MasukAh! Mrs Gates, you're glowing. Your husband is taking good care of you. You keep getting more beautiful by the day.” “Of course, Mr Clinton loves his wife the most. Can't you see how in love they are? Do you think he would let her do something as stressful as working?” “That's true. I wish I were in her shoes. A perfect billionaire housewife with a doting husband who worships her. The last time he bought Star of the Sea at the auction, I immediately knew that his love for her was unlimited,” another high-class woman chimed as I passed by them. I halted in my tracks. Star of the Sea? How come I can't remember him giving it to me? Before I could process everything, another figure stepped in. A figure that I dread mentioning her name. Yeah, it was her. Louisa Carter, my husband’s childhood sweetheart. The woman whose existence threatens to tear my marriage apart. “How does it feel to be divorcing the man you love? Why didn't you tell those silly women the truth— that you're nothing to Clinton? You're just trash, not worth mentioning.” She hissed. I looked up at her the moment I heard divorce. Clinton has not told our family yet and even ordered me to keep it a secret. How did she know? “Mrs Gates? What a joke!” she continued. You're just sitting on an empty shell. His heart, his body, his wealth, his company, they all belong to me. You have nothing except the name. ******* Everyone in the city assumed Joanna was the precious wife of Clinton Gates because of how boastful he was of her. What they didn’t know was that all he did was just a public stunt until Joanna boldly threw divorce papers in his face.
Lihat lebih banyak216JOANA’S POVThe garden never appeared so enchanted.The sunlight streamed through the willow upon the white-covered chairs, wove through the aisle sprinkled with petals of the flowers, and above the small arch of vines and rose blush. And the air filled my nostrils with lavender and fresh earth, a mingling scent, reminding me of peace.Soothing music was in the background. A gentle piano melody—the one Clinton had chosen.The seats were full and people attended it quietly. Caleb was standing beside the archway in a grey suit, which rounded off the angularity of his character. His eyes took a moment to meet mine through the distance and he nodded at me encouragingly. Ciara whirred through, just putting the final touches, clutching her clipboard like a relic of the holy. Mirabel, Japheth, and Jake were giddy in their mini-formals, fidgeting with their roles but glowing all the same.And I?I stood, as inaudible as possible, with a beating heart hidden behind the curtain of my veil,
215JOANA’S POVI stared at him, with my eyes closing against the emotion that rose in me. "You don’t need to break a sweat, Caleb.”“Yes, I do,” he said quietly. “Because this isn’t just about me. It never was. You’ve been through hell, Joana. And you came back stronger. Smarter. Softer, too. You deserve this happiness. You deserve a future. If I can’t be the one walking beside you in it… the least I can do is stand by while you walk into it.”My tears flowed before I had time to restrain them.I rose and walked over to where he sat, got down on my knees before the chair. I would have asked something selfish.He turned down his head with an expression, inscrutable to me. “Go on.”"We have not fixed upon a date yet," I said, with a nervous laugh I wiped my cheeks. “But we know it won’t be long. Clinton’s getting stronger, faster than anyone thought. And now that we’ve decided, it just… it feels right to get on with it.”Caleb nodded.“So I was going to ask if… if you could wait. Just
214JOANA’S POVThe room became silent for a while, it wasn't the awkward kind.“Oh?” Clinton leaned forward slightly. “Good one, I hope?”“A very big one.” Caleb smiled, but again—it felt too manufactured. “It’s a long-term expansion deal. Overseas. Possibly in Europe. Might take… a while.”I frowned. “How long is a while?”He shrugged, eyes darting away. “Months. Maybe longer. Could be… years.”I sat forward. “Caleb, that’s… that’s big.”“Yeah.” His voice dropped. “It is.”There was a beat of silence before he added, more quietly than before, “I’ll be leaving next week.”Clinton blinked. “That soon?”“Negotiations just wrapped. I need to be there to finalise and oversee the groundwork.”I studied him carefully. His body language wasn’t just that of someone preparing for a business trip. There was weight in his voice—farewell weight. The kind people use when they’ve already decided they won’t be coming back.“You’re not planning on returning, ” I said, not as a question but a truth.
213JOANA’S POVI felt the world narrow, spinning inward like a collapsing tunnel. All the progress. All the hope. Gone in one instant.“No,” I whispered. “No, that can’t be right. You were just—last night—you stood. You danced with me. You—”“I know,” Clinton murmured. “It was the last time. I should’ve known. It hurt more than I let on.”I staggered back a step. My breath hitched. I was about to break.And then—Caleb laughed.Not a nervous chuckle. Not a sympathetic smile.No.He burst into laughter.I blinked. Once. Twice.“What… what did you just—?”Caleb doubled over, slapping Clinton’s shoulder like a proud prankster. “Oh my God, Joana! Your face—your face! I wish I’d recorded it!”Clinton broke into a grin.“You guys—?” I stared between them, stunned. “You lied to me?!”Caleb wiped a tear from his eye. “Clinton’s leg is fine. Better than fine. That cast? It’s not even his. It was used earlier in a therapy demonstration, and we borrowed it for dramatic effect.”Clinton shrugged












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