Sir, Please Sign Here to Get a Divorce-Chapter 26: He Hit Her

Ethan Yardley had never imagined that this gentle woman before him would one day become so unreasonable.

His face darkened, fury flashing in his eyes. "You’ve really got some nerve."

Shoving his chair back abruptly, Ethan Yardley stood and yanked the belt from his waist, advancing directly on Serena Yardley.

Serena Yardley’s eyes were already red-rimmed. Seeing his action, she instinctively backed away.

But before she could react, the man yanked her forward, pushed her down over the desk, and brought the belt down on her bottom without the slightest hesitation.

In truth, he barely used any force. He just wanted to scare her with a show of authority.

Serena Yardley cried out, aggrieved.

"You hit me! What gives you the right to hit me? This is domestic violence! I’m going to report you!"

"On the grounds that I’m your husband. And because you’re not listening to me."

As he spoke, Ethan Yardley struck her bottom with the belt again.

The blow was very light.

But Serena Yardley still felt the sting of pain.

Despair washed over her, and she struggled, shouting, "Ethan Yardley, I don’t want to love you anymore! Let me go!"

"It seems I haven’t hit you hard enough for you to learn your lesson. You still have the energy to yell at me."

He struck her again with the belt.

He used no force at all.

Serena Yardley no longer felt the pain on her body, but her heart ached.

Lying over the desk, her tears fell uncontrollably.

"You’ve changed. You’re not the man I fell in love with anymore. I’ll let you have your other woman. Can’t I just leave?"

Her heart truly hurt so much.

’Why has the man who once cherished me like a treasure become like this? Always siding with an outsider, completely disregarding my feelings.’

’If they were destined to separate sooner or later, why should she insist on staying only to humiliate herself?’

Serena Yardley made up her mind. She was going to leave.

Ethan Yardley lowered his hand and dropped the belt.

He looked at Serena Yardley, his eyes deep and dark, his face like ice.

"Have you thought it through?"

’If she had really made up her mind, he would grant her wish.’

Serena Yardley straightened up, rubbing her bottom as she glared at the tall man before her, her eyes brimming with tears.

Despite her reluctance to leave, she said stubbornly, "You were going to make me leave sooner or later anyway, weren’t you?"

"I never said I wanted you to leave."

"Then what was that about bringing another woman into our marital home?"

Ethan Yardley was growing impatient. "Wasn’t my explanation clear enough before?"

Serena Yardley didn’t want to hear it. She wiped the tears from her cheeks and insisted,

"I’ve thought it through. I’m leaving tomorrow."

"Fine."

He had agreed without a moment’s hesitation.

Despair filled Serena Yardley. Seeing the way he looked, as if he couldn’t wait for her to be gone, a piercing pain shot through her heart.

She angrily shoved him aside and limped out of the study.

Left behind, Ethan Yardley stood there, his expression blank, the aura around him as cold as the dead of winter.

’In fact,’ he thought, ’since I can’t change the fact that I have to marry Sylvia, perhaps I should just let Serena go out and forge her own path.’

’She’s an adult now. She should have a life of her own.’

...

Back in her room, Serena Yardley immediately started packing her luggage.

She didn’t want to wait until tomorrow; she wanted to leave tonight.

Ethan Yardley felt an irritable restlessness. Just as he was about to leave the study for a shower, he suddenly received a call from the family estate.

On the phone, Mrs. Yardley said, "Ethan, tomorrow is your grandfather’s birthday. Don’t forget to bring Serena over for a family dinner."

Ethan Yardley furrowed his brow and replied in a low voice, "I know."

"Mm. And of course, when you come, your grandfather will inevitably pressure you about having children, so you two should be prepared for that."

Ethan didn’t reply. After his mother hung up, he brooded for a moment, then suddenly remembered the argument he’d just had with Serena.

’In the state they were in, how could they possibly have a child?’

Ethan Yardley put his phone away. As he pulled open the study door, he happened to see Serena Yardley walking out of the master bedroom, pulling a suitcase behind her.

He stopped in his tracks, his sharp gaze fixed on her.

But Serena Yardley acted as if she hadn’t seen him, keeping her head down as she dragged her suitcase past him.

Anger surged in Ethan Yardley’s heart again, and he shot out a hand to grab Serena Yardley’s arm.

Serena Yardley tried to wrench her arm free twice but couldn’t. She looked up and glared at him. "Let go."

"Where do you think you’re going this late at night?"

Ethan Yardley didn’t want to argue with a young woman. He stared at her and commanded, "Go back to the room. Tomorrow, you’re coming with me to the family estate."

Serena Yardley refused. "Why should I listen to you?"

"Because I’m your husband." His tone left no room for argument.

Serena Yardley grew even angrier. "A husband wouldn’t act like you, helping another woman bully me!"

"Serena Yardley, when have I ever bullied you?"

’This woman just doesn’t know what’s good for her. It’s all my fault for spoiling her.’

"You just hit me with a belt. My butt still hurts. Anyway, I’ve decided to leave you, so get out of my way."

Serena Yardley had made up her mind. No matter how late it was, she was leaving.

Staying here would only make her angrier and more miserable.

Ethan Yardley said sternly, "If you don’t listen, you get disciplined."

He wasn’t in the mood to argue with her. He snatched her suitcase and took it into the master bedroom.

Serena Yardley chased after him. "What are you doing? Give me back my suitcase.

Don’t think you can bully me just because you’re bigger and stronger than me!"

Ethan Yardley dragged the suitcase into the walk-in closet, lifted it up, and tossed it onto the highest shelf of the wardrobe.

’That way, the shorty won’t be able to reach it.’

He grabbed his pajamas and turned to go to the bathroom.

Serena Yardley followed him into the walk-in closet. Seeing the suitcase placed so high, she stood on her tiptoes and swiped at it a few times but couldn’t get it down. Frustrated, she yelled at Ethan Yardley’s retreating back,

"Ethan Yardley, you bastard!"

Seeing the man enter the bathroom and close the door, Serena Yardley looked up at the suitcase on the wardrobe, feeling utterly helpless.

’She’d put her ID and wallet in the suitcase. Now that she couldn’t get it, where would she stay if she left?’

Serena Yardley had no choice but to go back and lie down on the bed.

After his shower, Ethan Yardley first went downstairs to say a few words to Sylvia Schuyler. Only after personally seeing Sylvia settled in for the night did he return to the master bedroom.

When he returned, he found the master bedroom door locked from the inside again.

He hadn’t wanted to force her, but when he thought about his family pressuring them to have a child, he changed his mind.

So, he got a key, opened the door, and walked over to Serena Yardley’s side of the bed.

Seeing that Serena was already asleep, Ethan Yardley paid no mind to the unpleasantness that had just occurred between them. He got into bed and reached out to hold her.

But Serena Yardley reacted as if he were a monster, violently slapping his hand away as she sat up and scrambled to the head of the bed.

"What are you doing?"

she demanded.

Ethan Yardley’s expression softened, and he spoke in a gentler tone. "Stop messing around. I know you don’t want to leave me."

’He felt the same. A 30-year-old man, what was the point of arguing with a 20-year-old girl?’

’She was still young, after all. There was no need for him to be so petty with her.’

Serena Yardley looked at the man before her.

She couldn’t deny it; she was desperately in love with him and would do anything for him.

But his actions were truly beyond her endurance.

"So what if I don’t want to leave you? In the end, you’re still going to marry someone else.

From now on, let’s not have any more physical contact. So, are you leaving, or am I?"