Although the duplex he lived in was decent, it was far from better than Abraham's family mansion.
The Chinese-style Abraham's family mansion contained beautiful courtyards, corridors, and waterside pavilions. It was highly picturesque.
It was super extensive with top-notch interior decoration, and the Abraham's had lived in the mansion for generations.
Mike didn't seem to like it and moved out after the divorce.
He had purchased a new house. It seemed that he had no intention of returning to Abraham's family mansion.
"Is there anything wrong with Lauren's family mansion?" He answered.
"House is a property. No matter how grand it is, it can't be home." Scarlett replied. She suddenly realized why Mike didn't want to return to Abraham's family mansion.
Abraham's family mansion for Mike was like Lauren's to Scarlett. They grew apart from the house because of some unpleasant memories in their childhood.
The gorgeous Abraham's mansion brought many painful memories to Mike. Apart from those in his childhood, Scarlett filed for divorce from Mike in the mansion.
"In your opinion, what is home?" Mike asked.
"A home had nothing to do with its size. It is a place to live with people we love...Well, forget it. A workaholic like you will never be on the same page with me on this."
Scarlett shook her head and continued to discuss the house decoration.
"If the space is allowed, I think a few magnolia trees will look perfect in the garden. The magnolia flowers' fragrance will spread all over the courtyard. During its blossom, the flower petals will dance in the air. That must be very amazing."
Scarlett preferred strong plants like magnolia trees more than those delicate ones.
"Well, alright, I'll change those roses into magnolia trees," Mike said after thinking for a moment.
"If my memory serves, the magnolia flower is edible."
She had soaked the magnolia flowers in honey and put them onto the pastry. It tasted refreshing.
Scarlett nodded to confirm that it was indeed edible.
'Wait, what did he say? Change the rose into magnolia trees? Why did he take my advice seriously? This's his future house, right?' Scarlett was suddenly confused.
"Then I'll let the gardener prepare some magnolia seeds. After I move in, you need to make the magnolia pastry. I want more!"
Last time, Scarlett made less, and it was too little to be enough. They were not so familiar with each other at that time, so Mike pretended to be a small eater.
Scarlett was hypocritical, making Mike lose his appetite.
Actually, Mike had a sweet tooth, but not at a crazy level. He only liked Scarlett's desserts.
"It will take the magnolia five years to bloom. By then, I might have already left."
Scarlett said dully. They could never be lovers again.
The agreement on the table was clearly written in black and white that Scarlett should leave after she paid off her debts.
Mike would probably see the magnolia blossoms with another woman five years later.
'Hey! Come on! Stop picturing that!' She felt a little upset.
Scarlett shook her head and grabbed the contract.
She then changed the topic. "Now, without Wendy's interruption, let's get back to the contract. Our possible physical contact has already been written clearly in it. You have violated the contract so many times. Don't break the rules from now on."
She was reminding Mike and herself as well.
Scarlett reminded herself of controlling her feelings. It was inappropriate to get some stupid image in her head since they had divorced.
Mike was rich. A villa for him cost as much as a cabbage. But Scarlett's family had bankrupted, and she was a bastard. They were destined to be apart.
Mike stared coldly at Scarlett, thinking, 'She is bringing up the contract. It seems that she was planning a break-up again.'
"We have to abide by the rules. That's why we need a contract. What is in the past is in the past. We should correct the mistake from now on." She yawned and felt a little sleepy.
Mike snorted casually, giving an ambiguous attitude.
It was stormy and windy weather outside. Scarlett leaned against Mike's chest, chatting, and then fell asleep.
Mike picked up the contract and browsed it through. His eyes landed on the sentence in the last row.
Party A shall pay for Party B 50,000 as moral compensation each time Party A violates the contract.
This kind of stupid contract meant nothing to Mike.
He tore the contract. Originally, the contract was a prank that Mike played for Scarlett because she looked somewhat easy to push around.
But from now on, Mike didn't want to push her around.
She had been suffering a lot.
Mike felt like protecting Scarlett at this moment.
Scarlett wasn't in a deep sleep, so Mike put her on the sofa.
He fetched the phone and went to another room.
He whispered, "What makes you so long to dig out Wendy's background?"
He was calling Jett. Originally, Mike had hired a private investigator to follow the case. Wendy kept messing around with Scarlett, so Mike had to pass it over to his brother.
"Mike, you have to give more time. Wendy's private life is fucking awesome! It was a long story that four A4 papers couldn't contain. She has a lot of boyfriends. I didn't know where to start."
Jett couldn't stop complaining over the phone.
"She had nothing to do with me," Mike said indifferently, making Jett feel chilly even he was on the other side of the line.
"Oh no, has someone upset you?"
"Send me the information, as many as you can."
"Look at you! You just hit her father, and now you are going to mess with her younger sister?"
Jett had never seen anyone like Mike who took turns to offend his wife's family.
Mike sneered, "I'm Scarlett's only family."
'Sister? Wendy doesn't deserve it.' Mike thought.
"Mike, there's someone else."
"Who?"
Mike felt that everyone in the Lauren family was lame.
He was taking revenge on them for his wife.
"About your kid, I bet I won't be an uncle quickly based on how much you hate children, right?"
Mike hung up the phone and left the room. He then looked at Scarlett, who was sleeping soundly on the sofa. Her flat stomach moved up and down with every breath.
Mike didn't like children.
But it depended on who was the kids' mother.
Mike picked her up and placed her on the bed. He frowned at the big doll on her bed.
She brought this doll to his house when they got married.
She even slept with it. Mike then tossed it under the bed for some time, but he didn't expect her to bring it out.. He felt it was threatening.