Chapter 249 Navigating Divorce and Reconciliation
George Mitchell awkwardly withdrew his hand and, upon spotting Ava Anderson in the distance, forced a smile and put some space between himself and Mia Thompson.
Ava Anderson stepped forward, "George Mitchell, Mia Thompson, you made it."
Mia Thompson raised an eyebrow and set down her teacup, "What's with the formalities? George Mitchell and Mia Thompson? Haven't seen us in a few days and we're strangers now?"
Ava Anderson cracked a small smile, "Well... Alex and I are divorced now, so..."
Hearing the word 'divorced,' the couple exchanged a glance with hardly any surprise on their faces, as if they had already been privy to the news.
"I heard about it from your grandmother," Mia Thompson said coolly. "But even after the divorce, you still call her 'grandma.' So why is it that with us, you've stopped calling us mom and dad? Are you playing favorites?"
"Ah? I... umm..." Ava Anderson was thrown, she could see that Mia Thompson seemed upset and quickly tried to explain, "No, that's not what I... I didn't mean..."
She had never come across this sort of accusation before, always hearing about parents or in-laws being partial, but never a daughter-in-law accused of such favoritism.
"Ease up, Mia. Don't scare her," George Mitchell said, seeing Ava stutter and trying to mediate. "She's not yelling at you, so don't..."
"I am scolding her," Mia countered, unmistakably displeased. "Since when do you get to interpret my words? Did you ask for my permission?"
George Mitchell's face tensed, a flicker of embarrassment passing through his eyes.
Mia Thompson gave him no quarter.
Though embarrassed and his pride wounded, George silently swallowed the insult.
He accepted this bitter fruit as a consequence of his own actions.
Ava Anderson stood awkwardly to the side.
After all, George Mitchell was Alexander Mitchell's father, a board member of SK Group, a key figure in several companies—an imposing figure to outsiders, intimidating to cross. Here he was, appearing so humble before his ex-wife.
It was a stark reminder of the adage that misery in marriage could last momentarily, while the pursuit of reconciliation could feel like an endless inferno. And this pursuit had lasted for years without success.
To break the ice, Ava Anderson intervened with an apologetic smile, "I'm sorry, my mistake. You'll always be my family. Even though Alex and I are divorced, you both will always be my parents."
Mia Thompson's expression eased slightly. "That's better. But you and Alex got a divorce so quietly without so much as a heads-up. A little warning would have been polite. Did you think it'd be okay just to spring it on us after the fact?"
Ava Anderson tugged awkwardly at the corner of her mouth. "Grandma gave us the family registry. She knew about the divorce. She even pressed us about it before."
"Oh, so I was worried for nothing?" Mia Thompson frowned, clearly displeased. "Even if Grandma did give you the registry, shouldn’t you have called to inform your parents about something as big as a divorce? You ended your marriage without telling us, and we only found out because Grandma mentioned it today."
Ava Anderson hung her head, at a loss for words.
Mia Thompson continued with a stern face, "And you should know, even if Grandma gave you the registry, she's upset about the divorce too. Or else she wouldn't have hit Alex. We heard he was hurt, so we came to check on him, not expecting to find you here. We thought you two would go your separate ways after the divorce."
