Chapter 5

Tessa was immediately taken aback by his response. Matthew was actually urging her to hurry up. How could this be? Shouldn’t Matthew be finding all sorts of excuses to avoid the divorce? Or had she been misjudging the whole situation all along? When Matthew noticed that Tessa was stunned and rooted to the spot, he said curtly, “Snap out of it and move. I really can’t stand being married to you for even one more moment!” Now that his heart had been completely broken, he just wanted to cut all ties and move on. A few passersby walked past the entrance, all casting strange glances at Tessa. Tessa’s cheeks flushed with shame. It appeared as though she was the one begging Matthew not to leave. She felt utterly humiliated and stormed toward the courthouse. As she walked, she mumbled under her breath, “I’m the one divorcing you—” Before she could finish speaking, she noticed that Matthew had already reached the counter, so she quickened her pace to join him. Along with the divorce agreement, the two had brought their marriage certificate and ID cards. They were both adamant about ending their marriage. After the clerk made a perfunctory attempt to dissuade them, they proceeded to finalize their divorce. Once Matthew had gotten the divorce certificate, he hastily made his way out of the courthouse. Tessa shouted after him, “Wait, Matthew!” Having just finalized his divorce, Matthew was experiencing a whirlwind of emotions. He paused when he heard Tessa call out to him. As he fixed a cold gaze on her, he asked, “What’s the matter?” Tessa held up the divorce certificate and said, “With this, we are officially strangers from this moment on. Before we go our separate ways, there are some things I need to tell you. “If you find yourself short on cash, don’t even bother asking me for it. If you end up jobless, don’t expect me to find you a new job. And if you encounter any problems in life, don’t bother begging me for help, because I won’t offer it. I’m officially done with you. From now on, I’m moving on with my life!” Although they were no longer married, she couldn’t help but worry since she knew that Matthew was both penniless and unemployed. She was anxious that Matthew would come to her for help. Hence, she had decided to give him a warning. Beg her? Angered by Tessa’s words, Matthew snapped back, “Aren’t you being too presumptuous, Tessa? I’ll definitely live a better life than you, and maybe in the future, you’ll be the one begging me for help!” Without waiting for Tessa’s reply, he headed to the curb. After glancing both ways and spotting a cab in the distance, he promptly hailed it. It seemed like the cab driver didn’t notice Matthew and drove away instead. A hint of disdain appeared on Tessa’s face. A grown man reduced to the indignity of hailing a cab had been left standing on the curb because even the cab driver wouldn’t stop for him. What a humiliating sight! Tessa thought that he was still stubbornly putting on a brave front despite all that. As she was about to make a sarcastic quip, her phone suddenly rang. She pulled it out and saw that it was Randall Young calling, so she immediately answered it. “Hey there, Randall.” Randall asked from the other end, “Has the divorce been finalized?” With a smile, Tessa reassured him, saying, “It’s all taken care of.” Over the phone, Randall exclaimed, “Wonderful! Stay put; I’m on my way. We have to celebrate in style tonight!” A smile played on Tessa’s lips. After all, Randall’s eagerness to celebrate indicated how much he cared for her. “Hurry up then! I’ll be waiting for you.” She ended the call, curious about the surprise Randall had planned for her. Thinking of that, she waited expectantly. Meanwhile, Matthew was slightly bummed that the cab hadn’t stopped for him. As he looked into the distance, hoping for the next cab to come by, the sight that greeted him left him stunned. A motorcade of luxury cars emerged in the distance, driving toward him in an organized fashion. The car leading the motorcade was particularly impressive. Its design was modern and futuristic, and it was clearly an expensive sports car. As the cars approached, he realized it was a Koenigsegg. It was clear that those cars belonged to some big shot. On the roadside, many pedestrians stopped to watch and discuss the passing motorcade. “Wow, check out those fancy cars! You rarely see one around here, and now there’s a whole fleet of them.” “Who could they be picking up with such a lavish motorcade?” Meanwhile, Tessa’s eyes gleamed with delight when she saw the fleet of luxury cars. When Randall had said he would come pick her up, she hadn’t expected the lineup to be so grand—a motorcade of luxury cars that many couldn’t afford even for their big day. She couldn’t help but feel a bit smug as she overheard the comments from the people around her. She also saw Matthew gazing fixedly at the fleet of luxury cars. She walked to the roadside and said to Matthew, who was standing in front, “Move out of the way!” Matthew’s irritation flared up when he heard Tessa’s voice. Therefore, he acted as if he hadn’t heard her, crossed his arms defiantly, and refused to budge. After all, there was plenty of room on the roadside for two cars to easily pass each other. It wasn’t as if there wasn’t enough space for her to move. Tessa walked up to Matthew’s side, glanced at the approaching procession of luxury cars, and said sarcastically, “Well, well, well, Matthew. As soon as I got divorced, a fleet of luxury cars showed up to take me away. And you, you can’t even hail a cab! “You said I’d regret it, and I do regret it—I regret that I didn’t divorce you sooner! Otherwise, I would’ve had a luxury motorcade come pick me up long ago!” Matthew’s previous remarks had been festering in her mind, and now that she had the chance to retaliate, she pounced. At that moment, the procession of luxury cars gradually slowed down and halted before Matthew and Tessa. All the pedestrians on the street stopped, and many shop assistants and customers from the stores on both sides of the road poured out to watch the luxury cars. A wave of murmurs and exclamations rippled through the crowd as they gestured toward the luxury cars. “Oh my god. Who could they be picking up with such a fancy car leading the way?” “That’s a Koenigsegg. It’s supposedly insanely expensive, and one of those could probably cost as much as half a building.” “Even the cars behind the Koenigsegg are top-notch. If I could have a wedding with a car like this, I’d be on cloud nine.” Tessa beamed with joy. On the very first day of her divorce, she had already become the envy of all. At that moment, compared to Matthew, who couldn’t even hail a cab, she felt that she had made the right choice by choosing Randall. She had definitely made the right call to divorce Matthew! She paid no attention to Matthew and strode toward the Koenigsegg, reveling in the onlookers’ astonishment and admiration. With a click, the car door swung open. A chauffeur in a suit got out of the car. When Tessa saw that it wasn’t Randall, she assumed he was probably waiting in a private room at a restaurant. She figured he must have already prepared a romantic setting with food, wine, and candles and must be eagerly awaiting her arrival. She could barely contain her excitement. She opened the passenger door and directly took her seat. When she noticed the chauffeur, Albert Green, standing there and staring blankly at her, she couldn’t help but urge him, saying, “Get in and drive! What are you standing there for?” Albert furrowed his brow and said apologetically, “Sorry, but we’re not here to pick you up.” What did he mean by that? Tessa thought she had misheard him. “Y-you’re not here to pick me up? How is that possible? You’ve got to be kidding me!” She initially assumed Albert was just messing with her. After all, Randall had just said that he was on his way to pick her up when the motorcade had suddenly arrived. The timing couldn’t have been better. Albert said seriously, “Sorry. We’re really not here to pick you up. We’re expecting a man, not a woman.” A man? As soon as she heard that, Tessa’s expression shifted slightly, but then she thought of a possibility. “A man asked you to pick me up, right? Your joke isn’t funny at all. If you keep this up, I’ll really get angry!” Albert became impatient as he said, “I’m going to say this one more time. We’re not here to pick you up. We’re here for Matthew Grant. Are you Matthew Grant?”Copyright Nôv/el/Dra/ma.Org.