The Stolen Heiress: Claimed by her Father's Ruthless Enemy.

"You want a divorce," he reiterated, his tone a little bit sharper than usual.

"Yes," I said.

"Right. Since you’re eager to end this, let’s be clear about what this actually cost you." His voice was calmer now. "First, the breach of the six-month marriage contract is three billion, which I believe you already know, or should have, if you had bothered to read what you signed."

Yes, I knew that. Though, I never read the contract, that particular clause was unmistakable on the third page when I flipped to sign. Regardless, I still signed it, thinking that nothing could be worse than the time I spent with my family.

How wrong I had been.

"Secondly, there’s a clause at the end of the contract papers... Clause 44, the Conduct breach. If you act in a way that goes against the expected conduct of a wife under the contract, you’re liable to pay a sum of four billion dollars."

My eyes widened. Four... Four billion dollars?

"By the way, you already triggered that clause the time you stole from my card. But I chose to overlook it. Now that you’re ready to leave, you owe me seven billion dollars in total."

The blood drained from my face.

"This is ridiculous," I muttered, gripping the fabric of my nightdress. "The four billion was never part of the deal. You’re doing this just to keep me trapped. You don’t have any reason."

"You never read the contract. How would you know it was never part of the deal? And you stole from me, didn’t you?"

I blinked, caught off guard.

"You took back your money. That doesn’t count as theft," I hissed.

"It is still a breach of the conduct clause." He rose from his seat, then reached for his phone on the table. "Seven billion dollars. Don’t tell me you don’t have the money, because if you don’t, you won’t be asking for divorce." With that, he turned around and walked out of the dining room, not even waiting for my response.

I sat there, staring emptily at the closed door. God, he was impossible. How could he keep on doing this? What else did he want from me after everything he had already done?

And now, a Conduct breach? A bitter scoff left my lips. I turned my gaze to the table. He hadn’t even touched his breakfast. Was keeping me here really worth that much to him? This was unbelievable.

Shortly, the door opened again, and Victoria entered, carrying a tray of fresh jasmine tea. The sweet scent of honey and roses immediately filled the room, breaking through the suffocating tension Alexander had left behind. She stopped when she saw my face, her brow furrowing with deep concern.

"Ma’am? What happened?" she asked, setting the tray down on the table and hurrying to my side. "You look pale... Did something happen with master?"

"He’s a monster," I said, the rage and frustration finally boiling over as I pressed my palms against my face. "I asked for a divorce... And then, and then..." I was so angry that I couldn’t even form a complete sentence.

Victoria gently placed her hand on my shoulder to calm me down. "Take a deep breath, ma’am. Don’t let him get under your skin."

"How can I not?" I muttered, pulling my hands away from my face, and looking into her eyes. "He already has a three-billion-dollar penalty for the breach of the six-month marriage contract. And now he added some four billion Conduct breach just because I told him I wanted to leave. How can a human be so thoughtless!"

Victoria didn’t interrupt me. She just stood beside me with a sad look on her face as she listened to me pour out my heart.

"He is a hard man, ma’am," Victoria said quietly, her hand still resting on my shoulder.

Hard man? I shook my head in disagreement, leaning back into the chair as exhaustion began to replace my anger. I was tired of all of this.

"Hard is an understatement. He is just heartless. He’s doing this on purpose. And why do I even have to pay him for ruining my life and my family?"

Victoria’s grip on my shoulder tightened slightly. "You shouldn’t have to pay for any of it," she said, an edge in her voice I hadn’t heard from her before. She let go of my shoulder and reached for the teapot. "It’s going to be alright, ma’am. Just eat your breakfast even if it’s a little, and drink some fresh tea. Don’t get yourself sick with worry."

Was this ever going to be alright? When? It was feeling like forever already. And how many more damages should be done for everything to be okay?

Sighing, I picked up the mug of tea and took a sip, trying to calm myself down and not think anymore. It was depleting my whole being.

*******

A divorce?

The word kept flashing through Alexander’s head as he strode out of his private elevator, heading towards his office. He didn’t know why he found the word ridiculous. Divorce was never in his book. Especially not now that he had information about her father’s slush fund.

His plan was to rip George Steele dry and make him just as powerless as he made him. He couldn’t let her leave until he achieved that.

"You are early today." The voice interrupted his thoughts the moment he stepped into his office. It was Ethan. He was already seated on the couch in his office.

Alexander ignored him and went straight to his chair.

"She asked for a divorce," he began as he settled into his seat.

Ethan raised his head from the file in his hands and looked at him.

"That must be eating at your chest for it to be the first thing that comes out of your mouth."

Alexander’s brows furrowed. "What do you mean?"

"I mean... You came early, and that is the first thing you say..." Ethan looked back at his files. "Anyway, what did you say?"

"I reminded her of the contract terms," Alexander said, grabbing some paperwork from his desk.

"Did you tell her about the Conduct Breach?"

"Yes."

Ethan turned to him again. "Do you want the transfer paperwork redrafted in case she really has the money?"

"She doesn’t."

Where would she get the money from? Unless she was still in contact with Seith. Alexander’s fingers paused at that thought. If she truly reached out to Seith, the bastard would definitely help her out just to irritate him.

"Ethan, if she tries to pay, delay it. Bury it in legal review. I want her to stay until I’m finished with George. She can’t leave until then."

"Sure, boss." Ethan stood up and dropped his file on Alexander’s desk.

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