I Refuse to Be Your Second Choice novel Chapter 169

Natalie stood frozen, the phone still pressed to her ear.

She had imagined countless reasons for his silence. He was feeling unwell and didn’t want her to worry. His phone was broken. Savannah Davis had forbidden him from contacting her.

But Alexander offered no explanation at all, only a summons to finalize their divorce.

If this was the outcome, then what were all his pleas for her to stay? A joke?

“Are you sure? Have you thought this through?” she finally asked, her voice steady.

The voice on the other end was as thin as water. “Thought what through? Weren’t we going to get divorced anyway?”

His words were laced with a chilling indifference. Natalie let out a bitter, self-mocking laugh. “You’re right. I shouldn’t have asked. I was going to remind you after I was discharged anyway.”

After another half-minute of silence, Alexander said, “I’ll see you in three days. Nine in the morning.”

“Okay. Fine.”

Natalie hung up.

She was grateful she had never told him she’d changed her mind. The humiliation would have been unbearable. As it was, there was just a small hole in her heart, letting a cold draft blow through.

It was nothing, really. She had experienced true, soul-crushing pain three years ago. This was manageable.

They were always meant to divorce. The events at the hospital were just a brief, feverish detour. Now that they were both thinking clearly again, it was time to get back on track.

Natalie quietly finished packing her things in the hospital room. Arianna Mitchell arrived to pick her up.

“Why are you doing this yourself? Your left hand hasn’t fully healed yet.” Arianna took the folded clothes from her. “Go sit down and wait.”

“Okay.”

Natalie walked over to the sofa.

“I went on a blind date yesterday,” Arianna chattered, folding the remaining clothes and putting them in a bag. “One of them was decent. Seemed like an honest guy. I’m thinking of seeing where it goes. If it works out, I might get married by the end of the year. What do you think, Natalie?”

When she didn’t get a response, Arianna turned around, puzzled.

Natalie was staring blankly at a spot on the wall, an aura of profound sadness surrounding her.

“Natalie?” Arianna called.

There was no answer, as if she hadn’t heard.

She wouldn’t chase after an explanation. It was a matter of dignity.

Whatever the reason, her mind was made up now.

Arianna wanted to argue, but Natalie let go of her hand and went back to her packing.

The Ramirez Estate.

In his room, Alexander put his phone back on the table and stared at the meteorite slice, encased in a clear gift box.

He had asked Aaron Lee to bring it so he could give it to Natalie himself.

But one phone call had changed everything.

Yesterday morning, he had been waiting for Natalie to join him for breakfast, as they always did. Then, his mother, Savannah Davis, had called.

“Alexander, Camila White is here…”

“You don’t need to inform me,” Alexander had said, frowning, ready to hang up.

“She says she’s pregnant,” Savannah had rushed to say. “And the child is yours.”