Chapter 14:
“Shopping, obviously.” Freya deadpanned.
Kristian’s eyes turned arctic. “Must you always provoke me?”
Silence.
“If you want that divorce payout,” he bit out, patience snapping, “you’ll cooperate. Push me too far, and you’ll leave with nothing.”
Freya tossed the remote aside, her expression unreadable. “That’s not true,” she declared, her tone flat.
Kristian furrowed his brow, clearly confused.
“When you’re so eager to marry Ashley, you’d probably pay a fortune just to see me gone,” Freya continued, her voice firm and unwavering.
Kristian’s expression hardened, a chill spreading through his demeanor.
It was a new feeling for him, this sensation of being cornered. Freya had crossed a line no one else dared to.
“Are you implying that I’m powerless against you?” he questioned, his voice low and dangerous.
“Of course not,” Freya retorted.
She nonchalantly flipped through channels, finding another reality show, and spoke with earnest conviction. “You have plenty of options at your disposal. You could cut off my funds, confine my movements, or even exile me to some godforsaken place.”
Kristian listened, stunned by how absurd she was being—and somehow, that absurdity drained the heat from his anger.
How had someone who could provoke him so effortlessly also been so tender and supportive for two whole years?
The rest on gⲁl𝗇𝗈ν𝖊𝗅𝘀⧸𝒸𝗈𝗺
“If you resort to those tactics, though,” Freya pointed out with a shrewd smile, “Ashley would never be anything more than a hidden affair. Surely, you wouldn’t let her be dragged through rumors and whispers, right?”
Though Kristian was revered as a titan of industry, his reputation teetered on the brink of disaster once whispers of his unfaithfulness and allegations of a mistress began to circulate, setting the stage for public ridicule and condemnation.
Ashley, shielded by his influence, would find herself under the oppressive gaze of judgment whenever she ventured out to shop or attend social gatherings.
Determined to protect his beloved from such indignities, Kristian must be resolute.
“What would it take for you to accompany me to the family gathering?” he demanded, aiming to steer away from their earlier contentious discussion.
“Sever all ties with Ashley Bradley immediately,” Freya commanded, her finger hovering over the pause button of the remote as the show halted. “Once we’re—”
“Officially divorced, you can love her freely.”
Kristian’s rejection was swift and firm. “No.”
“Oh?” Freya raised an eyebrow, taken aback.
Confusion clouded Kristian’s features.
Unfazed, she went on, “There’s a one-month waiting period before the divorce papers are filed. Who’s to say what twists might unfold in that time?”
The living room was charged with tension, a silent witness to the crumbling facade of their relationship.
Yet, Freya seemed detached from the emotional weight of the moment. She nonchalantly resumed the TV show, where the light-hearted banter of a reality show filled the space between them.
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.
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