Chapter 5 #3
“Don’t you think you’re overreaching, Mrs. Creed?”
He took one slow step closer to her, towering over her with cold arrogance. His lips curled slightly with ridicule.
“You’re the one who asked for a divorce.” He lifted the papers in his hand, lightly waving them in front of her as his eyes darkened. “And now suddenly you want to use money as an excuse to avoid divorcing because you expect me to back out after seeing this amount?”
A dark chuckle left his throat.
“I think you’re seriously overthinking things.”
Amara let out a slow breath, visibly restraining herself. Her eyes briefly closed before opening again, colder this time. Frustration was written clearly across her face.
“Look at what’s written in the documents before talking,” she shot back sharply.
Elias’s brows furrowed slightly.
She lifted one finger and pointed at herself.
“I’m the one giving you the money.”
Her finger moved from herself to his chest, pressing against his chest.
“The five hundred million dollars is for you.”
Her finger pressed harder against his chest before she pulled her hand back elegantly.
“Consider it compensation,” she said calmly, “for living with me for one year as my husband.”
The moment the words left her mouth, silence fell between them.
Elias froze completely. His eyes visibly darkened with disbelief, and his grip on the papers loosened slightly.
Even Felix looked completely stunned, staring at Amara’s retreating figure as though he had suddenly lost the ability to speak.
Amara didn’t wait for a response.
She simply turned around coldly, her heels clicking sharply against the ground as she walked away without looking back. Her long black coat swayed lightly behind her with every step.
Elias remained standing there stiffly, his eyes fixed on her retreating figure in complete disbelief.
He watched as she returned to Jasper, who immediately opened the car door for her. He closed the door carefully behind her before walking around to the driver’s seat.
Elias’s face burned with anger. His jaw clenched hard enough for the muscles to visibly twitch.
Then, without even looking down at the papers in his hand, he let out another cold scoff and casually tossed the documents aside.
Felix reacted quickly and caught them midair before they hit the ground.
“She’s going crazy,” Elias muttered darkly, though his eyes never once left the car. A humorless laugh escaped him.
His expression twisted with irritation.
“Does she really think I won’t divorce her just because she’s throwing these ridiculous tantrums?”
But despite his words, his gaze never moved away from Jasper’s car. He stood there unmoving as the car slowly drove away.
His eyes followed it the entire time.
Even after it disappeared from sight, he was still staring in that direction.
His face had become terrifyingly dark.
***
Amara stepped inside the luxurious apartment, pausing briefly near the entrance as her eyes swept across the familiar space.
Dark wooden flooring stretched across the massive space while deep red and white walls gave the apartment a rich and elegant atmosphere. Floor-to-ceiling windows displayed the dazzling Manhattan skyline outside, the glittering high-rise buildings glowing beautifully against the evening sky.
This apartment had been a graduation gift from her mother years ago, back when she had just finished college.
Since it had been left empty for so long, she had allowed Jasper to stay there. But now that she had left Elias’s house, she had already moved her bags into the second bedroom, quietly settling in as Jasper’s flatmate.
Walking back inside the apartment felt like stepping into a forgotten version of herself.
A version that existed before Elias.
Before marriage.
Before heartbreak.
As Amara stepped farther into the living room with Jasper beside her, her gaze immediately landed on the figure sprawled comfortably across the couch.
“Juliet?” she asked in surprise.
The moment Jasper spotted Juliet, excitement immediately flashed across his face.
Without hesitation, he rushed forward dramatically and threw himself down onto the couch beside her. One hand pushed back his messy curls while the other lightly smacked Juliet on the back.
“Yo,” he grinned.
The force almost made her fall sideways. She instantly turned toward him with a murderous glare.
“One day, I’m seriously going to punch you in the face,” she snapped irritably.
She grabbed the magazine beside her and smacked it down onto the table before glaring harder at Jasper.
Jasper only grinned shamelessly in response.
Then both of them turned toward Amara.
Amara slowly walked forward before sinking tiredly into the couch across from them. The exhaustion on her face became more obvious the second she finally relaxed against the cushions.
A long breath escaped her lips as she leaned her head back briefly.
“How did it go?” Juliet immediately asked, leaning forward slightly. “Was there any problem with the divorce terms? Did he try to stop you?”
