All Chapters of Divorced: The Hidden King Rises: Chapter 11
- Chapter 20
57 chapters
Ch. 11 - Behind the Tinted Glass
"Dead?"The word pierced Elise, echoing in the hollow silence of her mind.Clatter.The brand-new iPhone she had been clutching so tightly slipped from her fingers.It hit the concrete with a sickening crack.The screen shattered into a spiderweb of glass.Elise didn't look at it. She didn't look at Blake.She turned like a marionette and stumbled back to the driver's seat of her Ferrari.She slammed the door shut, as if sealing herself inside could lock out the nightmare."Dead... how could he be dead..."She curled up in the low, hand-stitched leather seat.Her mind was a chaotic blur of noise and pain, as if a saw were tearing through her thoughts.It wasn't just grief. It was a vacuum.A sense of total nothingness—as if her spine had been ripped out, as if the oxygen had been sucked from the air.That phone call that night... the plea for help she had dismissed as a "pathetic trick."Ryan had truly been in the fire. He had truly been burning, dying on a cold operating table.He had
Ch.12 - A Farewell in That Embrace
St. Mary's Hospital. Top floor, VIP Suite 1.Sunset light flooded the floor-to-ceiling windows. "Olivia, I never figured your school life was so colorful."Ryan leaned against the headboard, watching the girl standing before him.She wore a plain white dress, her golden hair shimmering in the evening light.A green firefly hairclip bobbed gently with her movements. She stood poised, striking as an oil painting."Mr. Sinclair, I brought you some pastries. I hope you like them."Olivia crouched down. From her backpack—also adorned with a firefly charm—she retrieved an elegantly packaged box.Her movements were light, carrying the natural grace of high status, yet they couldn't hide the gray shadow lingering in her eyes.This visit was a direct order from her father, Nicholas. He had told her to "build a rapport" with this man.In Olivia's view, if she had to perform this kind of calculated socializing, she would rather be here with Ryan than walk into Suite 3 and face that stomach-turni
Ch.13 - You Never Considered Yourself
"Buddy, we're hitting the boonies." The taxi driver glanced in the rearview mirror.Ryan didn't answer. His gaze was locked on the BMW ahead.The streetlights grew sparse. The concrete skyline faded, replaced by a wall of black trees.The neon glow of Hayden City shrank into a blurry dot behind them.A heiress driving alone into the middle of nowhere in the dead of night.What the hell is she doing?The BMW finally stopped beside an abandoned logging road.A white figure pushed the door open and disappeared into the shadowed path.Ryan paid the driver and followed silently. The woods were quiet.Only the chirping of crickets and the faint snap of dry twigs underfoot broke the silence.He rounded a bend, and the trees suddenly cleared.A winding stream reflected the cold, biting glint of the moonlight.An old stone arch bridge spanned the water. Olivia stood poised right at the edge of the railing.Ryan kept to the shadows. He hesitated.Was following a girl like this crossing a line? M
Ch.14 - The Star
Ryan looked at the girl stumbling under the moonlight, crying like a child. A faint smile touched the corners of his lips.Isn't she a bit clingy?Actually, that's fine.Ryan walked faster.He reached out and caught Olivia's cold hand without a word, half-forcing her to sit on a large, flat green stone by the stream."Sit still. Don't move."Ryan's voice was deep and resonant.Olivia sobbed, curling up obediently on the stone.Ryan didn't say much. He just pulled some tissues from his pocket.With immense patience, he wiped the tears and mud from her face and hair, gentle stroke by gentle stroke.The moonlight flowed like water, casting a silver glow over them.Stars studded the deep blue canopy above."Here, take my shoes. The ground is sharp." Ryan bent down, starting to remove his sneakers.Olivia shook her head, tears still spilling from her eyes.Her nose was red, her voice thick. "No... I won't wear them.""Then what do you want?" Ryan shook his head helplessly.Olivia extended a
Ch. 15 - Unspoken Ripples
The stream murmured softly.Olivia froze.She had grown up surrounded by wealth and fame, seeing treasures of inestimable value.But she had never felt a spark touch her heart quite like this.Her gaze fixed forward, looking past the faint green glimmer and landing on the man's face.In the moonlight, Ryan's features looked chiseled and resolute.No calculated flattery. No false praise. Just a presence as solid and reassuring as bedrock.Olivia opened her mouth to speak, but her throat was too dry to make a sound.She could hear her own heart—usually so quiet—thumping wildly against her ribs. It was fast enough to make her dizzy.It was a sensation she had never felt for any of those elite scions in her twenty years.The wail of a siren cut through the silence from the distant road."Alright. I've taken enough liberties for one day. Sorry about that."Ryan gently patted Olivia's back, motioning for her to stand.He stood up as well, scratching his head with a rare look of awkwardness.
