Where did you go again?! Finally you’re out, can you stop making me and the kid worry about you?!”

The good mood from secretly meeting Fiona earlier vanished instantly upon seeing Esme.

In terms of background or appearance, Esme was no match for Fiona.

Looking at the cramped rental house before him, even though it was tidied every day, it still gave a feeling of tightness, along with his mother lying in the living room.

At a glance, Harry felt he could see his entire life laid out here.

Now that he had another option, he could no longer stand this kind of life.

Frowning, Harry responded irritably,

“If I don’t go out to find a way, how am I going to pay back the two million? With your saved ten thousand? Or the sixty thousand you borrowed from everywhere?”

“If you hadn’t meddled and fought, would they demand such compensation?! What are our family’s conditions?! Two million, we couldn’t even repay it if we sold both of us!”

Talking about the two million made Esme feel desperate. Harry looked at her expression and thought such a woman really was disgraceful.

Just two million, and she acts like the world is collapsing?

Not like Fiona, whose family just forked out a million without a second thought, and she didn’t even care about the remaining million.

The kind of in-laws he wanted should have this kind of capability.

Moreover, there might be more to come for him.

Seeing Esme continue to complain about not having to bear the two million, Harry finally lost all patience, looked at her coldly, and suddenly said,

“Let’s get a divorce.”

Esme visibly froze, her throat seeming to close up, rendering her speechless, her face showing disbelief,

“You, what did you say?”

Harry looked at her with a sideways glance,

“I’ve been meaning to talk to you about this for a while. I can’t stand having a wife who’s morally corrupt. Let’s get a divorce, and leave on amicable terms.”

“How dare you say I’m morally corrupt?!”

Esme’s voice suddenly rose, sharp with questioning.

Harry snickered,

“Isn’t it true? Last time you were attacked in the alley, you said you narrowly escaped, but who knows if you were assaulted and hid it from me?

Besides, there are so many families here, why did that person choose you and not someone else? Isn’t it because you flirt around, and they saw you as a target?”

With each sentence Harry said, Esme’s face turned paler, until she finally erupted.

She grabbed the cup from the table and hurled it at him,

“You scoundrel! Harry Whitley, you’re a scoundrel! I manage the household for you, raise the child and care for your mother?! And this is how you repay me?!”

Esme’s fury was unabated, regardless of whether she’d hurt him or not, she threw whatever she could at him, and then lunged to scratch him,

“Just try saying it again, I dare you! We won’t live like this! If you want a divorce, it’s not happening!”

Perhaps frightened by Esme’s excessive reaction, or maybe because he was scratched too badly, Harry relented and began to change tactics.

“Enough!”

He pushed Esme away, yelling angrily,

“Let me tell you the truth! Our family is stuck with the two million debt, but the lawyer said that as long as we divorce, the debt won’t affect you and the child. I’m doing this for our family!”

As Harry spoke, his tone softened,

“Esme, do you really not know me after all these years? I just… those harsh words were to provoke you, I don’t want to drag you down!”

Harry feigned despair and anguish, saying,

“If you don’t want a real divorce, we can have a fake one. As long as we’re legally separate, the Jennings Family won’t trouble you.

Though you might have to endure, taking my mom and the kid back to your hometown first, I’ll leave you five thousand for living expenses, and when the debt is cleared, I’ll bring you back for a remarriage.”

Esme seemed to calm down from his words, but looked at him without speaking.

She didn’t reply, simply retreated to her room, locking herself in for two hours.

When she re-emerged, her eyes showed signs of crying, but she was entirely calm,

“I’ll divorce, I’ll take the kid back to my hometown, but the house and savings there must be mine.”

Esme said, before Harry could speak, she softened her tone and said,

“It’s not that I’m ignoring your situation, but the kid and I will need to live when we return. Giving me the house also leaves you a retreat.

If the debt really can’t be repaid, you can at least ensure you have a place to stay in the future. Giving me the house is your way out.”

Saying this, seeing Harry had taken it in, she added,

“As for not taking your mom, it’s considering what you said, even if our divorce is fake, we must act like it’s real. If I live with your mom post-divorce, it won’t make sense, no one would believe it.”

Harry found her reasoning sound as well; he’d told Fiona there was a paralyzed mother at home, and if Fiona marries him to find his mother living with the ex-wife, it wouldn’t make sense.

Initially, he’d wanted Esme to take his mom away because he was too lazy to care for her, now he had to leave his mom behind.

After all, he had Fiona, and she was so kind, she’d surely help him take care of his mom.

As for the house and savings…

Harry hesitated, but Esme continued,

“If you agree, we’ll handle the divorce tomorrow, and I’ll leave with the kid next week. If not, we’re still like this, I’ll bear the debt, unwilling for the divorce.”

Her final words seemed to hit a nerve in Harry, he shuddered and immediately agreed,

“Divorce! Tomorrow it is, the house and savings are yours!”

Harry told himself, soon he’d marry a rich woman, even becoming like Chase Jennings, superior and lofty. Compared to what he’d have, that broken house and meager savings weren’t worth worrying over.

Moreover, Esme’s words struck him.

That house and savings were indeed his retreat.

After discussing their fake divorce plan, Esme turned to clean the kitchen, and as she closed the door, her feigned helpless expression turned expressionless.

Looking at the greasy kitchen, her eyes reddened once more.

Harry Whitley…

You treated me like a fool first,

don’t blame me for leaving you nothing.