Chapter 2
Claudine’s robe was already in disarray. She sat up, fumbled to adjust it, and spoke with determination, “Damian, let’s get a divorce!”
Damian blew out a smoke ring, his strikingly handsome face impassive.
“Divorce?”
He scoffed, as if she had told a joke.
“Claudine, what could you possibly do without me?”
His eyes swept over her, his gaze devoid of any emotion. Then he tapped the cigarette lightly, letting the ash fall onto the plush carpet.
“Seriously? Are you doing this because I took Darla abroad on a bonding trip?
“Angie said you had been away for a whole week until today. What? You’re trying to protest by running away from home?”
Claudine let out a bitter laugh inwardly.
If it were a bonding trip as he claimed, why would he bring his secretary Lindsay Powell instead of her, his wife?
If it were before, she’d have brandished Lindsay’s Instagram posts in his face, asking for an explanation.
But now, she felt it no longer necessary.
“I didn’t feel well, so I stayed in the hospital this week,” she replied calmly.
Just as she was about to tell him about the abortion, someone pushed the door open.
“You’re awake, Claudine! I want those cookies you make!”
Darlene, in a pink nightgown, ran inside barefoot.
Claudine bent down and looked at her gently.
“Darla, I have something to say to Damian. How about we make cookies tomorrow?”
“No! I want them now!”
Having been pampered since childhood, Darlene was used to getting everything she wanted.
As Claudine was about to coax her, Damian cut in, “Whatever it is can wait till tomorrow.
“Darla’s been asking for your cookies on the way back today. Just go make some with her.”
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Chapter 2
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Had it been before, Claudine would have agreed already. But she hadn’t recovered from the abortion. How could she have the energy to take care of a five–year–old?
“I’m really not feeling well. And… I wanna talk to you about our baby,” she insisted.
Damian’s face darkened immediately.
He impatiently stubbed out the cigarette butt in the ashtray and looked at her, his seemingly calm eyes tinged with faint fury.
“I’ve made myself very clear–I don’t want another baby!
“Your only job is to look after Darla.
“Don’t get any ideas!”
He pulled out a card from his wallet and tossed it onto the table.
“Take this. Enough with the farce!”
With that, he strode out.
Perceptive from childhood, Darlene took a step back, distancing herself from Claudine.
“You upset Daddy again.
“What are you gonna do this time?”
She narrowed her eyes, the indifference and arrogance on her face identical to Damian’s.
Then she stuck her tongue out at Claudine before bouncing out of the room.
Finally, quiet settled back into the bedroom once again.
A bone–chilling wind seeped through the window. Luxurious as the room was, it felt colder than a freezer.
Claudine glanced outside the window. Only scattered lights glimmered fitfully in the distance, almost devoured by the fathomless dark.
She then took out an invitation from her bag. An important auction in Bronzevale was around the corner, and she was invited to be the auctioneer.
Given the scale of the auction, Damian would surely attend.
He didn’t allow her to work, so she hesitated to respond.
He used to be her entire world. For him, she had given up everything, including her career–the one thing that she was most proud of.
But now…
What did he say earlier? Right-“Claudine, what could you possibly do without me?”
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Chapter 2
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Fine. She’d prove exactly what she could accomplish without him!
Instead of resting properly after the abortion, Claudine endured a night of cold wind. Soon, she developed a high fever.
She drifted into sleep groggily but was soon startled awake by insistent pounding on the door.
Gritting her teeth, she forced her eyes open, the throbbing in her skull almost splitting her head in half.
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