Ch. 16 - The Shallow Excuses
The air in the ward turned suffocating.Elise stood by the bed, her chest heaving.She looked at Ryan, her expression bordering on manic."You won't apologize?!"Elise shrieked."Ryan, do you have any idea how humiliated I've been these past few days?""How many tears did I shed for you? You turned off your phone. You vanished. You made me lose sleep, lose my appetite..."She paused, gritting her teeth. Her voice carried a sickly tone of resentment."Do you know I haven't even been able to satisfy my physical needs? How long are you going to torture me?!"Ryan looked at the woman hysterically claiming she was the "victim." His heart turned to ice.He sat against the headboard, his voice indifferent."If you're lonely, go find your Justin." "I heard that on the day I was dying and needed blood, you were enjoying a candlelight dinner with him."Elise froze. Her arrogance withered for a split second.But immediately, her pride bolstered her twisted logic again."I did that for you! For
Ch.17 - A Kiss for a Cure, A Lie for a Night
"So that's what that term actually means!"Olivia sat on the stool by the bed, her azure eyes sparkling with a light they had never held before.She pointed at an obscure leverage pricing model in the book, her tone full of awe."My professor spent three days on this in class, and I still didn't fully get the logic behind hedging. You explained it in three sentences."Ryan leaned against the headboard, casually flipping through a financial briefing. He looked completely at ease.To others, these financial logics were unfathomable mysteries. To him, they were basic number games."Finance is just value exchange across time and space. Once you see the underlying credit logic, those complex formulas are just window dressing to justify the fees."Ryan's tone was flat, but it carried an undeniable confidence.Olivia tilted her head. Her golden hair cascaded over her shoulder. Her admiration was undisguised."Ryan, if you ever start your own company, I guarantee you'll make it big."Ryan nod
Ch.18 - The Calculated Trap
Wells Manor. Seaside Villa.The horizon burned with the colors of a dying sun.Nicholas sat on a rattan chair, holding a cup of tea that had long gone cold.Olivia had changed into a plain white dress, the green firefly headband resting in her hair.She didn't speak. She simply bowed slightly to her father, then walked out of the manor under his heavy, meaningful gaze.She was going to find Ryan.Nicholas took a sip of the cold tea. His aged fingertips tapped lightly against the armrest—a habit he had when thinking."Go."He didn't turn his head."Take a few men. Follow her from a distance.""See how far things have progressed between her and that gentleman in the top-floor suite at St. Mary's."The butler bowed and accepted the order. His dark silhouette melted quickly into the shadows of the villa.In stark contrast to the tranquility of the manor, the Royal KTV in downtown Hayden City was filled with ear-splitting bass and the scent of cheap perfume.A red Ferrari screeched to a ha
Ch. 19 - Fallen Queen
Royal KTV.The secretary stood there, stunned.In her line of sight, Elise was charging back into the drinking game, swaying unsteadily.A rich second-generation heir in a floral shirt, arms around two hostesses, pushed a freshly opened bottle of whiskey toward Elise. He wore a mocking grin."Gorgeous, if you don't drink this, you're disrespecting the boys!"The secretary thought the proud Elise would refuse coldly, maybe even splash the drink in his face.But what happened next froze everyone in place.Elise laughed at herself. It was a laugh filled with bitter absurdity.She didn't push the bottle away. Instead, she snatched it, raised it to her lips, and slammed it back.The amber liquid streamed down her pale neck, soaking the collar of her bodysuit."Yeah! That's how you do it!"The crowd erupted in cheers, accompanied by wolf whistles and applause.The secretary frantically texted Elise, the screen flickering in the darkness:[Miss, Mr. Sinclair didn't reply. Let's go. These men
Ch.20 - Ryan Is Coming
Royal KTV. Entrance to the long hallway.The lighting here was dim and suggestive.Elise was being dragged by two burly men, one on each side. Her body was dead weight. Her slender high heels dragged two jagged trails across the thick carpet."Miss! Stop! You can't go in there!"The secretary screamed from behind, her voice breaking into sobs.But Elise seemed to have lost her soul. She still clutched the empty wine bottle, muttering incoherently.She wanted to ruin herself. To take revenge on the man who had dared to say the word "divorce."The secretary was blocked by a man several meters away. She watched helplessly as Elise was dragged toward the inner door.Ding.A crisp notification sound came from the phone in her pocket.Like a drowning woman clutching at a lifeline, the secretary's trembling hand tapped the screen.[Tell Elise to hold on for a few minutes. I am coming.]Just a simple sentence. But it carried unquestionable authority."Ryan is coming! Miss! He's coming!"The s