Chapter 278
Chapter 278
The clerk’s words made Winter’s heart seize.
How was that possible?
Three years ago, she and Chris had gone to city hall and signed the marriage paperwork. It had been a rainy day. Chris had shown up late, and she had waited a long time for him. For a while, she had honestly thought he was going to back out.
She remembered it clearly, even the way she had carefully written her name.
She remembered taking the certificate home and showing it to Mrs. Xander Sr., who had smiled and said it was wonderful.
“Could there be some mistake?” Winter asked. “I am married. How could this certificate be invalid p>
She hadn’t wanted to bring up the Xander family, but at this point, she had no choice.
“You may have seen the news about me online. My husband also made a public statement p>
The clerk, of course, knew exactly who she meant. The moment Winter handed over the paperwork, she recognized the names on the marriage certificate. She remembered the news too. It had been all over the place.
Still, she shook her head, looking just as confused.
“But there really isn’t any marriage record under your name p>
As the clerk turned to go, a thought suddenly flashed through Winter’s mind. She remembered the photo she had seen in that room on the island.
Chris had told her it belonged to an informant he had worked with ten years earlier while undercover.
A strange feeling rose in her chest.
She stopped the clerk. “Could I ask you something else p>
“Of course p>
“Could you check whether my husband is…” Winter felt a wave of nausea roll through her stomach. She forced it down and finished the question. “Could you check whether he’s listed as married p>
The clerk hesitated, then shook her head. “I’m sorry, Ms. Scott. We’re not authorized to do that p>
Winter fell silent for a moment. She knew the clerk wasn’t refusing to help on purpose.
After thanking her, she left the courthouse.
Outside, the sunlight was blinding. The documents in her hand had turned into a joke.
She got into her car and started driving. Before she realized it, she had ended up outside Xander Corporation headquarters.
Looking up at the towering building in front of her, a wave of nausea suddenly hit her.
So she and Chris had never been married at all.
For three whole years, she had been kept in the dark.
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At first, she thought about going upstairs and confronting him. But the thought quickly faded.
If they had never legally been married, then things were much simpler now.
They were, in the end, two people with no real legal ties. There was no need for divorce proceedings or any drawn- out fight to separate.
The joke was on her. She had spent months trying to get a divorce that had never even existed.
She drove away from Xander Corporation and headed back to the station, planning to bury herself in work.
Because the moment she had nothing to do, she couldn’t stop thinking about how she had been made a fool of for the past three years.
“Celeste called out sick. Who’s free to cover the business forum this afternoon p>
Needing something to take her mind off things, Winter spoke up right away. “I’ll go p>
Sam looked at her. “You don’t look so great. If you’re not feeling well, don’t push yourself. Don’t make me look like I’m trying to squeeze every last bit of work out of you before you leave p>
Winter waved him off. “I’m fine. I just need a little rest p>
After lunch, she rode with a coworker in the news car to the South District Business Park, where the event was being held.
On the way there, Winter did a quick crash course on the event. The assignment had landed on her last minute, so she had not known much about it beforehand.
By the time they arrived, she had gone over the information once and more or less memorized the basics.
After getting out of the car, she was hit with a wave of dizziness and nausea. She wasn’t sure if it was motion sickness or something else.
“Winter, are you okay?” her coworker asked, looking at her pale face with concern.
“I think I’m a little carsick,” Winter said. “I just need to sit down for a minute p>
The event hadn’t started yet, so she found a seat off to the side and rested for a while. Her coworker brought her a cup of warm water. After drinking it, she felt a little better.
Just then, a respectful voice came from the main entrance.
“Mr. Xander, this way, please p>
Winter’s hand tightened around the paper cup.
She looked up and saw him walking in through the doors, surrounded by people as if he were the center of the
room.
Chris was wearing a black suit with a subtle pattern. His expression was cool, his steps calm and unhurried as he
entered the hall.
Ever since Sean had proposed that deal, Chris hadn’t come looking for her, and she hadn’t seen him either.
Liono City was big. When two people were no longer living together, the odds of running into each other were actually pretty low.
If she hadn’t taken this assignment, she would never have seen him today.
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Winter looked away, pulled a mask from her pocket, and put it on.
She glanced over the guest list for the event. Chris’s name was not on it.
“Fine. Just ignore him. Act like he isn’t even here,” she murmured to herself.
Then she followed her coworker to the media section and took her seat.
A little while later, she suddenly needed to use the bathroom.
“I’m going to the restroom,” she told her coworker.
“Okay. No rush.” Her coworker looked her over again. “Are you sure you’re okay p>
There was sweat beading on Winter’s forehead.
The weather had warmed up these past few days, but not nearly enough to explain that.
Winter shook her head. “I’m okay p>
Keeping her head down, she quietly slipped out of the hall.
At the main table, Chris sat there with a calm, unreadable expression, listening as the person beside him enthusiastically painted a glowing picture of the future. His cool gaze landed on the figure trying to slip away
unnoticed.
The man was still speaking, caught up in his own excitement, when Chris suddenly rose to his feet.
“Mr. Xander p>
“Excuse me,” Chris said in a low voice.
In the restroom, Winter came out of the stall breathing hard, with the room spinning around her.
She made her way to the sink and braced one hand against the counter. With the other, she pulled off her mask.
Her face was pale as paper, and cold sweat kept beading across her forehead.
She was sure now. Something was definitely wrong.
She had only washed her hands, yet she was already so short of breath she could barely stand it.
When she finally stepped out of the restroom, her legs gave out. Just before she collapsed, she threw out a hand and caught herself against the wall.
A sharp, wrenching pain ripped through her abdomen, so intense that her whole body doubled over.
Then she felt a warm rush spill from between her legs.
Her hand slipped.
She crumpled to the floor.
Right before she lost consciousness, she saw a tense, alarmed face rush into view.
In the next second, she fell into a warm, solid embrace, and everything went black.
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Florence
A passionate storyteller who brings emotions to life through her words. When she’s not writing, she finds peace nurturing her garden.