​Her Signature, Their Regret

Abigail Taylor stood by the window, her expression calm as the lawyer's voice came through the phone.

"Ms. Taylor, the divorce agreement has been finalized and mailed out. Have you received it?"

"I have. Thank you," Abigail said.

"Of course." The lawyer paused, then added carefully, "But are you really sure you want to leave with nothing? You've been married to Mr. Smith for years, and everyone in your circle always thought the two of you were the perfect couple. What exactly happened...?"

The question almost made Abigail laugh.

What loving couple? It was just her chasing after him one-sidedly.

In Harbor City's upper-class social circle, everyone knew exactly what kind of woman Abigail was. A pathetic pushover.

The woman who had married her sister's ex-boyfriend, then spent years lowering herself, giving in, and obeying him in everything. Even when Trent's name was splashed across gossip headlines, she had only stepped forward to smooth things over and insist it was all a misunderstanding.

People said, "If you want a wife, marry someone like Abigail."

Abigail lowered her eyes and said evenly, "It's nothing dramatic. We're just not right for each other."

After a brief pause, she added, "I'll have him sign the papers as soon as possible. I'm trusting you with the rest."

"Who's getting divorced?"

The deep male voice came so suddenly that Abigail's heart gave a sharp jump. She turned back without showing it.

"No one, a friend of mine's been fighting with her husband. They're talking about divorce."

Trent Smith stood in the doorway, his brows drawn together slightly. He looked like he was about to press further, but before he could, their son's impatient voice rang out from outside.

"Dad, Aunt Bianca's still waiting for us. Hurry up!"

At once, whatever suspicion had crossed Trent's mind disappeared.

He grabbed his jacket and started toward the door.

"Wait." Abigail stopped him. "Where are you going?"

Trent paused and looked back, impatience already showing on his face.

"Bianca's dog got loose. She's freaking out, and she's all alone, so we're going to help her. We'll make up your birthday later."

Abigail parted her lips. She had already prepared dinner. And cake.

But before she could say it, Trent cut her off. "Abigail, seriously? It's just a birthday. Do you really have to make this into something right now?"

Paxton came in from outside and looked at her with open resistance. "Mom, why do you always have to stop us from going to Aunt Bianca?"

The scene was painfully familiar, like a handful of silver needles being driven straight into Abigail's chest.

Ever since Bianca had returned from abroad six months ago, moments like this had repeated themselves over and over. At first, Abigail had broken down. She had cried, shouted, demanded. Now there was only a dull, exhausted emptiness.

She curved her lips into a faint smile. "You misunderstood, I just have two documents I need you both to sign."

She handed over the papers she had prepared in advance.

"What is this?" Trent asked with a frown.

He reached for them, clearly intending to take a closer look, but his phone rang. The second he saw the caller ID, his expression softened.

He answered the call and, without even glancing down, signed at the bottom of the document.

"If it's about buying a car or a house or whatever, you can decide for yourself next time. You don't need to run it by me."

Paxton signed too, scribbling his name without hesitation.

"Exactly. And Mom, you can keep all those patents or whatever for yourself. I don't even want them."

The moment he finished, he grabbed Trent's hand and tugged him toward the door. "Dad, come on. Aunt Bianca's definitely waiting."

The two of them left in a rush.

The front door shut, and silence fell over the house, leaving Abigail alone.

She looked down at the papers in her hand and let out a bitter little laugh. If either Trent or Paxton had bothered to read even one extra line, they would have seen that one document was a divorce agreement, and the other was a consent form giving up custody follow rights with the mother.

But even if they had noticed, it probably would not have mattered.

This marriage had never been what Trent wanted.

Ten years earlier, Abigail's grandmother had died after a long illness. After seeing her through the end, Abigail went to live with the parents she had not spent much time with in years.

That was when she met her sister Bianca Taylor's boyfriend, Trent Smith.

At the time, Trent was already one of the brightest rising stars in the business world. His instincts for investment were almost legendary, and under his leadership, The Smith Group had climbed to another level with ease.

There were countless stories about him in their social circle. But even more than his business success, people talked about his relationship with Bianca.

As Bianca's younger sister, Abigail had watched their breakups and reconciliations, their vows, their passion. Somewhere along the way, without meaning to, she fell for him.

She never dared let anyone see it.

Instead, she chose a medical program in a city far from Harbor City, hoping that enough distance and enough time would erase him from her heart completely.

Just before graduation, Bianca suddenly broke up with Trent and left the country for the sake of her future. Desperate to win her back, Trent sped toward the airport, got into a car accident, and lost his sight.

After that, his personality changed completely.

Less than half a month later, Trent's mother, Brigitta Thomas, came to Abigail.

"Abigail, please help me. You're the only one who might be able to help Trent through this."

The selfish hope buried deep inside Abigail stirred to life.

Three days later, she went to Trent.

Because her voice sounded remarkably like Bianca's, Trent mistook her for Bianca the moment he heard her. Abigail never corrected him. She stayed by his side and helped with his treatment, intending to leave once he recovered.

But the night before his sight returned, everything went wrong.

Because of an accidental drug reaction, Trent lost control, and they slept together.

Afterward, when Trent saw Abigail lying beside him, rage exploded in his eyes, "Abigail, how dare you pretend to be Bianca!"

He had seized her by the throat, hatred pouring out of him so fiercely it seemed he wanted to kill her.

Brigitta arrived in time and pulled him off her. Then things got worse. Abigail found out she was pregnant.

No one knew how the news got out, but once Brigitta learned the truth, she forced Trent to marry her.

Soon after, Paxton was born.

Abigail knew she was unwanted, so she told herself she would be content just raising Paxton and watching him grow.

What hurt most was that Paxton, the little boy who had once stretched out his tiny arms to protect her, had turned into a blade pointed straight at her after Bianca came back.

"Mom, you're really embarrassing."

"Mom, I like hanging out with Aunt Bianca."

"I wish Aunt Bianca were my mom..."

If that was what he wanted, then she would give it to him.

Abigail took the signed divorce papers and left the house.

At the coffee shop, she handed both documents to the lawyer.

"He's already signed them. Please handle everything as quickly as possible. And one more thing. I need you to erase some of my traces."

The lawyer nodded. "Don't worry. I'll take care of it."

They went over a few more details. Once Abigail confirmed that she would have the divorce certificate in thirty days, she stood to leave.

The moment she stepped outside, a burst of cheers erupted from a nearby restaurant.

Then a familiar little voice carried clearly into her ears. "Dad! Mom, kiss! I want the electric toy car too!"

Abigail turned instinctively toward the sound.

Not far away, a crowd had gathered around the restaurant, three rows deep inside and out. In the center, under everyone's attention, Trent and Bianca stood side by side like the stars of the evening, gazing at each other with open tenderness.