After throwing down so harsh words, Vera Sheridan ended the call.
Half an hour later, Elias Crowe rushed over and found Vera in the corner of the lobby.
"Madam, President Kane is on his way. He’s a public figure. It’s better for you to discuss your private matters behind closed doors to avoid unnecessary repercussions."
"Would you please follow to the diation room on the second floor to wait for him?"
Vera’s intention today was to get a swift divorce, to completely sever ties with Ian Kane. If he cooperated, she wouldn’t escalate the situation.
She followed Elias Crowe to the second floor.
Another half-hour later, Ian Kane arrived, accompanied by two bodyguards in black suits.
The man’s dark eyes fixed on her as he strode over briskly.
Vera glanced at her watch; it was 10:20 AM. There weren’t many people getting divorced today, so they could make it in the morning.
Ian Kane knelt down on one knee in front of her, removed his sunglasses, his eyes tinged with redness, his throat tightened, "Honey, didn’t we agree not to divorce?"
Vera avoided his hands and stood up, her stunning face icy and sharp, mocking him from above, "Ian Kane, why am I insisting on divorce? Do you really not know?"
He stood up, looking puzzled, and asked cautiously, "Honey, did I do sothing wrong?"
Vera laughed coldly, her eyes gouging into him, "At this point, and you’re still acting with ? Ian Kane, since you returned from Veridia, I’ve seen through you! Pretending to be affectionate, naturally unfaithful, manipulating , treating like a fool!"
"These past few tis, I’ve been pretending to be oblivious, deliberately not exposing you, just waiting for today to cut ties with you completely, you scumbag!"
Ian Kane lightly shook his head, looking hurt, "Honey, I don’t know what you’re talking about."
"You still won’t admit it! I saw it with my own eyes in The Hawthorne Family’s stairway!" Vera gritted her teeth, "Not only Nina, Serena is also your old fla!"
"You and Nina have had how many trysts right under my nose at the dance troupe? You know very well!" Vera ruthlessly tore off his hypocritical mask, her gaze piercing him like nails.
Ian Kane was visibly stunned, his face darkening.
"Nothing to say now? Ian Kane, you’re so filthy it disgusts ! Still claiming you’ll wait for to get well, saying we’re soulmates, you’re full of lies!" Vera raised her chin slightly, glaring at him, mories of the stairway scene flashing through her mind, her fingertips digging deeply into her palm.
The air grew silent.
If looks could kill, Ian Kane would have died countless tis.
Even so, he didn’t show the slightest guilt from being exposed.
Instead, a bitter smile passed over his dark eyes as he stepped forward, attempting to grasp her shoulders. Vera stumbled back a step, "Don’t touch !"
Ian Kane stopped short, "Honey, you’re too naïve. n have physiological needs. I couldn’t satisfy them with you, so I had to settle."
"I treated Nina as your substitute, and Serena is just a plaything to ."
"But the one I’ll always love is you. Only after satisfying my physical desires can I love you more devotedly. I painstakingly kept it from you because I love you and didn’t want you to get hurt."
His tone was sincere, and every word seed heartfelt.
Vera laughed in exasperation, unable to discern if he was manipulating her or truly believed this.
"Ian Kane, you think you’re worthy of saying love? If you loved , you wouldn’t cheat! You wouldn’t deceive and sche against !"
"On that stormy night, when I led people up the mountain to find you and fell down the slope, what were you doing?!"
"You were having an affair with Nina, my student, in a guesthouse owned by Serena! Is this what you call love?"
"Staging a scene with Carter Sutton impersonating you and Nina having an affair, arranging for to witness it, deliberately provoking my depression, wanting to fail in the competition — is that what you call not wanting to get hurt?!"
Her words were sharp and full of sarcasm.
Ian Kane’s brows furrowed tightly, "Luring you to rock climbing was my mistake. I didn’t expect you to personally brave the rain to seek . Afterwards, I hid it from you, fearing you’d be heartbroken to know."
"I set up the provocation because I didn’t want you to continue dancing ballet, didn’t want you to suffer the hardships of training."
"I wanted you to live in luxury at ho and be my queen alone. Is that wrong? This is a life countless won dream of, so why must you insist on going out and pushing to such asures?"
Vera knew this was his true intention.
In his eyes, she should obediently rely on him, like a caged bird.
"Others are others, I am ! Ballet is my lifelong career! Your so-called not wanting to suffer is just trying to clip my wings and claim ownership!"
"Why don’t you stay at ho like a worthless person then? Why use all your sches to beco the head of The Kane Family?" she retorted.
Ian Kane seed like he just heard a hilarious joke, "Vera, I’m a man, you’re a woman. Only by being strong enough can I give you support."
Vera, "Ian Kane, I don’t want to waste words with you. Don’t talk to about love! In your eyes, I’m just your prey. You have no genuine affection; all the good tis were just sches to trap . Also, that car accident was staged by you!"
