hapter 9
Chapter 9
Rosalie scoffed, deliberately provoking him, “Having second thoughts now that we’re at the finish line exzed I’m not wh a bad wife after all?”
She knew Julian wasn’t someone who could be easily manipulated by cheap tricks. But he was also a man of immense pride -arrogant to the core, like so many men born into old–money families. And if there was one thing futian coddi‘‘ where, it was losing face.
Her words hit their mark. Julian couldn’t just let it slide, especially with so many of his employees around.
Sure enough, the moment the words left her lips, Julian’s already dark expression turned even more or
Without a word, he strode toward her, his presence sharp and oppressive.
Rosalie saw him move but didn’t bother waiting. She simply turned and made her way toward the parking lot, her heek clicking against the pavement with an unhurried rhythm.
She reached her car and pulled the door open–only for it to be stopped midway. A strong hand pressed against the edge, preventing her from getting in. She lifted her gaze and met Julian’s eyes–cold, assessing, brimming with unspoken tension.
“Still have something to say?” she asked, arching a brow, a lazy smile curving her lips.
“What exactly are you playing at?” His voice was deep, rich, laced with an authority that came naturally to him–an innate pressure that made people instinctively fall in line.
Rosalie had once loved the sound of his voice. Every word he spoke had felt like music, each syllable carrying a weight that drew her in.
But Julian had always been stingy with his words, especially when it came to her. He hardly ever engaged in conversation with her, and when he did, it was always brief. If he could say something in one word, he wouldn’t waste two.
“I’ll buy the five percent of Galloway Group’s shares that Grandfather left you–at market price. No need for you to gift it to me,” Julian said, his piercing gaze locked onto her face, searching for any flicker of hesitation, any trace of pretense in her indifferent expression.
But whether she had mastered the art of concealment too well, or whether she had genuinely let go and given up on the marriage, there was nothing for him to find.
Her expression remained almost completely unchanged while he spoke. It was as though she were entirely indifferent to him.
Julian swallowed his frustration and continued, his voice steady but laced with underlying tension, “Since we’re getting divorced, I won’t shortchange you. You’ll get what’s rightfully yours. So, there’s no need to put on an act and pretend to be so
selfless in front of me.”
Rosalie couldn’t help but laugh at his self–righteous assumption–sharp, incredulous, with a trace of biting amusement. “Julian, I already signed the divorce papers. I was waiting at the courthouse, ready to end this marriage.
“If you hadn’t stood me up, we’d already be divorced. So tell me, exactly who am I supposed to be pretending for? You?”
Her gaze locked onto his grim, brooding eyes, unwavering and fearless. A slow smile curled on her lips as she added, “I spent a whole year by your side, and it still wasn’t enough to change your mind.
“Do you really think a little generosity now would suddenly make you reconsider? Or is it that you don’t even trust your own resolve?”
For a moment, Julian found himself completely caught off guard by her question, unable to muster a single retort.
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14:55 Mon, 3 Mar
Chapter 9
She was right. If he had truly made up his mind to divorce her, then even if she had handed over everything she owned, it wouldn’t have swayed him in the slightest.
He thought, his mind turning over the implications, ‘So she really does want this divorce? She’s even more eager than I am? She went to the courthouse first thing in the morning, waited for me, and when I didn’t show, she tracked me down at the company?‘
For a fleeting moment, something in him resisted the conclusion, but he crushed that impulse before it could take shape.
“So you’re really going through with this?” His voice, usually so composed and cutting, carried an almost imperceptible rasp, a crack in the icy veneer. “You don’t want anything at all?”
From the very beginning, he had never believed that Rosalie married him without expecting something in return.
But now, she was willingly giving up everything that should have been hers.
And for the first time, the certainty he had always clung to–his ironclad belief about her–began to waver, just the slightest bit.
田
