Chapter
Chap
FLORENCE’S POV
Dirty tricks? Trap him?
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As if I hadn’t been the one suffering in this marriage while he has had his job, his freedom, and his… Jade.
He tapped furiously on his phone and brought up a picture te held it up so I could see… Emily, Carmen.
“That’s Emily, isn’t it?” he asked. But it was a thetorical question. Of course, he knew.
“Yes, so what?”
“And the listening device. You put it there when she asked, didn’t you?”
“What?”
“She’s dating Daniel. It all makes sense now!”
“Mason-”
“What is this, a reunion of sisters? You haven’t spoken to her since she left, and now that you’re back, you decide to ruin my life?”
I had never seen Mason so… paranoid. He was always calm. Stoic. Polished. But the man before me seemed like a mess. The only time I had seen him this worked up was when Jade fell off that cliff. He was inconsolable. I heard he started getting night terrors and sleeping in a separate wing of the Whitehill Estate so nobody could hear him.
It couldn’t have just been our new leaking to the press that got him like this. There was something else bubbling under the surface, desperate to come out.
But his emotions were no longer mine to manage.
I exhaled slowly, my patience running dangerously thin. “Are you serious?”
“Don’t pretend you don’t see the pattern,” he snapped. “The leaked article about my family was one thing, but now someone has exposed our marriage? And conveniently, it paints Jade as the other woman while making you. the victim?”
I felt like he was waiting for me to crack. Scream. Cry. Beg
Instead, I just let out a bitter laugh. “So let me get this straight. Anytime something happens, it’s always my fault?”
Mason’s eyes didn’t waver. “Tell me the truth, Florence. Did you leak this?”
I’d had enough. Enough of the doubts, the accusations, the constant questioning of my loyalty. I had been nothing but patient, nothing but dutiful. If he still couldn’t see that, then maybe this divorce was a good idea after all.
I calmly reached behind me into the bag and removed the brown envelope. “Don’t worry,” I said coldly. “I won’t cling to you forever.”
Mason’s brows furrowed as he took the documents. His sharp eyes scanned the top page before his expression shifted.
“You prepared this already?” His voice was low, dangerous.
“Yes.”
TA
Chapter 20
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His grip on the papers tightened. “That’s it? After everything, you just… hand me these?”
“I’m done, Mason,” I said evenly. “Sign them, and from now on, you can have your happily ever after with Jade. Just like you always wanted.”
His entire body tensed. He glanced around the room as If trying to ground himself. Then his jaw clenched.
“How are you going to get by without me? How are you going to pay for your father’s medical bills? You need me, now more than ever.”
“I’ll manage.” 1 said.
“You’ll manage?”
“Yes. I have a job now, remember? And I’m good at it.”
“Yes… I’m sure Raiden pays you the big bucks. Was this his dea? That you leave me?” My thre
throat tightened.
“I won’t sign this.” He tossed the papers on the table. “It’s ridiculous, you are not going anywhere.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat. “This is not
your decision anymore, Mason. I’ve already signed it.”
Mason scoffed, shaking his head. “And did you make this decision with Raiden?”
I bit the inside of my cheek. It didn’t matter what I said he’d already decided I was the villain in his story. I had deluded myself into thinking that being the perfect wife would soften him towards me.
So I did the only thing I could.
I hurt him before he could hurt me.
“Yes.” I met his gaze, forcing my voice to stay even. “I want to be with Raiden.”
His body went still.
I leaned forward, still clutching the blanket around me as it shielding myself from the words I was about to speak. “And yes, I’m a spy sent by Daniel. He asked Emily and Emily asked me to plant the bug. So now you don’t have to feel so bad about all the times you abandoned me for Jade.”
His eyes narrowed, studying me. I couldn’t tell if he believed me or not, but his face looked… hollow. Empty.
“Why did I see Daniel forcibly pour whiskey down your throat that night?” he asked.
“It was staged. For you.” I surprised myself with how quickly the lie came.
“And when you asked if I ever loved you…”
“It was a play. I wasn’t actually drunk, Daniel just wanted you to think I was.”
I searched his eyes for any sign of disbelief. All I saw was sadness. Why would he care? He was getting a clean break from this marriage. He would have to bear zero consequences while I went back to rebuild my whole life.
An eerie silence followed. The only sounds in the room were my father’s heart monitor beeping softly and Mason’s angry, labored breathing. Somehow, it felt like if I moved a single muscle, it would disturb the air and trigger Mason into a fury.
“That’s why you’ve been so distant from me lately?” he asked. “You don’t love me anymore?”
Distant? I had to swallow my laugh. As if he hadn’t been the neglectful one for five whole years.
Chapter 20
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I nodded. “I’ve endured this sham of a marriage for five years.” I forced out the next words. “I never loved you.” Silence.
Mason’s face darkened, his entire body radiating fury. For split second, I thought he might tear the papers in half. Yell so loud it would even wake my father. I braced myself for his wrath, but instead, in a flash, he picked up the pen on the table and scrawled his name on the bottom of the page.
The scratch of the pen on paper echoed like a death sentence. When he finished, he threw the pen down and shoved the papers back into my hands.
“You’d better not regret this,” he spat.
Then he turned and stormed out, the door slamming behind him.
The second he left, the weight of everything crashed down en me. I slumped back in the couch, my fingers tightening around the divorce papers.
It was done. I was no longer a wife.
I was just Florence.
But oddly enough, there was no feeling of a burden lifted or any relief. All I felt was a heavy weight pressing down on my chest, making it impossible to breathe. I discarded the blanket and stood up, trying to take deep breaths as the room spun.
I slid down to the floor, pressing my forehead against my knees.
And for the first time in a long time….
I cried.
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