Her Heart Her Terms (Lily and Xavier)

She had chosen Xavier's most handsome photo and then carefully taken one of herself.

In the picture, he wore a sleek black suit. His features were sharp and cold.

She wore a simple white dress and no makeup. She looked delicate and gentle.

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She had never noticed anything wrong with the picture before, but now, the more she looked at it, the more mismatched they seemed.

She cut the photo in half. It was easy to separate, having been carefully edited together in the first place.

Then she tossed one half in the trash. It was the half she was in, the one in which her eyes were full of nothing but Xavier.noveldrama

After that, she put the remaining half back into the frame.

30 minutes later, she left with her suitcase.

The spare car she had taken from the Joyner residence last time was still parked nearby, and she drove straight to a hotel.

With the window partly rolled down, the cold night wind rushed in. It tangled her hair into a mess.

Everything about her felt disordered yet unmistakably clear.

Her decision to divorce remained firm, but memories from her time with Xavier kept playing in her mind.

She didn't want to go to see Maryanne. She wanted to be alone for a while.

She found a decent hotel with a nice atmosphere for the night and planned to search for an apartment near Lupier the next day.

Despite the chaos inside her, she methodically arranged everything.

The only reason she could manage this level of calm was because her phone was set to airplane mode, which ensured no interruptions aside from essentials like contacting a land paying for things.

Eventually, she rented a two-bedroom apartment in a modest complex near Lupier.

The rent was 4000 dollars a month, with three months paid upfront.

After moving in and buying some essentials, she had spent a considerable amount, leaving her with only 8000 dollars, which was just enough to scrape by for a month. Fortunately, she would start work next week and would have income. Once settled, she turned her phone back on.

Maryanne had tried to call her multiple times and sent her a lot of messages because she was worried.

Lily sent Maryanne a text explaining she had moved and shared her new location.

Apart from Maryanne, there were several missed calls and a barrage of texts from Hazel.

"Lily, are you really not going to care about Hayden anymore?

"Your dad is furious, and I can't do anything about it!

"We've taken care of you for over 20 years, and you're just going to cut ties like that? Are you planning to sever all family connections?

"Without the help of our family, how would you have married into the Fulton family and lived comfortably?

"Your dad is beyond angry. Do you want to drive him to his grave?"

When her messages went unanswered, Hazel became more frantic. She resorted to voice messages.

One after another, they came, berating Lily for being ungrateful.

Although she started with angry scolding, she soon moved to tearful complaints about how hard life had always been for her in the Joyner family.

She lamented that just when she had finally gained a bit of status, Lily had ruined it all.

She stated that Lily had made Bobby berate her relentlessly. He questioned the child she had raised.

The truth was that Hazel had treated Lily quite well.

Yet, hearing these grievances, Lily didn't feel the slightest bit guilty for some reason.

If anything, she almost wished they could be harsher and that the ties could be severed completely.

Did that make her heartless?

She didn't respond to Hazel because she was unsure of what to say.

About half an hour later, the doorbell suddenly rang

She got up and walked to the door. Then, she peered through the peephole.

All she could see was a man's defined Adam's apple and the crisp white collar of his shirt, accented by a deep navy-blue tie.

A shiver ran down her spine.

Xavier had said he would be away for two days on a business trip. It was about that time.

While biting her lip, she took a deep breath, counted to a few seconds in silence, and opened the door.