The Hide and Seek Game That Lasted a Lifetime novel Chapter 21

Chapter 11

A shadow crossed Chase’s face, his mood shifting instantly.

“Dominic Faulkner? What on earth is she doing with him?” he demanded, voice thick with disbelief.

His assistant swallowed nervously before responding, “Sir, it appears they’re quite close. Not just friends, really. Do you think… Mrs. Whitmore might have moved on?”

With a sudden, furious bang, Chase slammed his fist against the pillar beside him, the sound echoing sharply through the room.

“No. Impossible. She’s my wife! Nora wouldn’t just run off with someone else!” he growled, eyes blazing with denial.

The assistant hesitated, then carefully handed over a folder. “But sir… she filed for divorce a few days ago. The papers are all here—assets, custody arrangements, everything clearly laid out.”

Chase snatched the file from his assistant’s hands and rifled through the pages, his anger mounting until, with a roar, he hurled the folder across the room.

“No!” he shouted, his voice cracking with desperation.

“She would never divorce me! Nora loves me! She can’t live without me! She wouldn’t leave—never Nora. Not ever,” he insisted, as if speaking the words aloud would make them true.

“S-Sir, the documents are—” the assistant began, but Chase cut him off with a sudden outburst.

He tore the divorce papers into tiny fragments, scattering them across the floor. “If I don’t sign, we’re still married. She’s still mine!” His eyes shone with a fierce, desperate certainty.

“That’s right,” he muttered, pacing the room, “as long as I don’t sign, the marriage stands. She can’t escape me.”

His voice grew louder, more unhinged. “I don’t care if she hides on the other side of the world—Nora Langston belongs to me. Always has. Always will!”

A shaky, hollow laugh escaped him, followed by choking sobs. The torment in his chest was unbearable.

Later that night, Chase collapsed onto the cold floor, utterly drunk and broken. Glass after glass of whiskey slid down his throat until the bitterness mingled indistinguishably with his tears.

Regret washed over him like a tidal wave—deep, suffocating regret that twisted his insides.

Why hadn’t he stopped Camila from hurting Nora? Why had he treated his wife as if she were invisible? He had once believed she’d never leave, no matter what happened.

But now, he realized, it wasn’t just wrong—it was blindness.

Half in a drunken haze, half lost in painful memories, flashes of their wedding day flickered through his mind. The day they had married, his company was teetering on the edge of ruin.

Nora had brought with her a third of the Langston family’s shares, singlehandedly saving his empire from collapse.

She never bragged about it.

She never wielded it as leverage.

To the world, she claimed she married for love.

But Chase knew the truth.

What love had he ever truly given her in return?

Throughout their years together, he had never once remembered their anniversary.

Not once had he recalled her birthday.

He never paid attention to her moods, her desires, or even the simple way she liked her coffee.

Nothing.

She had gone through so much effort planning little surprises, and he always found an excuse to avoid them.

“I’m busy,” he would say.

He was garbage.

And deep down, he knew it.

Through the fog of shame and whiskey, a sudden thought pierced his despair.

Nora was just angry.

That’s why she left.

From the moment she had arrived at the Faulkner Estate, Dominic had been direct.

“I’m CEO of Faulkner Group—your ex-husband’s biggest rival,” he had said plainly.

“We have a common enemy. Interested in becoming allies?”

Nora had answered yes without hesitation.

The enemy of her enemy was her friend.

Dominic had studied her for a moment, his eyes dark and unreadable, but he didn’t press further.

“Pleasure doing business,” he said.

“Pleasure,” she responded.

They shook hands, but her palm burned with heat, and she quickly withdrew it.

She thought she heard him chuckle quietly, as if in an unexpectedly good mood.

“Your injuries—any lingering pain?” Dominic asked suddenly, concern flickering in his voice.

Nora paused, unused to his showing such care.

“Oh… I’m better now. I’m fine,” she assured him.

He nodded thoughtfully.

“You know the Whitmore Group better than I do. I want you with me at the bidding conference.”

Nora hesitated.

“Will Chase be there?”

“Very likely,” Dominic replied. “But I’ll be there too.”