4

Lady Alcantara was the first to break the suffocating silence that had settled over the room, her voice slicing through the air like a whip. “You want a divorce, Zoey? Really? Do you even understand the gravity of what you just said?”

Zoey didn’t flinch. She planted her feet firmly, her shoulders squared, and met Lady Alcantara’s gaze without a flicker of doubt. Her voice was calm, measured, but every word carried the weight of unshakable resolve. “I don’t care. I want a divorce. And I’m not changing my mind.”

Caleb let out a low, mocking snort, leaning back in his chair with the ease of someone entirely unconcerned by the storm he had stirred. His smirk was infuriatingly casual, as though her declaration was little more than a minor inconvenience. “A divorce?” he drawled, his tone laced with disbelief. “Let’s be honest—this marriage was never built on love. I married you because Father pitied you, thought you deserved a family. And now? Now I’m in love with Linda. And you… you’re upset about it?”

Zoey’s hand twitched at her side, nails biting into the flesh of her palm in a silent effort to stop herself from striking him. Rage simmered beneath her skin, a heat that made her chest tighten and her jaw ache from clenching. “Upset?” she repeated, her voice trembling, but only slightly, betraying the fury she had so carefully contained. “Do you think this is about jealousy?”

Caleb’s smirk widened, sharp and infuriating, as if her anger amused him. “Yes of course this is about jealousy. You don’t have anything either so be grateful I let you stay in the house to take care of Linda,” he said casually, as though discussing a trivial matter, not the obliteration of her marriage. “So why are you making such a big deal out of this?”

The room seemed to shrink around her, the air thick with his arrogance, the words hanging between them like poison. Zoey drew in a slow, controlled breath, the fire in her chest refusing to die down.

Lady Alcantara, seated across the room, chimed in with a venomous edge. “He’s right, Zoey. You have nothing. Why must you act so dramatic over someone who is just trying to give you a comfortable life? But if you want to leave then go ahead.”

Chelsey, Caleb’s younger sister, added her own jab, her voice dripping with mockery. “Good riddance, honestly. But I’m going to miss having you in the kitchen. At least you saved the maids some work by cooking alongside them. Now they can finally listen to my instructions without you in the way.”

Zoey’s chest burned with a mix of humiliation and fury. She turned to Caleb, her voice firm, her decision unwavering. “I’m divorcing you, Caleb. And that is final.”

Caleb raised an eyebrow, clearly amused. “You can’t be serious.”

“I’ve never been more serious in my life,” Zoey shot back. “I’m giving you a choice—me or her. You can’t have both.”

Caleb’s laughter filled the room, sharp and derisive. “Pick you? Zoey, I would pick Linda over you a thousand times. You knew that the moment I announced our engagement.”

Zoey’s lips tightened into a thin line. She had expected him to say it, but hearing it aloud stung deeper than she had anticipated. She nodded slowly, as if confirming something to herself.

“Good,” she said, her tone colder than ice. “Then this is it. I’ll prepare the divorce agreement, and we’ll go to the courthouse this afternoon.”

Caleb’s smirk faded, replaced with confusion and mild irritation. “This afternoon? Don’t be ridiculous. I can’t grant you a divorce right now. Not until I’m married to Linda. Getting divorced before a new marriage is a bad omen.”

Zoey’s eyes narrowed, her patience wearing dangerously thin. “I don’t care about your superstitions. If you refuse to give me what I want, I’ll have no choice but to visit the governor myself and tell him I’m divorcing you.”

Caleb’s eyes widened and gasps filled the room. Even Lady Alcantara looked genuinely alarmed, her calm facade cracking.

“You wouldn’t dare,” Caleb hissed, his voice laced with disbelief.

Zoey’s gaze met his, unflinching. “Try me.”