How Did You Become Mrs. Hawkins

"When did you get to know her?"

Under the dim lights, Benjamin finally saw Grace supporting herself with crutches. It wasn't until then that he realized she was much thinner than when they'd married three years ago.

She looked as if a gust of wind could easily blow her away.

"You followed me?" Benjamin's face fell at once.

"Do you think I have nothing better to do? I was at the same hospital and saw you with my own eyes." Though her voice was soft, she enunciated her words clearly.

Benjamin looked angry despite Grace was overwhelmed by sadness. How could he?

He still hadn't expressed any concern for her, even though she had been in a plane crash. What felt even worse was how evident the irritation and disdain in his voice were.

Clearly, their three years of marriage had been futile.

All this while, she had been attending to her demanding mother-in-law and taking care of her sister-in-law, who didn't like her.

In the family, she was treated like nothing but a servant, and in the company, she did her utmost to excel in her role as the secretary.

She had been giving her all to fulfill Elizabeth's wish for her to conceive Benjamin's children. She had hoped that he would finally see the good in her.

Even the slightest bit of affection from him would have been enough to make up for her tireless efforts over the past three years.

However, Benjamin had barely touched her throughout their marriage.

Although they shared the same room, they didn't sleep in the same bed.

Suppressing the pain all over her body, Grace looked into his frosty eyes and let out a laugh.

"Your mom said that I'm barren, and now you've gotten your mistress pregnant instead. Don't you care about my dignity at all?"

She lifted her chin and stretched out her right hand to touch him.

But he stopped her in a second.

"Yvonne isn't a mistress. I've known her for more than 20 years."

So they had known each other since they were kids. Grace could feel Benjamin's grip tightening on her.

"She had been abroad for five years, and I didn't have any contact with her during that time."

Grace was surprised to hear that. No wonder she hadn't been able to find any information about them.

Remembering that the woman was pregnant, she looked up at Benjamin. "So you've gotten back with her now?"

Benjamin's Adam's apple bobbed slightly. He thought of explaining but stopped on second thought.

His gaze darkened. "Have you forgotten how you ended up as Mrs. Hawkins?"

Well, even if he hadn't brought it up, Grace would never forget it.

Hawkins Group had a lot of branches, and many people coveted the position as its heir. Hence, Elizabeth had wanted to find a woman from Pamore for Benjamin. She had wanted him to get married and have a future heir to ensure stability for the company.

As Elizabeth's life savior, Grace had volunteered herself for that role.

She had come to Benjamin on her own and made it clear that she wouldn't interfere with his life.

Not only that, but she had also agreed to hide their marriage and shut down her thriving boutique store. She had agreed to become his secretary at Hawkins Group and help handle its affairs.

Now, Benjamin was telling her that she had overstepped her boundaries.

Grace chuckled. "Well, I didn't forget. But humans are greedy, aren't they?"

Her face was as white as a sheet. If she hadn't had a smile on her face, she would have looked like a ghost who had escaped hell.

As he looked at her now, Benjamin felt like she had changed. But he couldn't tell how..

All of a sudden, Grace effortlessly withdrew her hand from his grip.

A pleasant fragrance gradually permeated the spacious room, getting stronger by the second. The windows were closed, and the temperature was rising.

Benjamin spared a glance at the thermostat and saw that it was 30 degrees Celsius.

His expression darkened, especially when Grace moved her hands to his clothes.

He couldn't seem to push her away.

As his breathing turned ragged, he asked angrily, "What did you do?"

I Am No Longer Mrs. Hawkins

Grace took off his shirt and peppered kisses down his abdomen. Her longing for him was so intense that even her ears had turned red.

"Didn't you ask me how I became Mrs. Hawkins? Well, I nearly forgot about my main responsibility—conceiving your child."

Continuing with her actions, she said, "Right now, I'm just fulfilling my duties."

"How dare you!" Benjamin was infuriated. His muscles tensed with his rage.

"I've sprayed some aphrodisiac in the air. Bear with it. It'll end soon.

"I just ... I just want a child too."

She was getting more bold, a far cry from how gentle and obedient she had been in front of him before.

Benjamin's breathing grew heavy in response to her shameless provocation.

He did his best to suppress the effects of the aphrodisiac and fiercely grabbed her hand. "You're so disgusting, Grace!"

The burning desire in Grace's gaze dissipated at once.

"Is it so disgusting for you to make love to me?" She looked up at him with her watery eyes.

"Yes!" Benjamin replied without hesitation as he stared at her intently.

Then, he pushed her away aggressively and picked up the clothes on the floor. He hastily put them on, not even bothering to button up his shirt.

As the door slammed shut with a loud bang, the room fell into silence.

It was only then that Grace slumped to the floor, feeling dejected. She dug her nails into her palms, her eyes filled with self-deprecation.

It was time for her to give up on him.

…

The next day, Grace limped down the stairs while dragging her luggage.

The housekeepers had already set up the table with dishes. Elizabeth wasn't around since she was usually occupied with morning prayers at this time.

