12 Fine.

No matter which angle Dominic looked at it, what Miriam said was impossible. Heaven? Cooking for him and his son? Ridiculous.

She would rather kill herself than offer them a glass of water.

That was how terrible Heaven's reputation was, and no one could blame Dominic for doubting Miriam. He knew Miriam wished nothing but the best for their little family. But then again, he knew Miriam wouldn't lie about such a thing.

Dominic silently watched Heaven eat her food from the side of the bed. She was already awake when he returned to the hospital and was now quietly eating her food.

'Why is he here again?' Heaven asked herself. She could feel her head throb, but she forced herself to eat the porridge under his intense and watchful gaze.

Heaven turned her head a little to the other side to avoid his eyes. It was disorienting when someone was watching you eat. How could she properly digest or enjoy her food if someone was looking at her as if he was wishing for her to choke on it?

Not to mention, this prolonged silence between them was suffocating. Silence for the new Heaven used to be so precious as it was rare. However, this type of silence just felt heavy, unsettling, not peaceful.

'Anyway, why am I so scared?' She thought to herself yet again, knitting her brows. 'I am already desperate. Doing nothing will not help nor treading on eggshells will change his mind.'

Heaven slowly straightened her back and turned her head in his direction. Dominic was still looking at her. His eyes were fixed on hers the moment their eyes met. His eyes bespoke of deep thought, but conscious enough that she, too, was looking at him. 

'Oh, he's not glaring!' Heaven was surprised by it. 'He's just looking. Just… looking.' Surprised because she was expecting him to be throwing a dagger at her. He wasn't, though. 

A part of her face twitched. Dominic was just looking without any intention of looking away. With that divine face of his and those beautiful deep eyes that seemed they could see through a person's soul, she couldn't help but have the urge to hide.

He might find out he was her type!

"Are you going to say something?" Her voice was coarse, making her sound cold and weak.

"Once you finish your meal," Dominic stated. 

'Damn it!' Heaven mentally gasped as her brain went into overdrive, thinking about what this man wanted to discuss. 'Don't tell me he will still push through the divorce?!'

Despite keeping her front, she was mentally beating herself up. How would she divert his attention? What sort of reaction was required at this point?

The current Heaven was never in such a complicated situation. Most of the situations she faced in her previous life were life-and-death situations. However, this was different. Truly and undoubtedly different. And it left her feeling inadequate.

Heaven bowed her head, then she stared at the porridge. 'Well, if you're going to let me finish first, I hope you're ready to spend the entire day here!' she ate slowly, taking time to pick and examine each grain of rice on her food before putting it into her mouth. She made a show of slowly swallowing her food. Then she repeated the process again. 

Dominic was a patient man. He took her slow action as normal until he noticed that she was chewing the porridge.

'Is she stalling time?' he wondered, but he immediately got rid of that thought. 'It's probably just my imagination.'

There was no way Heaven would stall time, especially if she was aware they were still in the middle of discussing their divorce. If there was one person who would be happy about their separation, it would certainly be her.

Seconds turned into minutes and then turned into hours. Heaven was still not finished eating her porridge, even when it had turned cold. 

"Are you hurt anywhere?" Dominic asked, his concern could be heard in his voice. It had been an hour and yet she hadn't finished her food. He assumed she was hurt somewhere.

'No, I am not. I am perfectly fine,' was what she answered sarcastically in her mind, but held her tongue in check.

Heaven raised her head, facing him squarely. "No. I'm alright. Do you want to continue where we left off this morning?"

"Finish your food —"

"If we don't discuss it now, don't bring it up again," she cut him off mid-sentence. Her expression was plain and emotionless, holding his gaze without any sign of looking away. "So, where are we again?"

There was a moment of silence after her remarks, with the two of them staring at each other. Her coldness and lack of concern about their divorce proved she wanted this.

'Miriam must have been too tired yesterday that she had seen this woman cooking,' he thought, throwing all unnecessary ideas at the back of his head.

"I sent the divorce papers to the legal team to add more conditions. They will send it back tomorrow morning," Dominic raised his chin a little, looking at her squarely. His voice was cold and uncaring as he continued, "If you have additional conditions or if you have questions, just tell me. I'll do my best to compromise. After all, all I want is the custody of my son. I'm giving you visitation rights, but that is all."

"Let's forget each other and move on with our lives, Heaven," he added, but this time, his voice laced with coldness. "I'm sorry for causing you so much trouble."

Heaven held her breath, assessing his facial expression. He was determined, she thought. This man had already made his decision before bringing this up to her.

Heaven gulped, nodding her head in understanding. "I see," came out a reply under her breath, lowering her eyes to the almost finished porridge.

'I can't blame this man,' she told herself. 'He married a selfish woman — though he's selfish himself as well. Staying with her for the past five years was already incredible. It would be too unfair to hold on to him when he finally mustered the courage to break this family after trying to keep it together.'

"You'll receive monetary compensation and a few real estate so you can start anew," continued Dominic without any hesitation. "If you don't have any questions, then I'll send the new divorce papers to you first thing in the morning."

Another wave of silence descended on the room as neither of them followed his last remarks. Dominic had said his piece while Heaven could only accept it. No matter how reluctant she was, she couldn't just be selfish.

Perhaps this was fate. She was probably not meant to be a wife and a mother; it was probably not time yet.

'This leaves a bitter taste in my mouth, though.' Heaven let out a deep exhale, keeping her eyes down. When she smacked her lips, she lifted her head to face him, a little disheartened at how this marriage ended even before she could do anything. "Just send me over so I can sign them, Mr. Zhu."