Chapter 4She Slept Soundly in His Noise

Lance's POV

I tried my hardest to keep my voice even as I spoke. Suddenly, Jenna locked eyes with me. Her every word was charged with an inexplicable hatred.

"Don't you have insomnia too? You slept just fine in Leah Branch's bed. But when you're with me, you can't sleep. Lance, you've never loved me. So what gives you the right to demand I treat you as my husband?"

My temples started to throb. Leah Branch was the woman my family had set me up with after we broke up.

To keep both sets of parents off our backs, we dated for about a month, then called it off once it became clear we weren't right for each other.

The moment we ended it, Jenna started pursuing me again. She didn't care whether either family approved. She was just determined to marry me.

I didn't want a single misunderstanding between us, so I'd told her everything about Leah ages ago. "Jenna, you said you didn't mind my past relationship. And Leah and I never even—"

"There is no woman alive who wouldn't mind."

Jenna's voice was ice-cold as she cut me off before I could even finish. "I'll be honest with you. The thought of you having slept with another woman makes me feel so disgusted that I can't sleep.

"It's just like how you clearly didn't love me, yet you still married me anyway, and now you have to take sleeping pills every day because of it."

She pointed toward my drawer, where I kept my sleeping pills.

I didn't think she knew about them. Every time I took one, I moved as quietly as a mouse, terrified of disturbing her.

And after all these years, the reason she couldn't sleep next to me turned out to be that she found me disgusting.

It made everything I'd done for her, including going against my family, giving up half my inheritance, and leaving to start my own company, seem like a joke.

The room stayed silent for a long while until Jenna's phone suddenly rang.

When she answered, her voice instantly softened. "You're still awake? Don't be sad. I'll be there in a bit. Yeah, I'll bring you something good to eat."

As she hung up, the air around her seemed to turn icy again. "If you want the project to go smoothly, you'll clear things up tomorrow. Say we're nothing but business partners. Derek's young and sensitive. I don't want him to be upset."

I lowered my head, took out the divorce papers, and held them out to her. But without even glancing at them, she instinctively stepped back.

That was how much she hated me. She was so disgusted by me that she didn't even want her fingers to touch mine.

"Once things settle down, we'll move somewhere with better soundproofing and put thick carpeting throughout the house.

"I don't want to talk about the past anymore, Lance. Both families have more or less accepted our marriage now, so let's just spend the rest of our lives together."

With that, she headed for the door. I didn't say a word, simply watching her walk out of our home.

I'd watched her walk away so many times over the past few days that I'd lost count.

Back when we were dating, she couldn't even bear to be the one to hang up first. After every date, she would insist on watching me walk into my dorm before leaving.

Now, because of Derek, all that was left between us was a business relationship.

I stood silently in the living room for a long time. Later, my assistant, Paige Greene, called to ask about the cosmetic project.

"Mr. Keller, we've been working on this project for six months. Are we really terminating it?"

"Yes. Start the termination process."

I left the divorce papers on the table and went back to the bedroom to grab the suitcase I'd already packed.

"But you said you had high hopes for Wilkinson Group's new cosmetic brand. You said it was a brand Ms. Wilkinson had been working on back when the two of you were dating…"

Paige was the only person who knew about our relationship. She let out a long, regretful sigh.

As I wheeled my suitcase toward the door, my every step echoed through the house. After six years of marriage, I could finally walk normally without worrying about making a sound.

"Back then, she named that brand 'Iridescent.'"

Paige's breath caught—because the brand we were currently working on was called "Novara".

After hanging up, I stepped into the elevator without looking back. "Jenna, from now on, I won't disgust you anymore, nor will I disturb your rest anymore. I hope you get a good night's sleep."