Adrian Desmond pulled her hand away, apologizing sincerely, "Melanie, you’re a good person, but I’m not. I’m the one failing you..." The rightful source is novel·fire·net "Sixth Brother is good to me. I only love him. I don’t want a divorce; you’re all I have left... Please, don’t leave me..." Tears blurred Melanie Carpenter’s vision, making Adrian a hazy figure in her eyes. "I won’t leave you. Even if we get divorced, I will still take care of you. "Melanie, please don’t force me anymore. If we don’t divorce, Mai will never come back. You don’t understand; I have nightmares every night, dreaming about Mai marrying another man with my son. "Soon enough, that heartless woman will definitely remarry with my son. My woman and my son belong to me!" This time, Adrian didn’t give in to her tears. "Sixth Brother, what about me then? I’m your woman too!" "Sixth Brother, are you really going to divorce me?" she asked again, her voice laced with uncertainty and desperation. "I’m sorry, but if I don’t divorce you, she will not come back." Melanie had never expected Adrian’s attitude to turn so cold so suddenly. She shook her head in disbelief. "In your eyes, Sixth Brother, what am I?" He looked up, his thin lips pressing into a firm line before he answered, "You are my family." Melanie wept bitterly, tears streaming down her neck. "Melanie, don’t cry." He reached out and pulled her into an embrace. As Adrian held her, a flicker of hope ignited in Melanie’s grieving eyes. "Sixth Brother, I don’t want a divorce. I’ll agree to anything but that." "If you agree to the divorce, I will grant you anything else you wish." Melanie frantically shook her head, her expression wrought with emotion. "No! No! No! I won’t get a divorce! I will never agree to a divorce!" Melanie’s eyes widened wildly, and she clutched at a policeman’s sleeve in desperation. "Adrian, you can’t treat me ! If my father were still alive, he wouldn’t let you off! And your mother—my aunt..." "What’s so good about her? Besides her pretty face, how is she better than me? Why are you so captivated by her that you’ve forgotten everything else?" Melanie shrieked hysterically, her hands clenched into fists, eyes bloodshot, the veins in her neck throbbing with agitation. Sienna Johnson once said that no woman is immune to jealousy; some just conceal it beneath a veneer of magnanimity and virtue. The longer such feelings are suppressed, the more violently they erupt. Melanie ripped away her mask of meekness and virtue, unleashing the ugly demon within. "How could you let her get pregnant with your child? Adrian, how could you do this to me?" The thought of Adrian’s child in Sienna’s womb inflicted an agonizing pain upon Melanie; her fingers trembled as she clenched her fists tightly. "So, in your heart, you resent me this much as well," Adrian stated, his voice flat. "My hatred for you now is as deep as my love for you once was." "Since it’s come to this, let’s get a divorce!" Adrian declared, his decision final and leaving no room for negotiation. "No, I won’t agree to a divorce! Even if you kill me, I will never agree!" Melanie’s wails were so desperate and shrill they almost pierced her own eardrums. Bella Ford, having just returned, heard Melanie’s anguished cries from the doorway. Thinking something terrible had happened, she rushed in to find her cousin weeping in the dining room, with a cold and distant Adrian nearby. As if seeing her savior, Melanie flung herself into Bella Ford’s arms, sobbing, "Sixth Brother doesn’t want me anymore! He wants to divorce me..." "Sixth Brother is leaving me for that woman, Mai... I’ve already conceded so much, retreated until I’m at the edge of a cliff! How can they keep pushing me ?" Melanie’s throat was raw and aching from her sobs. Bella hadn’t expected things to escalate this far. She turned abruptly to Adrian, who sat there, unmoved, and demanded, "Sixth Brother, Cousin Melanie is so upset. Aren’t you going to comfort her at all?" Adrian didn’t want to, or rather, he couldn’t. Some wounds are best dealt with quickly; a sharp, short pain is better than a prolonged agony. If only he had been more decisive back then, things wouldn’t have reached this stage. Adrian rose and, looking at Melanie’s tear-reddened eyes, stated, "Tomorrow, I’ll have Walter Klein publish notices in all the major newspapers announcing our divorce." Not just in Abyanabad, but in the leading newspapers of various countries, Adrian planned to publish his divorce announcement. He hoped Sienna Johnson would see it and willingly return. As long as she returned, he wouldn’t hold her running away against her. Melanie’s eyes flew wide, her lips trembling, unable to form a single word. Tears streamed relentlessly down her face. "Impossible! My cousin will never agree to a divorce!" Bella Ford interjected. "This is between Melanie and me. It’s not for you to interfere in..." Adrian’s patience with this ’cousin-in-law’ was wearing thin. "I will not divorce! If you insist, I’ll kill myself!" Melanie sobbed, her shoulders wracked with tremors. Her entire body shook as if she were about to collapse. She had never dared to speak to Adrian with such defiance before; she had always acquiesced to his every word. Today, this rare display of firmness had pushed their relationship into a dead end. From this day forward, all Adrian would feel for her was probably disgust. Adrian looked at Melanie, this woman whose very existence seemed to depend on him. He couldn’t bear the thought of her dying. "Living out your life bearing the title of Adrian Desmond’s wife, but without me ever touching you—would you truly be content with that?" he asked. "Melanie, you’re still young, and you’re gentle and virtuous. If we divorce, you might find a man who will truly love you. Why cling to this marriage that exists only in name...?" Adrian attempted to persuade her, but Melanie was resolute. "...Men’s affections may be fickle, but mine are not. I have only ever loved you, Sixth Brother, and I will only ever love you. I will not divorce you. Even if you never touch me for the rest of my life, I will die as Sixth Brother’s wife." Realizing further words were useless, Adrian relented. "Fine. I won’t divorce you. However, I will publish an announcement stating that we are divorcing." Actually, he wanted Sienna Johnson to know. She had left him precisely because she was unwilling for him to marry Melanie Carpenter. Now, if she knew he and Melanie were divorcing, surely she would return with his son. "How is that any different from an actual divorce?" Bella Ford demanded. "Legally, she will still be my ’wife’!" Legally, all Adrian Desmond could offer Melanie Carpenter was a marriage in name only. After all her tears and hysterics, this was all she had gained. "Fine, I agree," Melanie conceded. "Cousin Melanie, how can you agree to Sixth Brother announcing your divorce publicly? If it’s published, everyone will know Sixth Brother has abandoned you! They’ll all laugh at you!"