Chapter 14
Chapter 14 Chapter Fourteen
I stared at Mark in disbelief, my eyes widening incredulously as his demand echoed in the room,
harshly bouncing off the walls. His determined eyes were fixated on me, his l*ps were set in a
straight line and his arms that were folded across his ch*st hinted at his seriousness.
“You’re saying I have to give you a million dors as a breakup fee?!” The words burst from my l*ps
and my voice resounded in the room. “What the actual hell! A million dors?” The absurdity of his
request was incredulous.
“Yes, you have to give me a million dors before I sign those papers,” he an- swered calmly as if
he was asking me to pay him a measly sum of three hun- dred dors. The nonchnt demeanor
with which he responded only did more to heighten my disbelief than make mee to terms with
his demand.
“You can’t possibly be serious,” I eximed, the words tumbling out of my m*uth in a mixture of
disbelief and frustration as I got on my knees on the bed, all strung up. “You’re a billionaire, and yet
you’re asking me for a breakup fee?”
“That’s right,” He replied, his tone was firm and unwavering and his gaze was
steady as he met my incredulous stare.
“That’s insane, Mark!” I eximed, my voice rising with a mixture of exaspera-
tion and my heightened disbelief.
He shrugged. “Since you’re the one who proposed the divorce, you have to pay me a breakup fee.
That’s my condition. And mind you,” his brows rode up his
hairline, “I’m talking about US dors. If you can’t meet my condition, don’t even
think about bringing up divorce ever again.”
My jaw dropped as I gaped at him. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. How petty could he be?
“But Mark, that’s absurd! You know I can’t afford to give you that kind of money. You don’t even
need it. Your weekly revenue is way more
than that.”
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Chapter 14 Chapter Fourtee
How did he expect me toe by that huge amount of money if he didn’t know that I co owned
Luxe and Atelier?
He folded his arms across his ch*st , unmoved by my protests. “That’s not my problem, Sydney.
You wanted the divorce, now you have to deal with the conse
quence that is a million dors.
I felt a surge of frustration and anger rise within me as he kept repeating the amount he wanted me
to pay to him. “You’re beingpletely unreasonable, Mark. This is unfair!”
“And it is fair that you’re divorcing me without prior notice or reasonable excuse .” he raised a
perfectly arched brow.
“I didn’t know I had to inform you eons before I file for a divorce,” I retorted, my b*dy taut with
irritation.
He shrugged in that nonchnt way again, his expression indifferent. “Your don’t just wake up one
morning, leave the house, and send me divorce papers,” he reiterated, his tonecking any form of
remorse or understanding.
“I told you before I left!” I eximed, frustration bubbling up inside me. Oh God. This man was
driving me nuts with his dismissive attitude.
He shrugged again, his l*ps twitching into a sardonic smile, a sh of amuse- ment dancing in his
eyes. “I had thought you were joking. Or just exercising your newfound courage or something,” he
remarked, his tone dripping with con-
descension.
Wow! I gaped at him, incredulous at his audacity. “This is utter extortion, Mark!”
I eximed, my voice trembling with anger.
But he remained unfazed, shrugging nonchntly as if my outrage was just a
minor inconvenience. “Call it what you want,” he retorted, his tone dismissive.
“But those are my terms. Take it or leave it,” he concluded, his words leaving a
bitter taste in my m*uth.
I clenched my fists and my mind raced with disbelief and indignation.
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Chapter 14 Chapter Fourteen
A million dors!
Though I had been away from thepany for three years, the financial state- ments I had looked
through when I resumed were very impressive. With those
statements, it would be pretty easy toe up with such an amount but it was unfair. It was unfair
to Grace. She had been toiling for thepanies while I rot- ted away in a forsaken marriage. It
would be unfair to juste one day and waltz away with a million dors. I doubted if Grace had
ever even withdrawn
that much from the businesses.
“Can we negotiate a lower price?” I tried to reason with him, my voice slightly ca- Joling, hoping to
appeal to whatever humanity was left in him. “Say eight hun-
dred thousand dors?”
He sneered and dipped his hands in his pockets, his posture exuding arro-
gance. “I’m a billionaire. You know it, and you even said it yourself just now,” he
scoffed. “The title of being my wife is worth far more than a million dors. I want a million dors,
not a penny less.”
“I could take this to court, you know,” I gritted out, meeting his gaze head–on,
hoping to turn the tables and save myself a few thousand dors.
He opened his arms wide, his smirk widening. “Be my guest, love,” he taunted,
his confidence oozing. “Let’s take this to court.”
I bit my l*p, my mind racing as I weighed my options. It wouldn’t really be wise to take this to court.
