"You can start whenever you want.Just come to the company.I'll have Corbin arrange it for you."
With the divorce certificate in his hand, Rayan gave Janessa an unreadable look, slid into his car, and
drove away.
Janessa heaved a huge sigh of relief.
"Finally."
She slipped the divorce certificate into her satchel and dialed a number.
"Where are you? Let's go shopping!"
An hour later, Janessa and Alana arrived at the shopping mall.
Alana looked at Janessa in disbelief.
"Are you really divorced?"she asked in a loud voice.
"Well, the stamp on the certificate hasn't dried yet.Do you want to see it?"
Janessa shook her head helplessly as she stared at her best friend with a fond look.
Really, would Alana ever change? She couldn't imagine what kind of person would be able to tame
such a woman.
"No, forget it.Anyway, that's great! You finally left that jerk,"
Alana cheered, flashing her a thumbs-up.
‘Now, my brother will have a chance.’ While Janessa was selecting clothes, Alana secretly took out her
phone to send a message and quickly slipped the phone back to her pocket.
A woman's energy for shopping was limitless.
They never knew when to stop.
After walking around for some time, the two of them ended up with bags upon bags full of their loot.
"Wow, this is great! I haven't enjoyed shopping for a long time.Where are we going next?"
Alana kept looking around.
"Food! Let's go!"
Janessa pulled at her best friend, who was still craning her head looking around.
Together, they left this floor.
When they turned a corner, Janessa nearly ran into a person.
"I'm sorry."
Janessa didn't collide with the man, but she still apologized.
"You don't have to say sorry to me."
She looked up to find Gordon smiling down at her.
He looked like an angel who had just left heaven.
Alana exclaimed in a loud voice, "Gordon! Hey! What are you doing here? What a coincidence!"
She gave a relieved sigh when she saw him standing in front of them.
She feigned ignorance and greeted her brother happily, as if she weren't the one to tell him their
location in the first place.
"What a coincidence!"
Janessa watched them with interest as they got into their roles in front of her and cheered Alana on,
"Go on, keep on acting!"
Of course, she knew Alana's little trick.
Earlier, they were getting ready to leave when she saw Alana acting strangely.
She was surprised that Gordon arrived sooner than she thought.
"You knew?"
Alana asked in a betrayed voice.
Then, she immediately clamped a hand over her mouth.
Didn't she just confirm her action by saying that? ‘I'm so stupid!"
With a hand on Janessa's shoulder, Gordon tried to mollify Janessa because he felt sorry for his sister.
"Don't blame Alana.I asked her to do it.I really didn't expect that Rayan would hurt you like this.I'll make
him pay."
When did Gordon ever see Janessa so sad? He had always tried to protect her and take care of her,
but Rayan managed to hurt her immensely.
Looking at Janessa's thin shoulder and obviously thin face, Gordon felt pain lance inside his heart like
a knife piercing through his chest.
He demandingly asked, "Why did you leave without saying goodbye last time? Don't you know that I
nearly went crazy looking all over for you? If I didn't find out that you left by yourself, I would think it
was..."
"I'm fine, really.Don't worry about me."
Janessa cheerfully shook the bags in her hand and told him with actions that she was okay.
"Well, can you two stop chatting here? Let's find a place first so we can chat while eating,"
Alana scolded them playfully.
Smiling, she looped her arms through Janessa's and Gordon's and walked arm in arm with them to a
restaurant.
Gordon ordered a lot of dishes, all of which were Janessa's favorites.
Seeing this, Alana complained to Gordon, "Gordon, you've gone too far! I tipped you off, yet this is how
you repay me?"
"There are a lot of dishes, soup, and desserts here, and you're still not satisfied?"
Gordon had no choice but to comfort his pouting sister, but his affectionate gaze never left Janessa.
Janessa felt uncomfortable under that unwavering stare, which seemed to strip her bare.
"Actually, it doesn't make any difference to me.Waiter, can you help us change the dishes we ordered
just now?"
"No, No, I can eat anything.How do you think I put on the weight?"
Alana lamented, pinching her belly and showing it to Janessa.
Looking at her pout, Janessa could hardly blame her."Control yourself! How can you chase after your
dream boy in the future like this?"she teased Alana.
Alana was not actually fat.
Standing beside Janessa, who was of the same height, Alana looked a bit plumper.
Janessa was very athletic, while Alana was the opposite.
When they were in college, it was Janessa who helped her pass her PE test.
"I will lose weight,"she declared in a firm tone.
"I won't run away for the next six months.I will join you and exercise to lose weight!"
Alana angrily glared at her brother and her best friend, who were both laughing at her, and made her
vow.
"You can do it!"
Janessa encouraged her with a serious expression, which was ruined when she suddenly burst into
laughter.
"You don't believe me, do you? Just wait and see."
Alana took out her phone and changed her WeChat profile picture into a popular one with the words, '‘I
will not change my profile photo if I can't lose twenty pounds.Alana thought that she would finally
convince them after changing her profile photo, but the two only laughed even harder.To be fair, it
wasn't Janessa's or Gordon's fault that they couldn't take Alana’s words seriously.The words "lose
weight"had been said too many times by Alana.
She would always swear to lose weight and then give up.
Her longest stint lasted three days.
"All right, all right.Let's just eat!"
The three of them chatted and laughed at each other.
They ate their meal quickly, but Gordon barely ate anything.
He either watched Janessa eat or picked up food for her.
"Gordon, I hope that we could be friends like before.I may be divorced, but I'm not thinking of marrying
again.I hope that you could understand that, and that you can be my best friend."
Janessa had a serious conversation with Gordon while Alana was in the bathroom.
"I just want to take good care of you," Gordon reasoned out.
"Then be my friend.A proper distance is the best way to take care of me."
Janessa looked at Gordon as if she wanted to say something else, but she ultimately gathered her
belongings and left the restaurant without saying another word.
Back in her apartment, she sat in the corner with a lonely expression on her face.
Finally, she was a divorced woman...
She knew better than to expect a happy marriage after all, they weren't in love, and they married for a
purpose.
However, she didn't think it would be this excruciating.
She was divorced, and her marriage of convenience ended just like that.
She should be feeling relaxed and happy because of her newfound freedom.
Why was her heart even heavier? Irritably, she locked the divorce certificate at the bottom of the
bedside table and lay on the bed, looking up at the ceiling unseeingly.
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