On the other end, Zara sat frozen, the phone still in her hand, her expression blank as Nathaniel’s cruel words echoed in her mind. A dull ringing filled her ears, and her face turned pale with sha.
"So, that’s what he thinks of ," she whispered with disbelief and sorrow.
A bitter sting welled up in her chest. Her eyes burned, but she refused to let the tears fall. All those years—every sacrifice she had made, every ti she prioritized his needs over hers, every little effort to keep their family together ant nothing to him. He saw her as soone a gold digger.
She swallowed hard, trying to push away the growing lump in her throat. mories flickered in her mind—how she had stayed up late tending to him when he was sick, cheered him up when he was stressed, packed his bags when he was going on business trips, and smiled through loneliness just to keep things peaceful. She had hoped he would one day see her love, feel it, and return it.
"I never wanted your money. All I wanted... was your love."
A single tear slid down her cheek. She quickly wiped it away, forcing herself to breathe, though her heart was aching.
She set the phone aside and focused on her sketches.
Ring-Ring-Ring...
Zara’s phone vibrated again. She glanced at the screen—Dad. A sigh escaped her lips before she answered.
"Hello?"
"You ungrateful brat!" her father’s furious voice thundered through the phone. "Because of you, Jaxon is in the hospital. We can’t even live in peace in our own ho. Get over here now. I want to speak with you."
Zara had been expecting this call. She also wanted to talk to him clearly. She wouldn’t let them exploit her anymore. "Fine. I’ll co. We need to talk anyway."
She ended the call, grabbed her bag, and left the office.
At the Moore residence....
The mont Zara stepped inside, her father barked, "You brat!" He stord toward her, his face flushed red with rage. "Your brother was desperate and called you for help. You turned your back on him. Look what happened. He is in the hospital with broken ribs and a fractured arm."
Zara folded her arms tightly across her chest, a bitter smile playing on her lips. "If you were so concerned, why didn’t you pay off his debt yourself? Why was I the one dragged into it again?"
Isaac’s finger shot up, shaking with fury. "You—"
"Isaac, please," Lina rushed to his side, gripping his arm. She turned to Zara, her eyes filled with accusation. "Do you have to upset him like this? You know his heart isn’t in good shape."
Zara narrowed her eyes. "That heart condition has been your excuse for years to guilt , to extort money from Nathaniel. But it ends now. I’m done playing your ga. Don’t expect a single penny from anymore."
She turned to leave, but her father’s voice cracked like a whip behind her.
"What’s so wrong with helping your brother? It’s only five million. Your husband is a billionaire. What’s a few million to him? Why make such a fuss?"
Zara stopped in her tracks, slowly turning her head. The disgust on her face said everything. Those words pierced deep, and she felt a familiar burn in her chest, but she refused to let them see how hurt she was. This wasn’t a family—it was a bottomless pit of entitlent.
Her lips curled into a tight, bitter smile. "You’ve only ever seen as a ans to drain money from the Grant family. You never asked how I was doing. You never cared what I felt. All I’ve ever been to you is a ticket to wealth."
Her voice rose with steel as she continued, "But it ends here. I won’t let you use to squeeze another penny out of Nathaniel. I’m divorcing him."
"What?" Isaac and Lina gasped in unison, shocked.
Isaac’s eyes bulged as he stumbled forward. "Divorce? Are you out of your mind? You can’t do that now. My company is barely hanging on. We are desperate for investnt, and only Nathaniel can save it."
Straightening his shoulders, he added coldly, "That’s why I called you. You will speak to Nathaniel and convince him to invest in the company. That’s your responsibility."
Zara looked at him as though she were seeing a stranger. "Your company is your responsibility," she replied icily. "I won’t ask Nathaniel for anything."
Lina quickly stepped in. "Zara, don’t be hasty. I know you’re upset." Her tone was coaxing. "We may have asked too much, but we wouldn’t co to you if we weren’t truly in trouble. We are family. Isn’t helping each other part of that?"
"Family?" Zara scoffed. "The mont you married my father, this house stopped being my family. He doesn’t even see as his daughter anymore. To him, he only has one child—Jaxon."
"You..." Isaac’s face turned crimson with rage, his hand lifting instinctively to strike Zara. She flinched, eyes squeezed shut, bracing for the sting of the blow.
"Stop." The command echoed through the room like a thunderclap.
Isaac froze, his raised hand suspended mid-air. All heads turned to the source of the voice and saw Nathaniel’s imposing figure stepping in. He stood tall in the doorway, his expression like carved stone, dark eyes blazing with warning.
Zara’s breath caught in her throat. Of all the people she had expected to see, Nathaniel was the last. He never visited her father’s ho ever since she had married him, not in all these years. And now, after announcing their divorce, he ca, abandoning his work?
She stared at him in stunned silence as he approached, each step exuding quiet authority. He stopped beside her like an impenetrable wall.
"Is this how you treat your daughter? You invite my wife here just to threaten her?"
Isaac’s hand dropped hastily, and he let out a forced chuckle, trying to mask his discomfort. "No, no, you misunderstood. I wasn’t going to hurt her..."
Trying to smooth things over, Lina stepped in quickly, her voice sweetening unnaturally. "Nathaniel... What a surprise. It’s been so long since you visited us. Please, co in, sit down." She gestured eagerly toward the living room, her smile stretching too wide, too chanical.
Nathaniel’s hand slid to the small of Zara’s back. Startled by his touch, she instinctively recoiled, stepping away. But before she could move far, his arm looped firmly around her waist, pulling her back to his side.
Zara turned sharply, her gaze locking onto his face. He was smiling.
That smile—it was soft, charming, disarming... and painfully unfamiliar. When was the last ti he had smiled at her like that?
She couldn’t rember.
She stared at him, trying to read his expression, but his eyes revealed nothing beyond the smile that danced on his lips.
"Sit down," Lina chid in, trying to defuse the tension. "I’ll make so coffee for you."
Still holding Zara close, Nathaniel asked, "Won’t you invite in?"
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