Love Me Now? Too Late!

Chapter 3 Divorce

After finishing up her resignation, Eleanor left directly. She thought that by this point, Nathaniel would probably avoid coming home for a while, but to her surprise, he was at the breakfast table the next morning.

This was truly unprecedented.

Eleanor froze for a moment, then chose to ignore him, sitting down at the table and eating her breakfast in peace. Seeing her completely disregard him, Nathaniel tightened his grip on his knife and fork, then surprisingly spoke up, "Let's have dinner at home tonight."

Eleanor paused, a hint of confusion crossing her face, "Why?"

"Mom called, said we should come home for dinner."

Eleanor fell silent for a few seconds before nodding in agreement. Since she had been adopted, Mr. and Mrs. King had always treated her well. If she divorced Nathaniel, she probably wouldn't get to see them as often…

Nathaniel relaxed slightly, glancing at her. "Don't say anything out of line when we get home."

He was warning her not to say anything in front of Victoria that might ruin his relationship with Isabella . Eleanor let out a cold laugh and casually said, "Don't worry. As long as you return my ring, I won't say a word."

When they arrived at the King family estate that evening, Charles was sitting on the sofa with Victoria, talking about something. As soon as she saw Nathaniel, Victoria pushed Charles's hand away and shot Nathaniel a disapproving glare. Then, her gaze shifted to Eleanor, and she waved her over, "Ellie, come sit by Mom."

Eleanor gave a gentle smile and sat down beside her. Nathaniel, worried she might speak out of turn, was about to sit down too, but Charles stopped him, "Nate, come with me to the study. I need to discuss something with you."

Without another word, he walked toward the study, and Nathaniel shot Eleanor a brief look before following him.

Eleanor noticed the unusually tense atmosphere between Mr. and Mrs. King and realized they probably knew something was going on. Sure enough, as soon as they were alone, Victoria held Eleanor's hand and snapped her back to reality. "Ellie, I heard you quit your job at King Group?"

Eleanor bit her lip and nodded, then after a pause, quietly said, "Mom, I've decided to divorce Nathaniel."

Victoria's expression immediately became serious. "Is it because of Isabella?"

Though they had handed over King Group to Nathaniel long ago, they still kept an eye on the company, so it was hard not to know about his affair with Isabella.

Victoria's anger only grew as she saw Eleanor's face change. She clenched her fists and gritted her teeth, "That damn son of mine!"

"Ellie, don't worry, I'll teach him a lesson tonight! I'll make sure he stays far away from that woman and never dares to hurt you again!"

"Mom, you misunderstand," Eleanor interjected, squeezing Victoria's hand. She shook her head gently, "I've just come to terms with it. Nathaniel never really liked me. There's no point in clinging to someone who doesn't care."

Hearing this, Victoria's eyes reddened. She had once seen Eleanor's shy and hopeful look when she had first fallen for Nathaniel. Now, to hear her speak so indifferently about a divorce… she could only imagine the pain Eleanor had endured over the years.

Tears welled up in Victoria's eyes as she pulled Eleanor into a hug. "Ellie, I'm so sorry… you've been through so much."

Eleanor smiled softly, comforting her. "It's okay, Mom."

Seeing how strong and composed Eleanor was, Victoria's heart ached even more. She wiped away her tears and said, "No matter what you decide, I'll support you. If you want a divorce, then do it. I'll always be your mom, and King Family will always have your back!"

Eleanor felt deeply moved and nodded, "Thank you, Mom."

Just as the words left her lips, Charles and Nathaniel came out of the study, one after the other.

Nathaniel's face was dark, probably because of the scolding he received from Charles about Isabella. Victoria, however, acted as if she didn't see Nathaniel's sour expression. She coldly turned to him and said, "Ellie wants a divorce, and I'm supporting her decision. You're not worthy of her."

With that, she turned back to Eleanor and squeezed her hand. "Since you've resigned, I'm going to hand over Lanson Group to you. You've been through a lot working as that brat's secretary all these years."

Eleanor was stunned, her eyes widening in surprise.

Lanson was Victoria's family company, and although it had been incorporated into King Group after her marriage, some of its subsidiaries still supplied King Group.

Nathaniel furrowed his brow. "Mom, she doesn't have the ability to manage the company. This decision is too impulsive."

"You don't know Ellie as well as I do," Victoria shot back, glaring at him. "Did you forget that she holds dual master's degrees in management and finance from Aurora University? She even led several major projects back in school! Why doesn't she have the ability? If she hadn't been busy taking care of you all these years, she could have worked as an executive at any company! Why do you think she's been stuck being your secretary?"

Victoria's words left Nathaniel speechless.

He hadn't realized just how highly Victoria thought of Eleanor. Eleanor bit her lip, her heart warmed. "Don't worry, Mom. I won't let you down."

Nathaniel stared at Eleanor, disbelief flickering in his eyes. His hand clenched at his side.

Later that evening, Eleanor didn't sleep in their marital bedroom but instead gathered her things and moved into her old room. Too much had happened that day. She spent a long time in the bathroom, and just as she finished drying off, her best friend called. She put the phone on speaker and casually chatted with her.

"Ellie, are you really going through with the divorce? Is Nathaniel really that bad? Did you suffer so much? I never expected him to look so good but be so useless!"

"Heh…" Eleanor forced a dry laugh and grabbed the phone as she walked out.

It had been something she casually said before, just to get her friend off her back, but to her surprise, her friend remembered and brought it up again.

However, just as she stepped out, she saw Nathaniel—who shouldn't have been there.

At the same time, her phone rang with her friend's loud voice.

"Well, I guess you've never experienced the joy of a man. Let me take you to a male model bar! I know a place with high-quality, clean models. When are you free?"

Seeing Nathaniel's face darken instantly, Eleanor's scalp tingled in panic.

"I'll talk to you later…" She fumbled to hang up, trying to act like nothing was wrong as she met Nathaniel's cold gaze. She stood there, a safe distance away, and raised an eyebrow, "What are you doing here?"

Nathaniel, having just taken a shower, was wearing only a bathrobe, his damp hair falling messily over his forehead. But his expression was dark, the air around him heavy with tension. He stood up and walked toward her.

"You think I'm no good?"

He took a step closer, and Eleanor instinctively took a step back. Eventually, she found herself trapped between the bed and the wall, with nowhere else to go. She lowered her gaze and avoided his eyes. "I was just joking."

"Funny, huh?" Nathaniel suddenly raised his hand and pressed it against the wall beside her ear, his other hand gripping her chin and forcing her to meet his gaze.

His eyes were full of rage, his body radiating dangerous energy. "Since you think I'm no good, how about you prove it? Let's see."

Eleanor froze for a moment, only then realizing what he meant. A wave of embarrassment washed over her, mixed with an overwhelming sense of humiliation. How could he dare say such a thing?

"Stay away from me. You're filthy."

"Let me remind you, we're not divorced yet."

Eleanor slapped Nathaniel's hand away, scoffing coldly. "At the wedding, you didn't want to prove anything, but now you suddenly want to prove something? Just because I'm a toy that lost its value the moment it was in your hands? You didn't care until you thought you might lose it."

Her words only fueled the anger in Nathaniel's eyes. He leaned in, one hand pressing on her shoulder to pin her against the wall, while the other slid under her nightgown. Eleanor tried to turn her head, avoiding his touch, but he was relentless, his hand moving with increasing force.

Her struggles only seemed to inflame him further.

Just as Nathaniel was about to completely lose control, Eleanor took a deep breath and spoke coldly, "Right now, you're my brother. You've crossed the line!"