The Invisible Wife Turned Savage novel Chapter 199

Chapter 199 Dead Hearts and Dead Weight

Estella felt nothing but relief that she’d escaped Nathaniel.

Her voice was even, cool. “Then congratulations to you both.”

Isabelle pressed on, unwilling to let the conversation end. “You’ll come to my wedding, won’t you? I’ll send you an invitation.”

“No,” Estella replied flatly. “I don’t have the time.”

Isabelle’s tone sharpened. “Estella, don’t tell me you’re still hung up on Nathaniel. Is that why you don’t dare show up?”

Estella shuffled her papers without looking up. “No. It’s just the end of the year. I need to pay bonuses to my staff. I don’t have spare cash to waste on wedding gifts.”

The jab landed. Isabelle’s face burned red. “Who wants your money? I just want you to see with your own eyes how happy I am with Nathaniel.”

Estella raised an eyebrow. “If I don’t watch, your marriage won’t be happy?”

That silenced Isabelle for a beat.

But then she doubled down. “You’re coming. I want you to see me marry him, so you’ll finally give up for good.”

Estella’s lips curved in a sharp smile. “I already gave up long ago. But are you sure you want me there? What if Nathaniel sees me and changes his mind? What if he runs out on your wedding to chase me again? You couldn’t stop him before.”

For a heartbeat, panic flickered in Isabelle’s chest. The thought was all too possible. She forced herself to cover it quickly. “Forget it. Don’t come. Just stay away from Nathaniel from now on.”

“As you wish.” Estella hung up, amused.

…

At lunch, she joined Selene and Lana.

“It’s that time again,” Lana groaned. “Going home for New Year’s. What a drag.”

Selene smirked. “Scared of being nagged to marry?”

“Scared? Please.” Lana rolled her eyes. “When they push, I just tell them: fine, find me a PhD with a house, a car, full head of hair, and in-laws already buried. They don’t know anyone like

and Dead Weight

Finished

that, so it shuts them up.”

Selene laughed. “And if they tell you your standards are too high?”

“Then my mom jumps in, Lana grinned. She says, I didn’t raise a daughter with a doctorate and buy her a house just to marry her off cheap. That shuts them up even faster.”

Selene’s smile faded. “At least your mom’s sane. Mine? She’d marry me off to anyone- divorced, dragging kids, old enough to be my father. To her, I’m worthless unless I’m handed off.”

“Then don’t bottle it up.” Lana said firmly. “Lose it. Go wild if you have to.”

Estella sighed. “You two are lucky. At least you only get hassled at New Year’s. I get the weekly version every weekend.”

They all burst out laughing.

Then Selene’s phone chimed. She glanced at the screen, her expression curdling. “That bastard Greg again. He’s divorced, already lined up another girlfriend, and now he’s getting married on the sixth day of the New Year. Sent me an invitation. Wants to disgust me and squeeze me for a gift.”

Lana sneered. “That fast? He must’ve cheated before the divorce. Tell his ex-wife. Let her crash the wedding and blow it up. That’ll knock him down a peg.”

Selene brightened-then frowned again. “I don’t have his ex-wife’s number.”

“Don’t be stupid,” Lana said. “You’ve got his Twitter. Scroll through his followers and mentions. She’s bound to be there.”

Selene’s fingers flew. In minutes she’d found the account. One glance and she nearly fell off her chair laughing.

“What is it?” Estella and Lana leaned in.

Selene shoved her phone toward them. “Look-she’s posting baby bump photos. She was fighting with Greg over divorce, and now she’s pregnant with someone else’s kid? Either they were both cheating, or she moved on lightning-fast.”

Lana skimmed the feed with a practiced eye. “This girl’s definitely fake-high-society. Half these shots are lifted from stock photos.”

Selene and Estella peered closer. They saw it too.

Then Lana pointed to one particular post. “And look-she bragged about walking away from the divorce with half an apartment and two hundred grand in cash.”

Her gaze slid meaningfully to Selene. “See the difference? His ex bled him dry on the way out. You? You split the bills and even covered his expenses. He didn’t spend on you-he saved on you. You weren’t his girlfriend. You were his banker.”