An Incomplete Divorce (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 14
A languid spring breeze blew in.
In contrast to the heightened atmosphere of the tennis court, the gentle gust stirred her abundant hair.
Olivia Blanchet’s match point.
The woman steadied her quickened breath and firmly planted her small foot into the grass, lowering her torso. Without hesitation, she tossed the ball upward and leapt toward the sky.
Strands of chestnut hair clung glistening to her flushed cheeks and slender neck.
Her blouse tugged upward along her outstretched arm, revealing smooth, pale skin.
Edgar halted mid-step, his gaze fixed on the sleek curve of her calf and slender ankle beneath the wind-swollen skirt.
Pang!
The moment she let out a fierce cry and slammed the ball down, Edgar snapped back to awareness—the ball arced over the net, struck the ground near his feet, and rolled away.
Olivia cheered. Clenching her fist, she let out a triumphant shout.
“Goril… la.”
The idle gentlemen who had been seated on the bench, gripping their palms with sweat without realizing it, murmured their involuntary impression.
What on earth.
Standing motionless, Edgar let out a quiet chuckle as he watched the woman beam brightly. Beads of sweat glistened on her forehead beneath the morning sun, tracing circles around her temples. Edgar gazed at her for a long while.
Edgar walked toward the net. Olivia approached him as well.
“I won.”
Smiling across the net, Edgar extended his arm.
“Yes. I won.”
Olivia grasped his hand without hesitation; her voice carried the breathlessness of exertion. He couldn’t tell whether the sweetness came from her breath or the scent of flowers.
“Congratulations.”
Edgar’s Adam’s apple slowly bobbed. With each steadied breath, the gap in her blouse parted slightly, revealing the delicate hollow between her collarbones rising and falling. A breeze blew in, carrying the subtle fragrance of rose-scented soap.
“So. What’s your wish?”
His lifted gaze softly captured the woman’s beautiful face.
“I’ll think about it. Is that alright?”
“As you please.”
Behind her radiant smile, the grand fountain sprayed white froth into the air. It was a defeat impossible not to feel worthwhile.
[This is the timeline separator]After vigorous exertion, Olivia savored a quiet joy in the refreshing chill of her cold drink.
Lost momentarily in the carefree ease of life, intoxicated by victory as she sipped her ice-filled coffee—
“Take responsibility for me, Miss Blanchet.”
At the unexpected remark, Olivia burst into laughter.
The café was quiet on a weekday afternoon. The piano melody spilling from the record player blended with the sound of rain into a mournful harmony, like petals falling in a storm.
“I’m serious. Come with me to the Rose Ball.”
Elaine’s expression was resolute, as if brooking no retreat.
After their tennis match, Olivia had gone sightseeing around Ritten with Elaine. The city center, crowded with department stores, opulent theaters, and luxury boutiques, bustled with shoppers.
Their conversation, which had started when Elaine asked whether Olivia would attend the ball hosted by Lancelot Hotel—specifically to view a hair accessory—continued even after they ducked into this café to escape the sudden downpour.
“You’ve already declined, haven’t you?”
Olivia speared a large strawberry perched neatly atop white whipped cream with her fork.
“It doesn’t matter—as long as I have an invitation, I can get in.”
“But you don’t even have a dress.”
“You didn’t actually leave everything behind, did you?”
“Yes.”
“What a waste… why on earth…”
Elaine sighed, then steeled her eyes once more and spoke.
“I understand your reasons well enough, Miss Blanchet. But absolutely—you must come with me. I wouldn’t be left without a partner if not for you.”
Elaine spoke deliberately, emphasizing the last sentence. For her, this might very well be her last chance.
Having lived lavishly thanks to her husband, choosing to leave him meant giving up that life entirely.
Of course, things might be different if she received a hefty settlement like Olivia did—but surely no man in Rhondos could offer her more than Duke Johann Leopold.
“…I’ll think about it.”
Olivia smiled faintly and turned toward the window. Rain fell from the slate-gray sky like thousands of needles, shattering against the pavement below.
A ball, huh…
Though she didn’t feel like going, she couldn’t pretend not to notice Elaine being ostracized by her companions—all because of her.
If only she’d held back her emotions a little then. Bringing up the necklace had been a mistake. Olivia silently swallowed a sigh.
The raindrops against the window grew heavier.
It had rained that day too.
The sound of rain filling her ears brought back that nightmare-like moment—the long-awaited day that ended in utter ruin.
It was the day she’d been deployed on her first mission with her senior after joining the special investigations unit.
The early monsoon had already begun, pouring down in torrents. Tragedy struck without warning, like a sudden cloudburst.
‘Watch out, Senior!’
Between flashes of silver rain in the darkness, Ji-an lunged forward.
The criminal’s sharp blade pierced instantly through her abdominal muscles. She didn’t even have time to scream. Her consciousness seemed to have flickered out momentarily.
‘Han Ji-an! Han Ji-an!!!’
He shouted.
The raindrops on her cheeks no longer felt cold. She’d wanted to feel the warmth of the man she loved just a little longer—but felt nothing at all.
Her hearing, at least, held onto his voice until the very end—alongside the distant wail of sirens.
I love you.
She’d never spoken those words aloud before, but moved her lips to whisper them in her final moment.
Had they reached him?
She wondered, but there was no way to know.