Ian Kane bitterly smiled, the corners of his eyes bloodshot, "Vera, tell , if I didn’t love you, why would I go through such lengths to manipulate you?"
"In that car accident, I nearly lost my life. For you, I’m willing to risk it. If that’s not love, what is it?"
Indeed, the car accident was his design...
Vera’s heart felt cold.
Maeve Holloway said that Ian Kane was soone without a heart, let alone genuine feelings. At the ti, Vera still held a glimr of hope, thinking perhaps, at the mont of the car accident, he had been sincere with her.
But she hadn’t expected that the accident itself was his design.
"Ian Kane, you’re truly insane. To sche against , you’re willing to risk your own life. Did you ever think, if I had been injured or even died?"
"To possess , you didn’t even care for my safety, yet you call it love." Vera clenched her fists tightly and murmured, "You don’t even love yourself; you don’t understand what love is at all..."
Ian rubbed his temples impatiently, feeling that she was being unreasonable.
Isn’t love about getting and possessing at all costs? In this, he was more persistent than Noah Grant and Jasper Crowe; he loved her more than they did!
Seeing his silence, Vera stepped aside, "Let’s get the paperwork done, I don’t want to waste any more ti with you."
Ian held onto her arm, "Vera, do you know why I’m determined to take you to Valdania?"
"My father, his lover, and his illegitimate child died in a plane crash while going to Valdania to ski. I’m taking you there to prove to him that I am different, that I’m more successful, that I love my wife."
"I won’t have an illegitimate child out there; it will only be the children you give birth to! In the future, I’ll be a good father, teaching my son to ski... Honey, co on, I really love you, I can’t live without you." His tone softened, gently coaxing.
He had originally planned to tell her these things once they arrived in Valdania.
Vera remained unmoved, recalling the days when she was emotionally manipulated by him, filled with self-doubt, anxiety, and insomnia, "Ian Kane, eting you has been a disaster for ."
"I want a divorce, to stay away from you." She broke free and was about to leave.
Ian’s jaw tensed, his face darkened, and he sneered, "Vera, what if I don’t agree?"
She paused, then abruptly turned around to face his arrogant expression.
Looking superior, as if seeing a prey about to escape its cage.
She understood, kindness wouldn’t work, and now he was resorting to toughness.
She was already prepared.
Vera picked up her phone, opened the video in the staircase, and shoved it in front of him, her tone colder than his, "Do you dare not to agree?"
"Ian Kane, don’t force to release this video."
Ian’s gaze fell on the phone screen.
In the staircase, the light was dim, the woman’s hair disheveled, her cheongsam was torn open at the collar, she held the stair railing with one hand, the other covering her mouth, her delicate brows furrowed, emitting ambiguous murmurs.
The man behind her, with wet, tousled hair, had a handso face, his expression wild and wanton.
The woman was Serena Everett, the man... was him!
Ian clenched his fists, his dark eyes fixed on Vera, "Did you film it yourself?"
That night, the person in the staircase was her, and the person in Noah Grant’s arms was also her!
Thinking of this, his face turned so dark it almost dripped water.
Vera’s lips curved, smiling sarcastically, "Yes, I fild it myself. Thanks to you, I overca my fear, and could calmly capture your infidelity."
Ian pressed his thin lips into a line, and after a mont, he spoke, "Vera, you’re sothing else. You sold the jade behind my back, secretly fild my video, pretended to have a fear of intimacy, conspired with Noah Grant to avoid the test tube... and even sold The Glimr Garden!"
Furious, he opened his palm to her, speaking icily, "Give it to ."
So he already knew about these, Vera straightened up with pride, her gaze eting his, "First get the divorce certificate, Ian Kane, I only want a divorce from you."
Ian’s handso face held a cold smile; the next second, he seized her fair wrist.
Vera scratched and kicked at him with her other hand.
He didn’t regard her weak attacks at all, gripping her wrist bones, pulling at the phone in her hand, "Vera, let go, I don’t want to hurt you."
Vera winced in pain, her strength diminishing.
Ian pried her cold, pale fingers open one by one, snatching the phone from her hand.
Ian cast a cold glance at her, deleted the video in front of her, emptied the trash, and saw their wedding certificate photo, his vow on one knee on their wedding day lying in the trash...
He restored them all, looking at her with a slight smile of triumph on his lips, "Be good, you’ll always be Mrs. Kane."
"Stop making trouble and let’s live well together from now on."
"There’s still a flight to Valdania this afternoon. Now, co to the airport with right away."
Vera acted as though she heard a joke, "I have many copies of this video."
"If I don’t get the divorce certificate by 11 o’clock, soone will help post it online to ruin your reputation, and then I’ll file for divorce..."
"Whether you divorce now or get disgraced, the choice is yours."
Upon hearing this, Ian visibly panicked, his tall figure swaying slightly.
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