Chapter 5

Bella's POV

The silence that followed my demand was almost deafening.

Rebecca recovered first, as she always did. Her laughter cut through the tension like a blade, sharp and mocking.

"Twenty percent shares in Hayes Conglomerates?" she repeated, her voice climbing higher with each word. "Have you lost your mind, Bella? Or has the greed finally consumed whatever little sense you had left?"

She stepped closer to me, her eyes blazing with a fury I had never seen directed at me before. Not even in all the years she had tormented me had she looked at me with such hatred.

"You think you can just waltz in here and demand a chunk of my family's legacy? You, a nobody? An orphan my father took in out of pity?"

Her words dripped with venom, but I remained still.

"Do you even understand what you're asking for?" she continued, gesturing wildly. "That's twenty percent! Of everything! Do you have any idea how much that is worth? Generations of Hayes blood and sweat built that company, and you think you deserve a piece of it just because you spread your legs for my brother for three years?"

The crudeness of her words hung in the air, but I did not flinch.

Samantha, still clinging to Ethan's arm as though he might disappear if she let go, finally found her voice. She tilted her head, studying me with an expression that was part curiosity, part disgust.

"So this is the woman Ethan Hayes spent years telling everyone was gentle and kind," she said slowly, her voice dripping with false sweetness. "The peaceful soul who would take care of his son and keep our families connected."

She laughed softly, shaking her head.

"I must say, Mr. Hayes was either blind or deliberately deceived. You're nothing like he described. You're a chameleon, Bella. Changing colors the moment it benefits you."

Her eyes swept over me dismissively.

"All this time, you played the role of the quiet, suffering wife. The devoted woman who asked for nothing. And now, the moment divorce is on the table, you reveal your true colors. Using this separation to line your pockets because you know, once you leave this house, you have nothing."

She paused, letting her words sink in.

"After all, what does someone from your background have to fall back on?"

I simply stood there, letting their words wash over me.

Samantha tightened her grip on Ethan's arm, pressing herself against him possessively.

"Ethan, darling," she cooed softly, her voice carrying just enough for everyone to hear. "I didn't expect your wife to be like this. After everything you told me about her, I assumed she would be... different. More dignified, perhaps. Or at least smart enough to know her place."

She glanced at me with pity that was clearly performative.

"But I suppose desperation makes people do strange things. When you have nothing, you clutch at anything, don't you, Bella?"

The condescension in her voice was thick enough to choke on.

Ethan stood between them, his jaw tight, his eyes fixed on me with an expression I couldn't quite read. Frustration, yes. Anger, certainly. But beneath it all, something else flickered. Something that looked almost like confusion.

He had expected me to crumble.

He had expected tears, pleas, maybe even begging.

Instead, I had given him demands.

"I've asked you a question, Ethan," I said quietly, my voice cutting through their tirade with calm precision.

Everyone went silent.

I looked directly at him, ignoring Rebecca's gaping mouth and Samantha's narrowed eyes.

"Will you be paying my demands? Or are you ready to send your sister out of this house so I don't have to tolerate her presence for the remaining hours of our marriage?"

The words landed like bombs.

Rebecca's mouth fell open.

Samantha's grip on Ethan's arm went slack with shock.

Even Ethan, who had grown accustomed to my silence, looked as though I had just slapped him.

"What did you just say?" Rebecca whispered, her voice barely audible.

I did not repeat myself.

I simply waited, my eyes locked on Ethan's.

The silence stretched.

Rebecca found her voice first, but this time it was shrill with disbelief.

"You want me out of my own house? MY house? Have you completely lost your mind, Bella?"

My gaze was fixed on Ethan. His intense gaze that always made my heart flustered was steady on me. Only now, his eyes were cold and piercing.

But I couldn't care less. He was the first to dismiss me. If he thought I was a gold digger, then let him believe that.

"Are you really serious about the divorce?" he finally said, his eyes still on me. "Bella, we both know you have no place to go. Maybe if you beg me, I might reconsider."

I looked at him. His face was completely serious, like he wasn't joking at all. And then I wondered if he was really crazy or something entirely different.

"You must really have some nerve to think of me as some sort of garbage!" I snapped at him, and I could see the shift in his expression.

"You're serious," he said, disbelief in his voice.

What the hell did he really want? Wasn't he the one who brought up the divorce after finding his precious wife again?

He looked at me for a long moment, then walked past me, his shoulder brushing mine as he headed up the stairs.

My phone beeped, showing the notification of the amount he had transferred. I finally let out a breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding. I had been acting tough in front of him.

Rebecca and Samantha followed him up the stairs, cursing as they went.

I turned to stare at his retreating back as he walked up the stairs, and tears rolled down my cheeks.

Because tomorrow, when the divorce was finalized and the papers were signed, I wouldn't just be leaving Ethan Hayes. I would be leaving the only man I had loved for years.