The Paper Wife’s Empire novel Chapter 240

Tears welled up in Brianna’s eyes. She hadn’t meant to glare at Winnie, but she wasn’t a doormat, either. Was the Holt family allowed to scream and curse at her while she was expected to feel nothing in return? Besides, the Holts’ troubles were Ramona’s fault, so how could they possibly blame her?

“I’m in no mood to argue right now,” Jotham said flatly. “If you can’t accept it, you don’t ever have to set foot in the Holt family home again. I won’t force you.”

He turned to leave, but the image of him humbly begging Ramona flashed through Brianna’s mind.

“You really don’t want to be with me anymore, do you! All you can think about now is Ramona! After everything she’s done to you, are you some kind of masochist?” Brianna was livid, past the point of caring about saving his pride.

The words stung. And he had to admit, maybe he was a masochist.

When he was with Ramona, he never imagined it would come to this—a day when he couldn’t let her go. Even though Ramona hated him to the bone, even after everything she’d done to his family, he knew he should have despised her a thousand times over. Yet, a part of him still yearned to go back to the way things were.

But the past was a mistake, too.

“The grief my mother and Eulalia gave Ramona was no less than what they gave you.”

Jotham didn't look back. He just left her with those cold words and strode away.

He knew, of course, that his mother and Eulalia were anything but easy. He’d spent years walking on eggshells just to keep the peace at home. Brianna hadn't had much contact with the family over the years, so she'd avoided any direct conflict. But he had witnessed everything Ramona endured during her two years by his side.

Of course Ramona had been wronged. But for his sake, she had handled most of the disputes herself. She placated Winnie, appeased the elders, and did her best to avoid Eulalia. With her personality, Ramona was no pushover. She could have thrown fits just like Brianna—or even worse. But Jotham knew that for him, Ramona had been willing to swallow her pride, dull her sharp edges, and give him everything she had.

Ramona's love wasn't loud or flashy, but it was the deepest, most tender affection he had ever known.

You don't realize what you have until it's gone.

When Jotham returned to the hospital room, Winnie looked much more relaxed. With Brianna gone, it was as if she could finally breathe freely.

Griffin stared intently at Jotham, as if he wanted to say something. Jotham understood what was on his father’s mind: the company.

But Jotham couldn't bring himself to tell him the truth. The truth was, they no longer had any real power in the company. Ramona had brought in outside capital from God knows where, diluting the family's shares to almost nothing. The wealth they had spent years building was nearly all gone.

He had thought her revenge would end there, but within a few short days, Holt Group's core operations had collapsed. Key employees and clients had vanished, and now the company was little more than an empty shell saddled with debt.

If things continued like this, there was only one possible outcome: bankruptcy.

“Have you… have you thought about… getting back together with Ramona?”

She loathed Ramona, but comparing her to Brianna, Ramona was at least useful. At the very least, she had the ability to prop up the company and bring profits to the family. If Jotham hadn't deceived her so badly, she might have spent her whole life as a dutiful, uncomplaining daughter-in-law to the Holts. Her family background wasn't impressive, but that just made her easier to manage, easier to control.

She remembered when she'd been hospitalized for a headache or a fever; even if she was cold to Ramona, the girl wouldn't dare step out of line and would just obediently take care of her.

The more Winnie thought about it, the more she missed those days. If she had known it would come to this, she would have insisted Ramona and Jotham get married and made sure they signed the papers. Then Jotham wouldn't have made such a colossal mess of things.

“She…” Jotham couldn’t bring himself to admit that he had already gone to her, begging. A dull ache spread through his chest.

Winnie assumed he was just too proud. “I’m not happy about you begging her, either,” she said resentfully. “She’s been terribly insolent this time. But I’ve been thinking. Any woman would be furious after being deceived like that. And what you did… it went too far. If that girl didn’t love you at all, why would she hate us with such passion?”

Jotham remained silent. But hearing his mother suggest that Ramona still loved him sent a ripple through the dead calm of his heart.

Could it be more than just hate? Could there still be love?