Urging Him to Get a Divorce novel Chapter 1

Chapter 1

After finalizing the design plan with her client, Aveline Sutton stood up at her desk, flexed her stiff neck, and reached for her phone.

There was still no message from Xavier Beltran, her husband.

She knew he was on a business trip, but a “Happy Birthday” text would’ve only taken a few

seconds.

A

pang of frustration washed over her. She dropped the phone back onto the desk, unsure whether to go out for a solo dinner or simply order takeout.

Today was her twenty–third birthday. Settling for takeout felt a little pathetic.

Suddenly, her phone chimed. Her eyes lit up with surprise and hope, and she hurriedly snatched it up.

It was a message from her friend, Fiona Harmon.

Aveline let out a soft, self–mocking laugh and tapped to open it.

“Are you celebrating your birthday at the Beltran Hotel?”

Puzzled, Aveline replied, “No. I’m at home.”

A moment later, Fiona sent her a photo. “Then why is Xavier with Josephine?”

Aveline’s heart clenched. With trembling fingers, she zoomed in on the photo.

It had been taken in the grand lobby of the Beltran Hotel. There, in front of the elevator, stood Xavier side–by–side with Josephine Sutton–Aveline’s half–sister. Xavier was tall and handsome, Josephine stunning and graceful. Together, they caught everyone’s eyes.

Another message from Fiona buzzed through. “I thought you said you were spending your birthday with Xavier.”

Instead of replying to Fiona, Aveline called Xavier.

He rejected her call after two rings.

A cold wave of despair washed over Aveline, but she refused to believe it. She sent him a text,

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“Where are you?”

She clutched the phone, her heart pounding. After what felt like an eternity, he finally texted her back, “On my business trip.”

“Where? With whom?” she fired back instantly.

His reply came quickly this time. “Stop being so paranoid.”

His words were a knife, twisting deep in her heart. “Are you with Josephine?”

One minute passed. Then two. Then ten. But her phone screen remained dark.

Aveline slid to the floor, a bitter laugh escaping her lips.

Today was Josephine’s birthday, too. So, Xavier had lied about a business trip to celebrate with

her.

He even blamed Aveline for suspecting him, calling her paranoid.

Twenty minutes later, a blue Porsche screeched to an unsteady halt in front of the Beltran Hotel’s entrance. Aveline got out and charged in.

“Ms. Sutton, you can’t park the car here!”

Ignoring the valet’s urgent call, Aveline dashed into an elevator whose doors were beginning to close just in time and pressed the button for the 18th floor.

Lauren Beltran, Xavier’s mother, had always longed for a son. Xavier was her blessing after two daughters, and the moment he was born, she consulted a fortune teller, who declared that Xavier’s lucky numbers were one and eight. From then on, whenever Xavier stayed in a hotel, it was always in Room 8 on the eighteenth floor.

And Room 1808 at the Beltran Hotel, the presidential suite, was permanently reserved for him.

As the elevator ascended, Aveline stood rigid, her lips pressed into a thin line. Her face was pale as she stared at the numbers flashing overhead.

Soon, the elevator settled on the eighteenth floor. The moment the doors opened, she strode out into the corridor.

Standing outside Room 1808, she trembled slightly. She clenched her fists to steady herself before finally pressing the doorbell.

In the very next second, a familiar woman’s voice floated through the door. “Darling, could you get that? It’s probably room service.”

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Aveline bit her lip, recognizing the voice. It was Josephine, her half–sister, the daughter of the homewrecker whose actions drove Aveline’s mother to her death out of anguish. Aveline could have recognized Josephine’s voice out of a million.

The door opened, and there stood Xavier in a white bathrobe. His hair was damp and fluffy, exuding a pleasant shampoo smell, obviously just washed.

Aveline had always loved the scent after he came out of a shower. But now, it sent a deep pain through her heart.

Xavier was momentarily stunned when he saw Aveline. Then he frowned, the disgust on his handsome face undisguised.

He stepped out, closed the door behind him, and looked at her coldly. “You’re over the line, Aveline. How dare you follow me?”

Seeing his betrayal with her own eyes, Aveline lost her last trace of hope.

How considerate of Xavier–he had even closed the door behind him, worried that she might lose control and charge inside to beat Josephine up.

Aveline had fallen for Xavier when she was just a teenage girl. Although he remained cold and distant toward her, she pursued him with relentless devotion.

She once saved Xavier’s life, and ever since, his grandfather, Rupert Beltran, has viewed her as Xavier’s lucky star and insisted that Xavier marry her.

Xavier never said no, which she interpreted as him being fine with the arrangement.

Later, Josephine and her mother, Courtney Kane, joined the Sutton family. And Xavier had acted intimately with Josephine since then. But yesterday, he still showed up at the City Hall and registered his marriage with Aveline.

Aveline had convinced herself that he was merely toying with Josephine’s affections and had finally been moved by her own unwavering love. She thought he had chosen to build a life with her.

But now, she saw the truth. She had been lying to herself all along. She was nothing but a joke.

However, she still couldn’t help but ask, “Who’s in there?”

Xavier responded with silence, his gaze seeming to say, “You know the answer.”

She let out a desperate, sarcastic laugh.

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08:27

A flicker of sexprime commed Zavers face. Then he frowned, probably annoyed by her laugh “Go home and wad for me there,” he said.

With that, he saved his hard, trying to pat her shoulder

Zant would tew dron Aveline’s pride, then caually say a few meaningless words, and she’d forge him. The rentine was sickeningly familiar to Aveline

He acted however he pleated, confident that Aveline would never leave him

The old her would have swallowed her pride and her tears, wrapping her arms around him and pleading with him to stop being so cold. She’d even hed that she believed him so that he’d come home with her

However, he had never been touched or felt sorry for her. Instead, he’d always push her away and sold her for being treasonable

But this fate, the curled her lips into a cold laugh, showed him away hard, and turned to leave

Pefand her, Josephine opened the door and asked, “Darling? What are you doing outside? I thought it was room service”

“Somerne get the wrong room, Xavier replied “Tet’s go inside.”

The door was donet

Aveline stood in front of the clerain, her heartache almost killing her. The elevator doors opened, then dort

On her way home, her phone rang, the glanced down at it through her tears. It was a call from

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