The Billionaire Ex-Wife and the Beggar He Became novel Chapter 303

"You… Winona! What is it going to take? Do you want Julian and me to destroy you? To run you out of town and send you thousands of miles away?" Felicity hissed through clenched teeth.

"I forgot. There's also the twenty million for the crucifix. That wasn't part of the six hundred million you blew through. To be precise, you owe me one point zero two billion. Pay it back with interest within a week, or you'll go to prison," Winona stated, her tone unnervingly steady.

"You… you…" On her end of the line, Felicity was too enraged to form a coherent sentence.

Xander took the phone from her hand and spoke into the receiver. "Hello?"

"Mr. McCarthy?" Winona sounded slightly surprised, but not entirely.

After all, Felicity was everyone's darling. She'd always been surrounded by successful men ready to swoop in and help her.

"Mr. McCarthy, judging by Miss Shepherd's tone, she sounds rather agitated. Has she been drinking? If so, please inform her when she's sober that she owes me one point zero two billion dollars, plus interest. She has one week to pay me back. If she can't, prison is her only other option."

Xander hesitated. "Nona…"

"Is this difficult for you, Mr. McCarthy? If so, don't worry about it. I wasn't planning on calling her anyway; the court would have enforced it regardless. It's just that she called me first, so I thought I'd give her a heads-up," Winona said, her voice remaining placid and stable.

Xander held the phone, unsure of what to say. Should he scold her? Tell her she was being too cruel?

But what had Winona done wrong?

Initially, she hadn't even wanted to file for divorce. She had offered to walk away with nothing, a complete surrender.

But Felicity and Julian Nicholson had dragged it out for three agonizing months, forcing Winona's hand and leaving her no choice but to sue.

Demanding the billion dollars from Felicity was reasonable and entirely legal.

Felicity was the one who had been shamelessly and illegally spending her and Julian's money.

"It's alright, Nona," Xander said into the phone. "I just wanted to tell you… you were incredible today. You did the right thing. I'm genuinely happy for you. Congratulations."

"Thank you, Mr. McCarthy. If there's nothing else, I'll hang up?"

"Not until you've stopped crying and can think clearly. Then we can talk about what to do next."

"I'm not crying anymore. I can be calm," Felicity insisted, sitting up straight.

"Go to the bathroom, take a hot shower, and pull yourself together. Put on the clothes I bought for you and come out looking presentable. I'll be waiting for you at the coffee bar in the lobby." With that, Xander left the room.

Half an hour later, Felicity emerged, dressed in the new outfit.

"Xander, I'm calm now," she said.

"Will you still consider me a friend?" he asked.

"What do you mean by that, Xander?" Felicity asked, a flicker of anxiety in her eyes.

"It doesn't really matter anymore," Xander said. "After I say what I have to say, if you decide you don't want me as a friend, we can go our separate ways. If you still do, then I'll always be your friend."