Before Amara could answer, Jasper suddenly burst out laughing.
“Absolutely not,” he said lazily, stretching one arm across the back of the couch. “And even if her husband tried to stop her, it’s not like she’d change her mind now.”
He waved his hand dramatically toward Amara.
“Look at her.”
Amara had already changed clothes after leaving the funeral.
The heavy black funeral dress was gone, replaced by a softer black dress that stopped at her thighs, elegant yet relaxed.
Her makeup had faded slightly after the exhausting day, but it only made her look more beautiful and tired at the same time.
She looked completely different from the fragile woman Elias was used to seeing.
After leaving the cemetery, she had stopped at her parents’ house to change before heading to the Hawk Industries to deal with work matters. The day had passed by in a blur before she knew it.
Juliet was dressed comfortably in loose pajamas and an oversized T-shirt, looking completely at home. Meanwhile, Jasper and Amara still carried the polished sophistication of people who had just returned from the chaotic outside world.
“Exactly.” Juliet nodded immediately at Jasper’s words before turning toward Amara with disbelief still written across her face.
“What the hell were you even doing with him for the past year?”
Amara stayed silent.
Juliet frowned harder.
“Just because you had a crush on him, you practically built your entire life around him like his approval was oxygen.” She scoffed. “Only women who’ve seen, like, three men in their entire lives behave like that!”
“That’s exactly what I keep telling her!” He pointed toward Amara while shaking his head in disbelief.
He leaned forward slightly, resting his elbows on his knees as he looked directly at Amara.
“You’ve been working in one of the biggest businesses in the city since forever. You’re gorgeous, talented, smart—”
He counted each point on his fingers.
“You know how to run companies, negotiate contracts, and manipulate businessmen twice your age into agreeing with you.”
Jasper leaned back against the couch before letting out another scoff.
“I still remember how you used to be one of the most beautiful girls in our entire social circle. Men used to lose their minds over you. And you gave all of that up for that husband of yours.”
Jasper clicked his tongue. He looked genuinely offended on her behalf.
“Was it even worth it?”
Amara lowered her eyes quietly.
Jasper immediately answered for her.
“He doesn’t deserve you. Honestly, after fumbling you this badly, that man doesn’t deserve a single good thing for the rest of his life.”
Juliet’s expression softened slightly as she looked at Amara carefully.
“You’re not going to back out of this, right?”
Amara frowned slightly.
“Back out of what?”
“Divorcing Elias?”
“Of course,” Amara said immediately, her voice steady without even a second of hesitation. She lifted her chin slightly, eyes calm but firm. “What do you even think of me? You know I don’t back out once I’ve made a decision.”
Juliet let out a long breath and threw herself backward on the couch with exaggerated disbelief, one arm flopping over her eyes. A sharp, almost playful smile tugged at her lips despite her frustration.
“If it weren’t for you falling for that man’s good looks,” she said, waving a hand in the air like she was dismissing Elias completely, “that damn man would’ve never even had the chance to step into your shadow.”
Her eyes sharpened as she glanced toward Jasper.
“His looks are literally his only weapon.”
Amara rolled her eyes slowly, leaning back against the couch with a tired exhale. Her fingers brushed lightly against her temple.
“It’s over,” she said flatly. “I don’t want to think about him anymore.”
She turned her face slightly toward them again.
“I’ve made my decision. I’m moving on. I don’t want any ties with my past anymore.”
Her voice softened just a fraction, but it carried something tired beneath it.
“Since he doesn’t like me…” she added with a faint, self-mocking smile, “it would be a little embarrassing to spend ten years of my life in a one-sided marriage.”
Juliet clicked her tongue, still clearly dissatisfied, her brows drawn together as she leaned forward again like she wanted to argue more—but stopped herself.
Amara straightened slightly, her expression shifting. Her eyes moved toward Jasper with a sharper focus now.
“Did you find anything about my accident two years ago?” she asked.
Her voice dropped a little. More serious now.
“What really happened that night?”
Her fingers tightened subtly against the fabric of the couch as she continued,
“I’ve been trying to understand it. That accident… it was so goddamn brutal. It took me such a long time to recover.”
Her gaze sharpened further.
“I know I wasn’t driving recklessly. I don’t speed like that. So what really happened? Did my brakes fail? Did I swerve? Was it the red light?”