Chapter 7 Mrs. Pierce Won't Do This Anymore

"What does she think of me? She's spent so long in the sticks, she can't possibly have the taste or the experience of a girl who grew up the way I did."

Those two voices belonged to her son, Lucas, and to Vivienne Sterling.

The moment Naomi stepped through the door, she caught sight of a happy scene.

Lucas was holding a limited-edition toy, his eyes shining with joy. Vivienne rested her hand on top of his head and patted it gently, a casual smile in her eyes.

Anyone who didn't know better would have thought Vivienne was Lucas's real mother.

When the picture reached Naomi's eyes, her lashes trembled once.

Her grip on Mia's hand tightened a little.

But in the end she said nothing and walked in with her daughter.

"Mom, what are you doing here?"

When Lucas saw Naomi and Mia, a flicker of wariness crossed his face.

"I came to get my things."

Naomi's voice was calm. She led her daughter toward the second floor.

She could clearly hear footsteps behind her. When she reached the door of the study, they slowed and stopped.

"Naomi, I have something to say to you."

The familiar voice came from behind her.

When Naomi turned, Vivienne was already standing in front of her.

"Mia, go into the study and wait for Mommy."

"Okay."

After Mia went in, Naomi lifted her eyes to Vivienne. "What could you and I possibly have to talk about?"

A faint smile was tucked into the corner of Vivienne's mouth. "Why, are you really planning to divorce Graham?"

"Yes." Naomi kept it short and to the point.

Vivienne curled her lip. "Naomi, I honestly think you shouldn't. Without Graham, who are you? Can you even survive?"

Naomi raised her eyes and gave a cold laugh.

"If I don't divorce him, how will I make room for you? Graham and Lucas aren't here, so you don't need to put on that act."

"Naomi, Graham and I are just very close friends. How can you read so much into it? If that's what you want to believe, there's nothing I can do." Vivienne's expression didn't change at all.

But there was a clear trace of mockery hidden in her brows.

Naomi studied her quietly, unprovoked. "If that's what you say, I don't care."

Then she moved to step around her and into the study.

The only reason she had come back today was to retrieve an important painting she had left there.

But at that moment, an extremely sarcastic voice came from behind her. "If you really do get divorced, I'm afraid you won't even be able to support your daughter, will you? Do you want Mia to live a hard life with you?"

Naomi stopped, turned, and stared coldly at Vivienne.

An anger kept rising in her chest, boiling and lingering.

A hard life?

When she and her daughter were exiled to the mountains, they had nearly lost their lives. What hardship had they not already known?

After everything she had been through, she had already made up her mind.

She didn't need the title of Mrs. Pierce.

"The title of Mrs. Pierce is worthless to me. Even if I divorce Graham and stop working at Pierce Group, I will never let my daughter suffer with me."

Naomi's voice was very soft, but her words carried such weight that even Vivienne was stunned for a moment.

In Vivienne's memory, Naomi had always been gentle and soft-spoken, her heart and eyes full of Graham, hardly ever doing anything to defy him.

But since coming back, she seemed like an entirely different person.

Still, no matter what, she was only an accessory in Graham's life.

With that thought, Vivienne's brows relaxed, and she said with a blunt smil

e, "And what will you raise your daughter with? Your patience and your endurance?"