Chapter 17 

The divorce signing came three months later, 

Everything had exploded in those months. The stock transfers, Sarah defecting to our competitor, the bigamy scandal breaking, Claire being destroyed on social media, Nathan losing control of his company, the divorce battle… 

Dad orchestrated it all while I found peace studying with an artist in the mountains. 

When Dad said it was over, I couldn’t believe my scholarly father had managed it. 

His expression turned complex. “Nathan let it happen. Some of it… he orchestrated himself. 

At the courthouse, Nathan limped in on a cane. 

The contrast between us was stark – my time away had brought back my color, my life. He looked hollow, diminished. 

I couldn’t stop staring at his damaged leg. 

He signed everything without protest, his eyes never leaving my face. 

Before I left, I had to know: “Why give in now?” 

“I needed to see you,” he said quietly. 

“What?” 

A ghost of a smile. “I couldn’t stand it anymore. The divorce, the company – I’d lose it all just 

to see you again. We’ve never been apart this long. I was dying without you.” 

His face brightened slightly. “Next month at the settlement hearing, my leg should be healed. You won’t have to see me broken.” 

Walking to my car, I could feel his gaze burning into my back. 

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Then Claire appeared in the parking lot. 

She’d changed the fragile victim act replaced by something harder, almost feral 

“You destroyed everything,” she hissed, 

I studied her calmly, 

“You did this to yourself. You were the mistress.” 

“Like hell! I loved him first! You’re the one who came between us!” 

Her face twisted with rage. 

“I fell in love with him at his parents‘ funeral when I was seventeen. I worked so hard to make him love me too, but you were always there, this perfect ghost I couldn’t compete 

with!” 

“Because of you, I had to love him in secret. Because of you, he wouldn’t even hold our son – terrified you’d smell baby powder on him! You crippled him, cost him his empire! We lost our home! Now everyone’s calling me and my innocent child horrible names online. All because of you!” 

I sighed softly. 

“You should have stayed his dirty secret. Why push your luck with that shaving setup?” 

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hapte 18