For all I knew, since I initiated the divorce process, the judge might end up ordering me to pay more
if, after his investigation, he got a whiff that I co–owned Luxe and Atelier. Besides, Mark would
obviously have. more connections to turn the case to his advantage. My heart sank at the real-
ization that my escape n might backfire eventually.
“When do we go to court?” He broke into my thought process, his voice mock- ingly urgent,
“Tomorrow? Now? I’m ready whenever.”
“Fine!” I closed my eyes in frustration and raised my palm. “Fine, okay?” I met. his gaze, my resolve
wavering under the pressure. “I agree.” I caved in, knowing that dying further would only prolong
my unwanted ties to him.
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Chapter 14 Chapter Fourteen
I’d just have to bag super–rich clients afterward to make up for this withdrawal, I reassured myself.
Besides, I could even negotiate double the money back from him since he was willing to pay any
amount for the two custom–made Jew- elry pieces he had ordered from us.
“But remember,” I added, locking eyes with him, “Once I’ve raised the money, you can’t back out.”
My tone was firm, a subtle warning hidden beneath my
words.
He hesitated, his eyes probed, making my skin tingle. Then he lifted his chin. “Of course. But until
you’ve raised the money, you must return to our residence. To the outside world, we must maintain
the appearance of us being husband
and wife, just like before.”
“And if I don’t?” I arched a brow and folded my arms on my ch*st , my chin tip- ping up.
He chuckled, seeming amused. “It’s simple. I’ll raise the breakup fee. How
about two million dors?!”
f**k you, Mark Torres. f**k you!
Although I was sure I could pull the two million dors together, there was no
Content is property of N?velDrama.Org.
way I would let him milk me dry.
“Whatever,” I muttered, rolling my eyes and sitting back. “I’d move back in and
get you the fee as soon as possible.”
If I could inform Grace and our finance department and also finalize the neces- sary paperwork
today, I was certain that I could get the money ready by tomor-
row. That way I would just have to spend a night in his ce. It’s not so bad. I mentally shrug. It
wasn’t a big deal.
“What? You’re going to cry to mummy and daddy to give you a million dors to pay your approved
husband so he signs the divorce papers?” He mocked.
“It’s none of your business how I get the money as long as you get it.”
He shrugged, “True.” Then with a smug smile stretching across his l*ps, he
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Chapter 14 Chapter Fourteen
reached out for me. His movement was so sudden that I couldn’t move away.
from his grasp.
His fingers closed around my wrist like a vice and he effortlessly pulled me up from the bed, his
touch sending a shiver down my spine.
“Now, go out there and be a good wife,” hemanded, his toneced with an irritating arrogance.
Without another word, he strode out of the room, leaving me to scurry after him like the dummy
bride I had once been. I picked up my bag with the leisure of one who had all the time in the world
and stepped out of the room at my own
pace.
As I made my way out, I made a mental note to either meet up with Grace or call her to speak with
her about the withdrawal after the party.
I almost collided into his back when he came to an abrupt stop, his sudden halt jolting me out of my
wandering thoughts and I crashed back to reality.
I looked up, and there she was, her figure outlined against the dim light filtering through the floor to
length windows below the stairs, behind her. Her eyes glint- ed with tears, her l*ps pulled down in a
heartbreaking grimace. I guess the anger that had once zed in her gaze as she watched Mark
storm out of the courtyard with me on his shoulder had worn off because in that moment, she
looked utterly pathetic.
She seemed to have been climbing up the stairs in search of us because right now, she stood
frozen at the top of the stairs, her eyes fixated on Mark.
I cleared my throat, breaking whatever trance they were in. Her gaze slid from
Mark to me.
I didn’t know what prompted me but I found myself straightening my dress and smoothening my
hair, hinting at what didn’t happen between us. But she need not know nothing of the sort
happened. The indications were there; Mark throw- ing me over his shoulders and bringing me to a
room. His tie was slightly loos- ened from when he loosened it when we were talking and my hair
was a bit scat-
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Chapter 14 Chapter Fourteen
tered from when he threw me on the bed. My silk dress also had a slight crease
from kneeling on the bed and it had also ridden up.
Her eyes eyed me up and widened at my actions with disbelief and betrayal. She looked like she
was struggling toprehend what I was hinting at. The si- lence between us stretched taut, the
weight of her gaze bearing down on us.
Hmm, how does it feel to be in my shoes?
“Mark,” I said his name so softly that he turned back in surprise, his expression told of his confusion
at my sudden demeanor. He watched, with curiosity, as I walked to him and closed the distance
between us. Holding his gaze, I reached out and forcefully linked our arms together. I leaned my
head on his shoulders and let my eyes rest on Be. “Darling,” I purred, fluttering myshes, “My
head hurts, I need you to take me home.”
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