ire had reached her limit. While Felix was fussing over Madeline, she raised her hand and pped her across the face.


    The sound was sharp and vicious.


    "Your fall had nothing to do with me! But *this* p, you can put this one on my tab!"


    "And another thing, good luck charms have a spirit. This one wasn''t meant for you. Using it will only bring you bad luck!"


    "That''s enou-"


    Felix tried to stop ire.


    With a backhand, she pped him, too.


    This one was even harder, even louder than the first.


    The force of it made ire''s own palm sting.


    As Madeline let out a shocked scream, ire told Felix, "Open your damn eyes and


    look! *This* is what making a scene looks like!"


    "ire, have I been too easy on you?" Felix asked, his expression icy.


    A clear handprint was already forming on his cheek.


    "I''m so touched, I can hardly stand it," she retorted sarcastically.


    Felix''s face turned livid.


    But before he could explode, Old Mrs. Quigley''s authoritative voice echoed from the doorway. "What is going on here?"


    Madeline, terrified of the old woman, immediately shrank back and hid behind Felix. Felix suppressed his anger and greeted her. "Grandma."


    Old Mrs. Quigley''s sharp eyes scanned the room. She saw the handprint on Felix''s face first, then the matching one on Madeline''s.


    Finally, her gaze fell on ire. Seeing her face was unmarked, she let out a sigh of relief.


    As long as her precious granddaughter hadn''t been hurt, that was all that mattered. Then, her face stern, she ordered Felix, "You,e outside with me."


    When she turned to speak to ire, her tone softenedpletely. "My dear girl, help your grandma out."


    Felix followed them out, his face grim.


    Old Mrs. Quigley walked until she found a quiet corner, then sat down on a bench.


    She patted the seat next to her, calling to ire, "My dear, you sit too."


    As soon as ire sat down, Felix moved to sit beside her on his own.


    Old Mrs. Quigley''s face darkened. "Did I say you could sit?"


    Rebuffed, Felix stood back up.


    The old woman took a file out of her purse and handed it directly to Felix. "Sign this."


    Felix took it, puzzled. When his


    fell oth


    title at the top of the


    document, his expression


    eyes


    immediately turned grim.


    >


    Because what his grandmother had given him was a set of divorce papers.


    "Grandma..."


    "No excuses! Just sign it!" Old Mrs. Quigley cut him off, her tone leaving no room for argument.


    The corner of Felix''s mouth curved into a cold line, his lips pressed together tightly.


    His hand, clutching the papers, tightened until the pages began to crumple in his grasp.


    ire now saw the title of the document as well.


    She was surprised.


    When had the old woman prepared divorce papers?


    Old Mrs. Quigley handed another document to her. "My dear, I''ve added a few new uses. Take a look. If you have no objections, just sign it''ll go with you two to City Hall to finalize the divorce this afternoon.


    To be honest, ire was a bit stunned.


    After all, she had gone to great lengths to get Felix to agree to a divorce.


    But Felix had refused to cooperate, and after two months, there had been no progress at all.


    Coley had warned her that divorce


    proceedings, while seemingly


    simple, could drag on for a very long time one party refused to cooperate.


    She had told her to be mentally prepared.


    And now, her grandmother was handing her a golden opportunity.


    ire didn''t even bother to read the new uses. She immediately looked for a pen to sign.


    The moment she scrawled her name across the paper, she felt a surprising sense of relief.