Chapter 29 - Options (Livia)

Livia cajoles her poor baby, gently poking Cornelia's adorable cheeks until she smiles again. "Soon, we will start the game soon," she promises. "Be patient for a bit more. Ask Alisha to have a tea party with you and Mr Rabbit Ribbit. She can even read to the two of you if you want."

"Okay!" the little girl exclaims, happy again. Happy for now.

Kai puts her down and they watch the preschooler make her way to Alisha.

Livia takes a deep breath before resuming the conversation. "Do you think… that Raylen loves or ever loved me?"

"He did and maybe he still does. But I feel like that is not your real question. You want to know if he loved you the way he had loved Laney. If that's the case, the answer is no, not really. You two are very different."

"Do we truly share no commonality at all?"

Kai rubs his neck again before answering. "If you want me to think really hard, then I guess you're both younger than Raylen, and he is the protective and indulgent sort. I mean, he may be a tall man with broad shoulders and a resting bitch face, but he really does love his cats."

"You're saying his partners are like pets to him."

Kai winces. "I wouldn't put it that way if I were you. My perspective is that he has a nurturing side, but he is very selective when it comes to choosing who gets that love. Yes, it is a similar kind of love, but that doesn't mean his love for his cats is the same as his love for you."

Livia sighs. His words are comforting, and she sees little reason to reject them until…

Kai's smart watch buzzes. "Excuse me," he murmurs as he looks down to check. His serene expression changes into consternation so quickly that there is no way Livia can fail to notice.

"What happened?" she asks.

He looks at her and looks back down at his wrist and looks up again in brisk succession.

"What's wrong?" she asks again, more anxious this time.

"I don't know how to tell you this… And I am not sure if I should be the person to tell you this either."

"Just spit it out. I am not a coward."

Kai hesitates. "Oh, well, Raylen was photographed hugging an unknown woman…"

"Last night?" asked Livia coolly, too coolly.

"The photos were released yesterday, yes."

"Show me the pictures."

Against her insistence, Kai can only give in.

What she sees disappoints and wounds her. She can clearly see her husband's hand resting on the stranger's waist. The photos must have been taken clandestinely, but its resolution is sharp enough. There's little doubt that the man in the photograph is indeed Raylen Vale.

She takes a step back and turns away, having seen enough.

"I'm sorr—"

"Did you know," Livia asks sharply, "that this was going to happen?"

"Y-y-yes. I was with him."

"And you didn't stop him?"

Kai sighs. "Livia, he's an adult who can make his own decisions."

She blinks back hot tears. "Even if those decisions affect other people?"

Kai hands her a piece of tissue. "He might have been too hasty, but the two of you are already separated. If you did the same thing—which I doubt you will—he would not be upset."

Livia swallows her pride. "But I don't want a divorce anymore. I don't want to separate the kids."

Kai widens his eyes in surprise. "Does Raylen know?"

"No, not yet. I was going to tell him during the game we planned for the children. I didn't expect this to happen. For fuck's sake, I am still legally his wife!"

Her love for Raylen has been fading ever since she learnt about Delaney. But it is not completely gone yet, and the part that still loves him can still bleed. And bleed it does.

She also feels powerless, utterly incapable of retaliating against this disrespect.

"What," she asks shakily, "do you think I should do next?"

"Livia, you're putting me between a rock and a hard place. We are friends, but I am friends with Raylen too."

"I know you probably drafted my prenuptial agreement and my divorce papers, but can't you tell me my options?"

"The good thing is, I did not have a hand in either of those two, so there is no conflict of interest. The bad thing is, I am still stuck between a rock and a hard place."

"Kai, please. You're the only lawyer among my friends."

Kai sighs again before pulling out a notepad and a pen. "From the information I have now, you have three options. First, you reconcile with Raylen if he is willing, but you have to forgive his, uh, indiscretion. Alternatively, the two of you can just have an open marriage. The second option is to accept the divorce and move on with your life. The terms in your prenup are quite generous if I recall correctly."

"And the third?"

"The third is to contest the divorce, which will drag it out. No one aside from the lawyers really benefits from such a situation and, eventually, you will surely lose. The Vales have easy access to the best lawyers. You don't. Besides, I doubt it is possible for you to void the prenup agreement."

None of these options are appealing to Livia. She eliminates the third option immediately, knowing that she would get annihilated if she were stupid enough to go up against billionaires.

The first and second options are more tolerable, but which one?

She barely endured the existence of a dead woman in her marriage. How can she accept a living one?

Even if it's just an "indiscretion" as Kai called it, it is not an indiscretion she can overlook.

What if they have an open relationship then? The hopeless romantic in her rejects that solution. She absolutely cannot bear the thought of her legal spouse bringing in different women day in and day out.

The second option seems to be the best for her… But can she really bring herself to sacrifice her children's happiness?