Chapter 5

Mark boxed Karina in against the wall.

As she struggled, the pajamas in her hand slipped to the floor.

She looked up and met his icy stare head-on.

In seven years of marriage, this was the first time she had ever seen Mark show his emotions so openly.

Her heart went cold.

When Karina first married into the Foster family, she hadn’t had a penny to her name.

The household staff never took her seriously because of her low status in Foster Family.

They gave her meals, but little else.

At the time, her mother had been seriously ill and hospitalized.

Karina hadn’t even had enough money for bus fare to visit her.

With no other choice, she’d swallowed her pride and gone to Mark, hoping to borrow some money.

Mark had looked thoroughly annoyed.

Apparently assuming she was a greedy and despicable woman, he’d simply tossed her a black card.

From that day on, he’d made up his mind about her.

Whatever she did, he assumed she was after money or some other benefit.

When Karina remained silent, Mark’s expression darkened further.

“I’ll give you the top floor of Fulton Tower downtown. Ethan will bring you the keys tomorrow.

“I don’t want a repeat of what happened today.”

Karina gave a humorless smile.

So he really did know everything she was doing.

She had been looking at commercial spaces lately, planning to expand her private practice.

But she wasn’t foolish enough to read anything into it.

The Foster family had never trusted her. It made perfect sense that they kept tabs on her.

Karina had no interest in arguing.

She pulled her wrist free and pushed Mark away.

“Mark Foster, I want a divorce.

“I don’t want a cent of the Foster family’s money. You can have custody of Jack too.”

Mark let out a mocking laugh, impatience written all over his face.

“Enough is enough, Karina. This is the third time.”

In his eyes, she was always throwing a tantrum.

Always threatening divorce because she wanted something from him.

Even when her mother died, Mark had assumed she was using divorce to pressure him into helping with the funeral.

It was almost laughable.

Back then, Karina had been stupid enough to believe that love might grow with time.

She’d thought she could eventually melt the ice around Mark’s heart.

Not anymore.

She couldn’t be bothered explaining herself.

“Mark Foster, I’m not asking for your permission.

“Grandma’s health isn’t good, so I’m willing to live separately for now and keep the divorce from her.

“Or we can finalize it first and wait until she’s doing better before telling her.

“You choose.”

With that, she bent down, picked up her pajamas, and walked into the bathroom.

Mark’s lips pressed into a thin line.

The air around him turned suffocatingly cold, his expression impossible to read.

By the time Karina came out of the shower, the wounds on Mark’s back had already been treated.

She had to admit, he was remarkably tough.

After taking three lashes, he could still sit calmly on the edge of the bed as if nothing had happened.

But when Karina caught sight of his phone screen, the towel in her hand stilled.

“Mark Foster, I want a divorce.”

Her own familiar voice filled the room.

It was probably the first time he had ever listened to one of her voice messages.

Karina froze for a second.

Then she calmly sat down at the vanity and turned on the hair dryer.

A moment later, Mark rose and walked up behind her.

Through the mirror, his cold gaze locked onto hers.

The air between them instantly turned tense.

“Karina Jackson, stop playing these childish games.”

Karina gave a soft laugh at her reflection and kept drying her hair.

“You were the one who replied ‘Okay’ to my divorce message.”

Mark lowered his eyes, coldness gathering in them.

“After seven years, I thought you would’ve come up with a better tactic than this.”

He looked away, his tone carrying quiet authority.

“A Foster family divorce has to be announced in front of the family elders, and more than seventy percent of the family has to approve it before it can go through.

“When we got married, I gave my word that I would never divorce you.

“I can overlook your usual little stunts, but Grandma’s health is fragile.

“If you ever use divorce to upset her again, don’t blame me for what happens next.”

He paused, his eyes narrowing.

“You know the Foster family rule.

“There is no divorce.

“Only widowhood.”

A bone-deep chill swept through Karina.

She switched off the hair dryer and turned to face him.

“You personally replied ‘Okay.’ That should be more than enough to show the family elders.”

Her lips curved in a mocking smile.

“And I’m pretty sure a hundred percent of your family would be thrilled to see me gone.”

She brushed past him.

“Divorce or widowhood, either one works for me.

“If you don’t want a divorce, then go die.”

Mark’s expression barely changed.

Only the displeasure in his dark eyes gave him away.

Just then, his phone rang.

Karina glanced over instinctively.

Serena.

Mark picked up the phone and walked to the window to answer it.

Karina had no interest in eavesdropping.

Especially not on a phone call between her husband and the woman trying to take her place.

They might be getting divorced, but for now, Karina was still legally his wife.

Yet Mark didn’t even bother hiding what he was doing.

The sheer disrespect was disgusting.

And somehow, he still had the nerve to insist he wouldn’t divorce her.

What exactly did he want?

For Serena to remain his mistress?

Or for Karina, his actual wife, to stand by and accept the humiliation?

Disgusting.

A few minutes later, Mark ended the call.

He changed clothes and left without another word.

Not once did he look at Karina.

He didn’t explain anything either.

She wasn’t surprised.

Karina lay down and turned off the light.

She used to believe Mark was simply cold by nature.

Marriage required understanding and compromise, she’d told herself.

Besides, he’d never crossed any obvious lines.

Now she realized how foolish she’d been.

Everyone else had known there was only one woman Mark had ever truly loved.

Karina had been the only one kept in the dark.

At least she finally understood now.

And she was getting out while she still could.

She refused to let it ruin her night and soon drifted off to sleep.

Sometime later, a knock at the door woke her.

Jack walked in hugging a small pillow, his little face scrunched up.

“Mom, I’m sleeping with you tonight.”

Karina immediately noticed the housekeeper standing outside the door.

In the past, whenever Karina had been hurt or upset, Judy would send Jack to comfort her like this.

And every single time, Karina had softened.

She had let herself be talked out of leaving more times than she could count.

But this time, Judy had underestimated how determined she was to get divorced.

Ever since Jack had been old enough to remember, he’d never been particularly close to her.

Karina used to wonder if she was too strict with him.

Or maybe he had simply inherited Mark’s distant personality.

Later, when Jack started talking about Serena all the time, Karina had actually been happy.

She’d thought her son had finally found a teacher he genuinely liked.

She had even gone out of her way to ask his teacher for advice, hoping she could learn how to connect with him better.

Looking back now, it was almost laughable.

Karina pushed the thought aside and asked calmly,

“Jack, do you really want to sleep with me tonight?”

He was still too young to hide his feelings well.

He stood there clutching his pillow, stammering for a long time without managing to say a word.

Karina understood.

She got out of bed, gently took his hand, and walked him back to his room.

“You don’t have to force yourself to do something you don’t want to do.”

Since Jack liked Serena so much, Serena could take care of him from now on.

After putting him back in his room, Karina turned to the housekeeper.

“Please tell Grandma she doesn’t need to do this.”

“And tell her I’ve made up my mind. I’m leaving, and I hope she’ll let me go.”

Karina paused, her expression calm.

“None of us wants what happened to Mark’s uncle to happen again.”