He Gave Her $1B, I Divorced Him

Chapter 2

I wasn't picky, so I found a place and signed the lease quickly.

By the time I returned home, it was 7 p.m. I stopped at the grocery store, bought fresh ingredients, and cooked all of Nathan's favorite dishes.

I had loved him for years. Even though our marriage had reached its end, I didn't want an ugly fight. I only wanted a clean, peaceful separation.

Nathan usually came home by 8 p.m. If he was delayed, he always sent a message. That night, dinner sat untouched while I waited until 10 p.m., and he still didn't appear.

I didn't call. I sat quietly on the couch until the front door opened at midnight.

Nathan tossed his coat onto the couch. He looked surprised to find me awake.

"Why haven't you gone to bed? You don't need to wait when I'm not home. Eat and get some sleep."

Without another word, he headed straight for the guest bedroom.

I had assumed he stayed out because he was angry about the divorce. A foolish part of me had even hoped his anger meant he cared at least a little.

Instead, he hadn't taken my words seriously at all.

I called after him.

"Nathan, this is the divorce agreement. Please sign it."

His body went still for a moment. Then he turned and looked at me impatiently.

"Enough. Stop making a scene. Vivian and I ended things years ago. The alimony was part of our divorce settlement, and you know it. If this is about money, I'll transfer 5% of the company to you. Will that satisfy you?"

I almost laughed.

'Does he really think this is about money?'

If money had mattered, I would never have gone to him when he was at his lowest. I wouldn't have fought with my family and emptied my savings to help him rebuild. I wouldn't have married him after he placed a prenuptial agreement in front of me.

He would never understand that I had loved him for many years.

In college, my period once started unexpectedly and stained my pants. People mocked me as I crossed campus until Nathan stepped in, tied his jacket around my waist, and shielded me from their taunts.

From then on, I could always pick Nathan out of any crowd.

Unfortunately, he already had a girlfriend, so I kept my distance and silently wished him happiness.

Later, I heard that he had gone bankrupt and divorced. I thought perhaps my chance had finally arrived. When he drank in despair, I stayed beside him. When he decided to rebuild his company, I funded him. When people looked down on him and every door closed in his face, I used every connection I had to bring him clients.

Only after the company became stable did he finally agree to date me.

He never planned dates or reached for me first. I even had to ask him to marry me, accepting a marriage without a wedding and a prenuptial agreement that protected everything he owned.

For 7 years, I had kept throwing myself against the same closed door: 3 years dating him and 4 years married to him.

At last, I was done.

I drew a slow breath against the tightness in my chest.

"I don't want your shares, Nathan. I truly want a divorce. By tomorrow morning, I expect the signed agreement to be on the coffee table."

I walked past him the way he had so often walked past me, went into my room, and locked the door behind me.

His furious shout came from the hallway.

"Fine, Claire Hart. You want a divorce? I'll sign it right now. Once we're divorced, I won't take you back even if you crawl to me and beg."

The study door slammed a moment later.

Even though I had prepared myself, my chest still tightened with pain.

A humorless laugh caught in my throat. 'Does he really think I'll crawl back and beg him?'

He seemed to have forgotten that throughout our 4-year marriage, I had always been the one who backed down, compromised, and tried to make peace.

On our first anniversary, I pleaded with him to set aside a few hours to have dinner with me. He agreed, but I waited all night. The following day, he sent a message saying he had left the country on business.

Now I suspected he had gone to see Vivian.

I asked for a honeymoon every year, and every year he postponed it because the company supposedly lacked money. He never remembered my birthday, yet he always went out of town on July 7th.

I had never understood the invisible wall between us until I saw how far his payments to Vivian exceeded anything the law required.

Nathan had built that wall himself. Vivian would always have a place inside it, while I had spent our entire marriage shut out like a stranger.