After Divorce I Married a Tycoon-Chapter 34: The Old Madam Refuses the Divorce
Claire Mercer no longer expected Gavin Sinclair to sign the divorce papers quietly.
Since he was unwilling to divorce, she would have to go through his family.
After all, relying on his mistress, Scarlett Jewel, probably wasn’t going to be enough.
Rose Gable had been vehemently against her divorcing Gavin Sinclair, but that was because she didn’t yet know her son had gotten his mistress pregnant.
If she found out the mistress was carrying their Sinclair family’s precious heir...
She’d probably be desperate for Gavin to divorce her by tomorrow.
To Claire Mercer’s surprise, however, even after hearing the mistress was pregnant, Rose Gable still wouldn’t budge on the divorce.
"I do not approve of this divorce."
"What in the world do you mean?" Claire Mercer asked, her anger rising.
"You’ve always looked down on me, thinking I’m not good enough for your precious son."
"Now that your son’s legs are healed and his mistress is pregnant, why won’t you agree to our divorce?"
"Are you really going to let your precious eldest grandson become a bastard despised by everyone?"
Hearing Claire Mercer’s words, Rose Gable’s expression turned troubled.
She didn’t want her precious eldest grandson to be a bastard who could never be formally acknowledged, either.
But if she let them go to the registrar’s office for a divorce certificate, what she’d done in the past would come to light.
The family matriarch already didn’t care for her, finding her methods unseemly.
If the matriarch found out she had gone behind her back to forge a certificate and deceive her...
Control of the Sinclair household might very well be snatched away by the second branch of the family.
She had struggled for so many years, always suffering at the hands of her difficult mother-in-law.
She had finally, almost outlasted the old woman; she couldn’t afford to make a foolish mistake now.
The most important thing right now was to secure absolute control over the Sinclair family for her branch of the family.
However, as Rose Gable mulled it over, an idea suddenly struck her.
Since she had been able to get a fake marriage certificate for Claire Mercer back then...
Then a fake divorce certificate could be made just as easily.
’Anyway, she and Gavin were never really married to begin with.’
’Just get a fake divorce certificate, make her think she and Gavin are completely divorced, and that will solve everything, won’t it?’
’Still, the divorce would require the matriarch’s approval.’
She wouldn’t dare authorize their divorce herself; after all, it was the matriarch who had chosen Claire Mercer in the first place.
’As long as the matriarch agrees to the divorce, I can just have someone forge a certificate, and won’t everything be solved perfectly?’
With this in mind, Rose Gable finally relented.
"I’ll agree to you and Gavin divorcing, but the final decision rests with the matriarch."
’If the matriarch doesn’t agree, then they can’t get a divorce.’
’And if they don’t get a divorce, she’ll never find out about the fake marriage certificate.’
’Then Claire Mercer won’t get a single cent of the Sinclair family fortune.’
Claire Mercer, however, was completely unaware that she had been thoroughly manipulated by her mother-in-law.
Her spirits lifted somewhat now that Rose had finally relented.
"I’ll go speak to Mrs. Sinclair."
"But I have a condition," Rose Gable said.
Claire Mercer asked, "What condition?"
"If the matriarch agrees to your divorce, I’ll have the divorce certificate prepared for you."
"All right." Claire Mercer’s only thought was of divorce.
So she didn’t question why Rose Gable would offer to handle the divorce certificate for her.
After leaving Rose Gable, Claire Mercer made a trip to the supermarket.
She picked out some expensive health supplements for Mrs. Sinclair.
She planned to visit Mrs. Sinclair as soon as possible to discuss the divorce.
In the two years since she’d married into the Sinclair family, the matriarch was the only one who had treated her with any kindness.
After all, she was the one who had chosen her to marry Gavin Sinclair.
It stood to reason that she wouldn’t be overly critical and harsh toward the person she herself had handpicked.
She just wondered if Mrs. Sinclair would agree to her divorcing Gavin Sinclair.
’But she’ll probably agree, won’t she?’ 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮
’After all, Scarlett Jewel is carrying Gavin’s child.’
’The matriarch is getting on in years; for the sake of the family’s first great-grandson, she surely wouldn’t have any reason to object.’
’In the Sinclair family’s eyes, I don’t have any particularly outstanding qualities anyway.’
’What’s more, now that they know I’m a fake heiress, the Sinclairs have even less reason to deny my request for a divorce.’
So, early the next morning, Claire Mercer arrived at the old Sinclair estate, carrying the health supplements she had bought for Mrs. Sinclair.
Mrs. Sinclair was eighty-four, but she still seemed quite spry.
A faint smile touched her aged face when she saw Claire arrive.
But the smile didn’t quite reach her eyes.
"Claire."
Claire Mercer returned her smile warmly and stepped forward, addressing her respectfully. "Grandma."
"You seem to be in better health."
Mrs. Sinclair said lightly, "Just a bag of old bones. I don’t have many years left."
"Don’t say that. The way you are, you’ll have no problem living to be a hundred."
"Such a sweet-talker." Mrs. Sinclair’s smile was genuine this time.
What elderly person doesn’t like being told they’ll live to be a hundred?
Even if it was just flattery, it was still pleasant to hear.
As she stood up, Claire Mercer quickly moved to support her by the arm.
"What brings you here all of a sudden?"
Claire Mercer said, "Gavin’s legs have healed, so he doesn’t need my care anymore. I thought I’d come visit you."
"Besides, I imagine you’ve already heard about a certain matter?"
Mrs. Sinclair walked over to her vegetable patch. She bent down to tend to the plants, speaking without looking up.
"You mean the fact that you’re actually the Mercer family’s adopted daughter?"
Claire Mercer stepped forward to help water the vegetables. "I only found out a couple of days ago myself."
"When I chose you, it had nothing to do with you being the Mercer heiress."
"What I valued was your sincerity, and your genuine love for Gavin."
"And as it turns out, I wasn’t mistaken about you."
Mrs. Sinclair set down her watering can and straightened up to look at Claire.
"I’m well aware of how you’ve cared for Gavin these past two years."
"And it’s thanks to you taking care of him day and night that his legs healed so quickly."
"I am very grateful for the sacrifices you’ve made for him."
"But Grandma, Gavin... he..."
Seeing Claire hesitate, Mrs. Sinclair knew her visit today wasn’t merely social.
"What about him?" she asked.
"He cheated on me."
Mrs. Sinclair’s eyes narrowed slightly. "What did you say?"
Claire repeated herself, then added, "And his mistress is pregnant."
Mrs. Sinclair’s surprise lasted only a moment before she asked,
"So you came today because you want me to punish Gavin?"
Claire Mercer shook her head. "No."
"Grandma, I want to divorce Gavin Sinclair."
"I won’t allow it." Mrs. Sinclair picked up her watering can again and resumed watering her plants.
"Grandma, why?" Panic flickered in Claire’s heart. "Gavin doesn’t love me."
At that, Mrs. Sinclair looked up at her, a sharp glint in her aged eyes.
