Lady Warrior's Warth on Divorce Day novel Chapter 174

“What?” Anica was shocked. “Isn’t your company doing fine.now could it possibly go under?”

“Exactly!” Violette chimed in. “Nicolas, your company’s already gone public. Even if cash flow is tight, you don’t need to panic. Just slip the bank a little something and they’ll give you the loan.”

Nicolas listened to Violette’s idiotic remarks, feeling so drained he couldn’t even bring himself to smile.

Why did I let Violette take over Zoya’s job?‘ Nicolas couldn’t help but berate himself.

Violette couldn’t even handle the basics. She somehow managed to turn every ongoing project into a total

mess.

Nicolas shot back, “Violette, don’t let me hear that kind of nonsense ever again. If you had even half a brain, I wouldn’t be this wiped out!”

“Mom, did you hear that? Nicolas is being so mean!” Violette whined.

Anica retorted, “Nicolas, how can you talk to your sister that way? Listen, even if you’re hooked on Jasmine, you gotta face reality. Her reputation’s in the dumps.

“Everyone back home knows she did nothing when someone needed help, and that Cloud Airlines fired her. If you married her, the neighbors would laugh at me.”

Anica used to always praise Jasmine, but now she was ashamed of Jasmine.

Seeing Anica like this, Nicolas suddenly remembered she had that same attitude when talking about Zoya.

She’d looked just as scornful back then, too.

“Come on, take a look at the girls I picked out for you. They’re all top–notch. Bring one back to the village and it’d finally make me look good back home!” Anica said, handing over the stack with that eager smile.

“Mom, just toss all that in the trash. I’m really not in the mood,” Nicolas said, his patience wearing thin.

“Just look at them. Meeting some fresh faces might perk you right up,” Anica said. She was still stubbornly dumping the stack into his arms.

“Enough!” Nicolas shoved the stack away, scattering papers everywhere,

He asked, “Why do you always care about what others think of you? Is your reputation really all that matters? Mom, you forced me to divorce Zoya just for this exact reason back then!”

Anica snapped, “Why are you going on about Zoya again? What is wrong with me telling you to leave her? She’s just an orphan. She has nothing. You will never be proud of her.”

Nicolas said bitterly, “I will never be proud of her? Her parents were heroes who died for this country. That’s something to be proud of.

“Back when I had nothing, she stayed by my side and went through all the hard times with me. If you thought she was beneath us, why didn’t you say a word before our wedding?”

Anica was caught off guard. “That’s because…”

“Because she didn’t ask for anything. Back then, we were absolutely broke, and you were thrilled to get such an obedient daughter–in–law!” Nicolas shot back.

Mom’s face twisted awkwardly for a moment.

Violette protested, “Nicolas, how can you say that? Mom just wants to find you a capable wife. What’s so wrong

about that?”

Nicolas retorted, “Capable? Are you seriously saying Zoya isn’t? She graduated from the National Defense University and was the admission legend in Ranard City.

“She is also a total whiz when it comes to drones. If she wasn’t insanely skilled, then why did my company completely fall apart after she left?”

He kept lying to himself that he’d built everything on his own in the past.

But now, with the truth out in the open and all those years‘ memories flooding back as he made his way home, he finally saw just how much Zoya had sacrificed for him.

However, he had never given her anything in return.

He hadn’t even been there for her the day she went to reclaim her parents‘ ashes because he chose Jasmine

over her.

Just realizing that made Nicolas feel a chill run down his spine.

Nicolas thought, ‘If I hadn’t divorced Zoya back then, I wouldn’t be drowning in this nightmare now. Everything in my life would still be on track.‘

Violette snapped, “Nicolas, are you seriously blaming Mom and me now? You only divorced Zoya because you were already hooking up with Jasmine.

“Come on, if you didn’t have a thing for Jasmine, why did you keep your marriage a secret? You could’ve just told everyone.”

Violette’s words made Nicolas flush with embarrassment, totally caught off guard and not knowing how to respond.

Nicolas thought bitterly, ‘All I cared about back then was not letting Jasmine find out I was married. I’d just confessed to Jasmine, and she shot me down.

‘Therefore, marrying Zoya right away would’ve made me look like a guy who can’t be serious about feelings. I really didn’t want to come off as a player jumping straight into the next relationship.

But as his company kept expanding, he took it for granted to keep his marriage a secret.

In his mind, as long as he wasn’t wearing that wedding ring, he could pretend he was still single.

Violette retorted, “Nicolas, Mom is not the only one who’s obsessed with keeping up appearances. You are just

the same.

“You thought Zoya wasn’t someone you could be proud of, so you kept your marriage to her hidden from everyone. Now, how can you blame Mom and me for your divorce?”

Violette’s words felt like an invisible slap to Nicolas. His face stung, and he was so flustered he couldn’t get a single word out.

After a long moment, Nicolas finally mumbled, “Yeah, it’s my fault. I have failed Zoya.”

“Nicolas, what are you even talking about?” Violette was totally lost.

Anica jumped in, “Son, don’t tell me Zoya’s come crawling back again, begging you for a second chance. No way am I letting that walking disaster back into the Mayer family!”

Nicolas glared at her furiously. “Mom, don’t you ever say another bad word about Zoya. You keep calling her a curse, but she saved my life. If it hadn’t been for her, I’d be drowned in a river long ago.”

Nicolas didn’t spare Anica or Violette another look. He just retreated to his room on the second floor.

The whole place felt cold and empty.

He doused his face with cold water in the bathroom, then stared into the mirror at his tired face.

The confident, energetic guy he once was had vanished. Now, he was nothing but a shadow of his former self, drained and broken.

Mayer Technology was a total mess. To make things even worse, Jasmine was pregnant with his child.

Nicolas thought, ‘Why did she have to get pregnant at a time like this?

‘No matter what, there’s no way I can allow her to keep this baby.‘

*****

Wren brought Zoya back to his apartment.

Zoya was clearly tipsy tonight. She’d had way too much to drink, and when they got out of the car, her whole body slumped against him for support.

That unexpected closeness sent a weird little jolt through Wren’s chest.

She’d always been so fiercely independent, but tonight, drunk and leaning on him like this, it felt like he was the only person in the world she could count on.

At that moment, he was all she had.

“Let me carry you upstairs,” Wren said softly.

“No, I can walk by myself,” Zoya mumbled, her voice tipsy and stumbling over the words, which just made her look even cuter in his eyes.

Without another word, Wren scooped her up into his arms. “Indulge me, will you? I want to carry you

upstairs.”

Zoya just giggled, stopped protesting, and wrapped her arms around his neck, resting her head peacefully on

his shoulder.

Once they were inside the apartment, Wren gently laid Zoya down on the bed. “I’ll go get you something to help you sober up,” he said softly.

“That’s okay,” Zoya slurred and suddenly pulled Wren close. With unexpected drunken determination, she rolled him underneath her so she was on top.