It became her final mission—she died protecting her senior. And now she stood alone in a world separated from him.
Are you doing well?
Olivia gazed wordlessly out the window.
Elaine watched Olivia silently, her eyes fixed somewhere beyond the glass. Beneath her calm demeanor, Elaine sensed a sorrow too deep for words.
She knew it was cruel to invite someone shunned by high society to a ball.
‘Please join Miss Blanchet in creating a truly special Rose Ball.’
The letter delivered by the hotel manager came with an enclosed check.
Though the letter bore no sender’s name and the check carried an unfamiliar signature, Elaine instinctively knew.
Edgar Lancaster Lancelot.
Had she not witnessed his demeanor at the tennis court that morning, she wouldn’t have dared utter his name at all.
Since she’d planned to attend with Olivia anyway, Elaine saw no reason to ignore a diamond lying in the street.
Besides, with her impending divorce, she couldn’t afford to pass up even a single coin.
Though the marquis’s intentions seemed suspicious, she wasn’t exactly a virtuous person herself.
But neither was she wicked. Wasn’t it perfectly natural for an eligible bachelor to take interest in a beautiful divorcée?
Elaine decided to think of it just that way.
Surely nothing extraordinary could happen.
And Olivia Blanchet, in Elaine’s experience, had always been of good character.
“Miss Blanchet?”
“…Hm? Oh.”
Olivia offered an awkward smile.
“Sorry. I was lost in thought for a moment. What did you say?”
“It might be my last chance. After the divorce, living like this won’t be easy.”
Elaine pressed Olivia’s guilt relentlessly, wearing a pitiful expression. Outside, the rain continued to pound the window, showing no sign of letting up.
[This is the timeline separator]“Is something troubling you?”
Anne asked cautiously. The young lady had returned from her first outing with a new friend, her spirits unusually low.
What could it be?
Anne’s heart skipped a beat. Had something unpleasant happened?
“It looks like I’ll have to go to the ball after all.”
“So suddenly?”
Anne’s hands stilled in surprise.
“Miss Elaine’s in trouble because of me.”
“But we don’t even have a proper dress…”
The Rose Ball was scheduled for this Friday. With today being Wednesday, there was no time to commission a new gown.
Even when leaving Greathill, she’d left untouched the dazzling dresses that filled her dressing room. Now, the thought filled her with regret.
She’d even ordered summer dresses…
“Oh!”
Good heavens.
“Just a moment, miss.”
Anne, who had been gently dabbing Olivia’s damp hair with a towel, hurried to the nightstand.
She pulled a notebook from the top drawer and frantically flipped through its pages until she found a note scribbled under yesterday’s date:
‘Gabrielle Boutique. Three dresses.’
Anne stared at it for a long moment.
It marked the arrival date of summer dresses ordered a month ago.
It had been a March day when snow fell from a steel-colored sky—the very day the young lady had fallen into the lake. After speaking with her secretary, Diane Brook, she’d flown into a rage and summoned the designer immediately.
As always, the young lady had already been drunk before Gabrielle Jeanne arrived—and Olivia couldn’t recall how many pieces or what styles she’d ordered.
“…I completely forgot.”
“Huh? Forgot what?”
Anne stared at Olivia in shock, realizing she’d spoken her thoughts aloud.
“Oh—just forgot it’s Mother’s birthday!”
“Oh! Right.”
Olivia gave an apologetic smile.
“Let’s send her a gift, Anne.”
“…Yes, miss.”
She couldn’t bring herself to say it outright. If her past still came back uninvited from her ex-husband, how would the young lady feel?
Anne hoped above all that Olivia wouldn’t have to think of Johann Leopold. Loving the duke had nearly destroyed her.
Now, post-divorce, Olivia always wore a smile—as if she’d always been cheerful. And when she smiled, she was even more beautiful.
Like all first loves, that feeling had been both accidental and inevitable. But it was just that—a first love. Anne prayed that a more refined, mature love would soon find its way back to her.
Just then, a fresh spring breeze blew in through the wide-open window. The notebook on the table fluttered, its pages turning over by one.
Anne’s face paled once again.
Male lead is a Love-Obsessed Merman
When he discovers she has gone, he risks everything to pursue her on land, enduring agonizing pain to transform his tail into human legs…
One-line summary: Male lead chases female lead. The male lead’s love is a bit sick, an invincible love brain.
Synopsis
During a voyage at sea, Jiang Yang accidentally captures a merman.
Servant: I heard that mermen are fierce and brutal.
Jiang Yang looks at the merman obediently rubbing her palm like a puppy: “You call this fierce and brutal?”
Servant: I heard that mermen have no human nature.
Jiang Yang looks at the merman with wet puppy eyes, obsessively calling her ‘A Yang’ like a childish infant: “You call this having no human nature?”
With great difficulty, she releases the merman back into the sea and returns to shore.
Who would have thought that in less than half a month, the merman, who should have been freely wandering in the South China Sea, would shed his scales, endure the pain of losing his tail, transform into human legs, and come ashore to find her?
He kneels at her feet, rubbing her palm, with merman tears rolling down: “A Yang, don’t abandon me.”
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This story deserves more hype. People should know more about this.
Sounds like someone is planning to make a misunderstanding between our couple
Here we go again, poor Olivia always getting hurt by men