For a hundred million dollars, he could hire me as a housekeeper or a trophy wife. He could make me wait on Verna hand and foot after she had his baby, and I wouldn't have a problem with it.
That's how little pride I had left. There were plenty of ways to cut ties, and as long as there was nothing emotional between Steven and me, I could accept anything. I could just pretend he was my boss. For that kind of money, I’d put up with any asshole of a boss. But he wanted to sleep with me.
That was out of the question.
Besides, I had a pretty good idea why he’d suddenly brought this up. He was lonely, or Verna had pissed him off. It had happened several times in my past life. Whenever he had a huge fight with Verna, he would drag me to bed and take his anger out on me, fucking me so hard I sometimes couldn't get up the next day.
It was happening all over again. Until Verna fell in love with him, he needed a woman to vent his frustrations on.
The allure of the money evaporated, and I snapped back to reality, yanking my hand away from his. My gaze was sharp as I looked at him.
“What I mean is, I can agree to your first condition, but not the second. I know you have more money than you know what to do with. A hundred million could buy you hundreds of women, not just one. And I know how ungrateful and foolish I must seem, but Steven… even knowing all that, I still refuse you. And I always will.”
Steven’s handsome face turned ashen, his eyes dark with a brewing storm. A vein throbbed in his temple, but he held his temper in check.
I stood up, smoothing my long, messy curls and straightening my collar. I looked down at the cold, stone-faced man.
“Steven, since we can’t negotiate our divorce, we’ll have to take it to court.”
I leaned in, my voice low and determined. “And listen to me—I will do whatever it takes to divorce you in this lifetime.”
“Court?” He looked up sharply, a humorless, angry smile touching his lips. “You want to sue me? You go on and on about respecting my grandfather, about how much you like him, and then you turn around and drag his favorite grandson through a messy lawsuit? Do you really want to make things that ugly?”
He was right. The main reason I’d wanted a peaceful, negotiated divorce was because of the old man. A lawsuit would be ugly, especially for a family like the Lancasters. They were a dynasty, with a pristine public image built over generations, virtually untouched by marital scandals. Even my father-in-law, as stern and intimidating as he was, had only ever been with Mary.
My expression didn’t change. “You’re forcing my hand. If you hadn't gone back on your word and had just negotiated the divorce properly, it wouldn't have come to this.”
Steven closed his eyes for a moment, then tugged at the collar of his shirt, his breathing heavy.
Without waiting to see the look on his face, I spun on my heel and walked out.
As the elevator descended, I pulled out my phone and decisively blocked and deleted Steven from every contact list I had.
After doing all that, I finally let out a breath of relief.
*That son of a bitch can’t bother me anymore.*
I found the photo of Verna and Steven in a compromising position and sent it to Calvin with a single line of text.
“Calvin, I want to sue for divorce. When are you free to meet?”
***

Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: I Walked Away And He Lost His Mind (Zephyra)