Chapter 3

Patricia’s POV

There are moments when your entire life changes before your brain can catch up.

"Maverick, I have no idea what these papers are," I said, my hands shaking as I picked up one of the printed sheets from the table. "I have never seen these files in my life. You know I don't touch anything related to your company."

"Your digital signature is right there on the authorization page, Patricia," Maverick said, his voice cold and sharp enough to cut through glass. "The leak came from a device logged into our home network using your personal access code."

"I didn't do it!" I yelled, my voice cracking as panic clawed at my throat. "Why would I ever leak your company's patents to a rival? I am your wife!"

"That is what makes this so pathetic," he sneered, taking a step closer to me. "You thought you could use corporate espionage to get my attention? Or maybe you just wanted a massive payout in case things went south between us."

Every sentence I said felt completely pointless because he had already made up his mind before he even walked through the front door. He wasn't looking for an explanation; he was looking for an excuse to condemn me.

Darbie stepped out from behind him, her hands clasped together in front of her dress, her eyes wide with fake worry and disbelief.

"Oh, Patricia, how could you do something like this to Maverick?" she asked, her voice soft and full of pity. "He has worked so hard for Anderson Global. Even if you were feeling jealous or bitter about us catching up, destroying his hard work is just... terrible."

She didn't shout, and she didn't raise her voice, but her words dropped into the room like drops of poison, feeding right into Maverick's suspicion.

"I didn't do anything!" I snapped, turning to look at her. "Stop acting like you care!"

"Do not raise your voice at her," Maverick barked, stepping between us and effectively shielding Darbie behind his back. "Darbie was the one who noticed the security breach in the New York files and alerted my team. If it weren't for her, we wouldn't have caught the leak this early."

I stood there, staring at him as the realization hit me right in the chest.

He trusted her. He trusted a woman who had been back in his life for less than twenty-four hours over the woman who had spent five years standing by his side in silence.

It didn't matter that I had cooked his meals, taken care of his house, and loved him without asking for anything in return. To him, I was just a liability, while Darbie was his savior.

"You really think I did this," I whispered, the fight completely leaving my body as my shoulders slumped. "After five years... you actually think I am a criminal."

Maverick didn't blink. His dark eyes remained totally empty, devoid of a single drop of warmth or hesitation.

"Our marriage was a strategic mistake from the very beginning," he said, pulling a second, thinner folder out of his inner suit pocket and dropping it on top of the ruined company files. "My grandfather insisted on it, and I went along with it because it made sense at the time. But this ends now."

He flipped the top page open, revealing the bold heading printed at the top. Divorce Agreement.

"Sign it," he ordered flatly. "You leave the house tonight. I will have my legal team handle the transfer of a modest monthly allowance so you don't starve, but you will sign a strict non-disclosure agreement regarding Anderson Global."

I looked down at the pen sitting beside the papers, then looked back up into the face of the man I had given my youth, my energy, and my entire heart to.

Before I picked up the pen, I needed to know the truth. I needed to hear it straight from his mouth so I could finally kill the last tiny piece of foolish hope living inside me.

Patricia asked the only question that still matters.

"Did you ever love me?"

I held my breath, waiting for even a second of hesitation, a split-second flicker of pain or doubt in his eyes.

His answer destroys her.

"No."

The word dropped like an anvil onto my chest, crushing whatever was left of my heart into dust. He didn't even hesitate. He said it as casually as he would tell someone the time of day.

Five years of my life, gone in a single syllable.

I didn't cry. I didn't scream, and I didn't drop to my knees to beg him to reconsider. My pride was the absolute only thing I had left in this room, and I refused to let Darbie watch me tear myself apart for a man who had already discarded me like trash.

I reached down, picked up the silver pen, and flipped to the last page of the agreement. My hands were completely steady as I dragged the black ink across the line, signing my name for the very last time as Mrs. Anderson.

I slid the signed papers back to him.

"If that's all, Mr. Anderson... goodbye.”