The Billion-Dollar Divorce (Ian and Chloe) novel Chapter 47

Chapter 47

When lan caught sight of Andrea and Clint right in front of him, his eyes narrowed with shock. “Why are you here?” he snapped.

Startled, he accidentally knocked Clint over.

The boy tumbled to the ground and immediately started wailing. Clint’s cries instantly got on lan’s nerves, and he stormed straight into the living room, head spinning.

Andrea hadn’t expected Ian to totally freak out like that.

She awkwardly scooped Clint up, feeling hurt, her eyes already red with tears. “Ian, please don’t do this,‘ she said in a shaky voice.

Ian forced himself to calm down, running a hand through his hair. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to push Clint,” he explained, trying to sound sincere.

Andrea quickly tried to change the subject. “You’ve been on a plane for hours. You must be exhausted. Go wash up and grab something to eat, okay? We can deal with whatever it is tomorrow.”

Ian’s face darkened. “Tell me. Where is she?” he demanded, his voice low and tense.

Chloe was always so proud. Even if she had no choice but to accept the situation, she’d never agree to live peacefully under the same roof with Andrea. And it was impossible for her to let Andrea and Clint set foot here.

Andrea knew there was no hiding it now. “Ian, please don’t be upset. Ms. Irvine was the one who asked me and Clint to move in. She’s not here at the moment.”

Before Andrea could finish, Ian interrupted, his tone ice–cold, “Please refer to her as Mrs. Hamilton.”

Andrea blinked back her resentment and explained softly, “Sorry, Ian. She told me to call her that.”

Andrea paused, and then went on, “A few days back, she phoned me and asked me to move in with Clint. She said she’d divorce you and we could start our own family. She even asked me to renovate the place so the three of us could live here together.”

Ian stood in the living room, reeling as if he’d been punched.

He thought, ‘So she didn’t fix the place to come back home. It was all just to bring Andrea and Clint here and corner me. She’s forcing me to choose.’

Andrea saw how upset lan looked and nudged Clint discreetly.

Clint nervously glanced at Andrea, and then tiptoed over to lan.

He stretched out his arms, looking up at lan for a hug. “Dad, Ms. Irvine is awesome. She even set up a room for me, with a sailboat model and Transformers toys.”

Chapter 47

55 voucher

63

“Dad?” lan blinked in disbelief. “Ms. Irvine?”

For a second, he couldn’t process what he was hearing. His mind was in chaos. He felt completely off–kilter.

He pushed Clint away again with a stormy look. “Clint, I’m not your dad.”

Clint flinched and stepped back, his voice shaking. “Mr. Hamilton, but Mom said

you…”

Before Clint could finish, Andrea quickly covered his mouth and pulled him close, flustered.

lan gave Andrea a cold, scrutinizing glare. “Andrea, I’ve made it clear. I will never be Clint’s father.”

Andrea hung her head, guilt gnawing at her. “I’m sorry, Ian. Clint just needs some fatherly love. Please don’t hold it against him. I promise that I won’t let him call you Dad again.”

Andrea thought, secretly relieved, ‘Good thing I had Clint try it first. If I’d said it myself, Ian would’ve gone way beyond just scolding me.’

Ian didn’t say a word. He just stormed upstairs.

He pushed open the door to the second–floor music room. Just as he feared, it had been completely remodeled into a kid’s bedroom.

Ian slumped against the wall and shut his eyes, feeling utterly spent and defeated.

He stayed exactly where he was as footsteps sounded at the door. “What happened to the two violins that were in this room?” Ian asked, his voice hoarse and distant.

Andrea hesitated in the doorway, afraid to step inside. “Mrs. Hamilton set them on fire,” she replied in a low voice.

Ian’s eyes

flew open,

shock clouding his face. “She burned them?” he blurted, barely able to process it.

Andrea nodded. “It wasn’t just the violins. Mrs. Hamilton burned a ton of stuff that day, downstairs in the garden.”

When Chloe saw the violin he’d gotten her, she clung to his arm, acting all spoiled, her eyes shining with delight. “I’ll only play the violin for you from now on,” she whispered, her voice so sweet.

Andrea sent Clint to his room, and then approached Ian carefully. “Ian, Mrs. Hamilton burned everything that mattered between you two. She’s set on leaving. There’s no point in holding on by yourself anymore. Just agree to divorce her.”

Ian struggled to his feet, pulled out his phone, and called Robert.

After hanging up, he looked at Andrea and said, “Pack your things. Robert will drive you and Clint back”

Andrea was taken aback. Despite everything that had happened, Ian still couldn’t bring himself to end things with Chloe.

Andrea hesitated, her voice soft. “Ian, it’s so late, and Clint is tired. Could we leave in the morning?”

Without turning around, lan walked toward the living room. “This was the home for Chloe and me. You and Clint really shouldn’t be here.”

Andrea followed him, not willing to back down. “Ian, Mrs. Hamilton went to such lengths just to get that divorce. Are you seriously still not going to let go?”

Ian suddenly stopped, spun around, and glared at her, his eyes flashing with anger. His face was dark as he confronted Andrea. “You knew perfectly well why Chloe would get the wrong idea. So why did you say yes and move in anyway?”

13:24 Thu, Oct 2

Chapter 47

Andrea took a step back, feeling wronged, “lan, are you seriously blaming me for this?”

65 vouchers

lan turned his face away, his features etched with weariness. “Andrea, when you brought Clint back, I got swept up in the moment. I honestly lost my head. I even lied to Chloe, pretending I was on a business trip, just so I could take care of you two for an entire month.”

He paused, his voice firm. “But I never wanted to leave Chloe. Not now, not ever, and I never will

lan glanced at her, his tone cold yet tinged with pain. “Chloe is just throwing a fit right now. She’s not leaving me. That’s not who she is.”

And even if Chloe really wanted out, she couldn’t pull together 300 million for the divorce.

Seeing that lan still wouldn’t let go, Andrea turned and walked into the living room.

She grabbed the divorce papers and bank card Chloe had left behind and handed them to Ian.

AD

Comment