"Hey, Grace, are you going traveling after having just escaped death?" asked Benjamin's sister, Celia Hawkins. She was a sophomore at Pamore University.

She had always disliked Grace. "Well, even if you want to go, you'll have to do my hair and take me to school first."

Grace was pretty skilled at styling hair. Celia was often praised by her friends after having her hair done by Grace.

However, instead of giving a damn about her, Grace headed for the first floor straight away. She coincidentally bumped into her mother-in-law, Susan Ford. The latter was dressed rather elegantly.

Michael Hawkins was Benjamin and Celia's father. Susan was his second wife and Benjamin and Celia's biological mother.

Susan had always disapproved of Grace's background and her family. She was always rude when she spoke to Grace.

"Where are you going with that luggage? Put it down quickly and help Patty clean up one of the rooms. Someone will be moving in soon."

Grace's eyelid twitched. She had a vague idea of what was coming. Then, she heard Celia ask curiously, "Who is it?"

"Who else? Of course it's Yvonne!"

"What? Yvonne is back?"

"Yes! And she is pregnant with your brother's child! The environment here is good, so she'll be staying here for a while instead of returning to Quine Residence."

As Susan spoke, she looked over in Grace's direction. In her eyes, Yvonne was her ideal daughter-in-law.

If it hadn't been for that matter, Benjamin would have been married to Yvonne.

"Why are you still standing there? Get moving!" Susan said.

If the past, Grace would have obeyed her. But after hearing what Susan had just said, Grace no longer had any desire to try to please her.

Despite the fact that her heart stung like hell, she forced herself to maintain a calm facade.

"From now on, I have nothing to do with Benjamin anymore. Get someone else to do the work."

Divorce Papers

Susan couldn't believe that Grace had actually spoken to her in such a manner.

She pointed a finger, which was adorned with a large sapphire ring, at Grace. "What's with your attitude? Say that again!"

There was no hint of fear on Grace's face.

She fixed her eyes on Susan and said, "Since Yvonne is moving in, you can get her to do the work. I'll never do it again!" She articulated her words clearly.

After she spoke, Grace felt an unprecedented sense of relief wash over her.

Susan, on the other hand, completely lost her temper. "You—"

"Mom!" Celia suddenly caught Susan's arm and lowered her voice.

"Grace is angry, isn't she? I heard that yesterday Benjamin had ..."

Celia told Susan what had happened last night. Judging from how smug she looked, it was clear that she had exaggerated the story.

Susan seemed to understand the situation at once. "How dare you take it out on me when you're the one who couldn't make your husband stay?"

Grace had already walked out of the villa. She slowed to a stop. She turned around, suppressing herself from lashing out at Susan.

Then, she retorted coldly, "Haven't you been doubting my fertility for the past three years? Why don't you have Benjamin undergo a medical checkup as well?

"After all, he couldn't even get an erection after everything I did to him yesterday. I wonder whose fault it truly is that I can't get pregnant."

"You ..." Susan was at a loss for words, and so was Celia.

When Susan came to her senses, she fumed. "Grace, don't you dare think I won't have Benjamin divorce you!"

In the past, Grace hadn't wanted to get into conflict with the rest of the Hawkins family for Elizabeth's sake. So she had compromised. However, she didn't care about that anymore.

"That's up to you," Grace replied flatly, walking away without a trace of hesitation. She left Susan to fume and rage.

After she left, Susan couldn't help but think something was amiss.

"Go up and check if we have lost anything valuable. You saw how heavy her luggage was. Who knows what's in there!" she ordered Celia.

Soon, Celia hurriedly came down with a folder in her hand.

"Mom, nothing is missing. But this was on the bedside table!"

Susan took it and checked to see what it was. Her pupils shrank immediately.

Divorce papers were inside the folder.

Susan immediately called Benjamin and told him what Grace had done.

He was in a meeting at the moment. As soon as he heard Susan mention the divorce papers and that Grace had said that he was impotent, he immediately gestured for the meeting to stop.

Then, he took the coat draped over his chair and walked out of the conference room.

"Calm down, Mom," he said in a deep voice.

"I am calm! It's good that she's gone now since Yvonne is coming back. I'm just angry that she's the one who asked for the divorce!"

Susan was still whining about it when Benjamin hung up the phone. His face was thunderous.

Even now, he couldn't believe that the usually obedient Grace would be so defiant.

However, at the thought of what she had done to him yesterday, he looked for her number in his list of contacts.

This was the first time he had called her in their three years of marriage.

Before the line connected, Larry stepped out of the elevator on the top floor and rushed over to him.

"Mr. Hawkins, I just received Ms. Lewis' resignation letter in my email."

Larry was panting. "Ms. Lewis is in charge of a lot of projects, of which Darai Medical Expo is the most important.

"We haven't even done the handovers yet. What should we do now?"

Benjamin's expression was getting darker and darker, especially when he couldn't reach Grace on the phone.

"Hello, the number you have dialed is currently busy. Please try again later."

Grace had declined his call.