Chapter 32 It Was Not Her Fault
Alexander set the lunch on the coffee table—one for him and one for Isabella.
He opened the boxes and noticed one had chili peppers while the other didn't. He frowned. "Why'd you add chili peppers?"
Ava snapped out of her daze. "I just added them randomly. If you don't want it, don't eat it."
Alexander sensed something was off from Ava's cold tone. But then he remembered neither he nor Ava liked spicy food. She must've made a mistake.
"Mrs. Mitchell, have you had lunch?" Isabella asked politely, looking pale and fragile.
"She already did," Alexander answered for her. When Ava used to bring him lunch, she always ate at home first, so he assumed the same today.
Ava replied coldly, "Yeah, I've already eaten."
She used to worry that eating with him would disrupt his work, so she always left right after delivering the lunch. In reality, she was always hungry when she brought him lunch and went home hungry, too.
"That's good," Isabella said with a gentle smile, "Thanks for making lunch for me. It smells wonderful. You must've worked hard."
"Let's eat," Alexander said, placing the non-spicy lunch box in front of Isabella. "You have this one."
Isabella glanced at the spicy one. "Alexander, you can't eat spicy food. Let me have the spicy one."
"No," Alexander said firmly, "Your health isn't good; you shouldn't eat anything spicy."
"But you can't eat spicy food either," Isabella said, concerned.
"It's fine. A little won't hurt. This chili doesn't look very spicy."
Watching the two of them care for each other on the sofa, Ava felt like an outsider. Alexander had always refused to eat spicy food. She had once asked him to try a mildly spicy pepper, and he had flatly refused. But now, for Isabella, he was willing to eat anything.
It was laughable. No matter what Ava did, she could never win his favor. But Isabella didn't have to lift a finger, and Alexander would bend over backward for her.
Some people effortlessly got what others could only dream of.
Ava wanted to leave quickly, so she stepped forward and said, "Give me the divorce papers. I'll sign them."
Even when Alexander told her that morning that Isabella was back and he wanted a divorce, she hadn't felt humiliated or angry at him. Mostly, she just felt pain.
But now, she felt humiliated and even angry.
Alexander, holding his utensils and picking out the chili peppers, frowned when he heard her mention the divorce papers. "I told you, some property paperwork isn't done yet. We need to wait longer."
Isabella's brow furrowed, and a flash of displeasure crossed her eyes.
"Then why did you ask me to come here today?" Ava's voice rose. She was really angry. Was it to bring them lunch?
Seeing Ava's anger, Isabella's eyes reddened. "It's all my fault. I wanted to see you because I was worried that I was the reason for your divorce. I feel guilty, so I wanted to meet you."
Isabella suddenly covered her mouth and started to sob. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have come. Maybe I should leave."
Alexander quickly grabbed a tissue to wipe her tears and comforted her. "Don't cry."
He looked up at Ava and said, "Ava, Isabella feels guilty about our divorce. She wanted you to come so you could tell her it isn't her fault."
So that was Alexander's purpose—to have her tell his beloved Isabella that she wasn't a homewrecker.
How absurd. Ava almost laughed out loud.
