Chapter 5

The bathroom door opened.

Nadia stepped out barefoot, wrapped in nothing but a bath towel.

The towel outlined her slim waist and graceful curves in a way that was hard to ignore. Her fair skin was flushed from the heat of the shower, glowing with a soft pink tint.

She didn’t see him. She only leaned against the wall, tilted her head back, and closed her eyes.

Her breathing was still uneven. Her damp hair fell loosely over her shoulders, and drops of water slid down her slender neck before disappearing beneath the edge of the towel.

Quinton’s body reacted instantly.

He was a normal man. A scene like this, right in front of him, was enough to stir something dark and hungry in him.

He was certain Nadia had heard him open the door and had come out like this on purpose.

It made sense.

What did Nadia Lincoln have besides that pretty face of hers?

It was the only leverage she had.

He had been right. Her talk of divorce had only been a moment of anger because she couldn’t accept that he had another woman outside their marriage.

Now that she had calmed down, wasn’t she trying to please him?

Even though her condition meant they couldn’t actually do anything, Nadia’s face and body were already enough to satisfy the eye.

At that thought, Quinton narrowed his eyes and leaned back in the chair. His gaze moved over Nadia with open appreciation, his expression full of satisfaction.

Nadia took several deep breaths, and the tightness in her chest finally eased.

She exhaled, braced one hand against the wall, and walked toward the bed.

Quinton watched Nadia approach with flushed cheeks. The desire already stirring inside him surged even harder, threatening to break through his restraint.

But he hadn’t forgotten the slap Nadia had given him last night. Nor had he forgotten that her ignorance had cost him his chance to join the board.

If she wanted to please him, she needed to show some sincerity.

This alone wasn’t enough.

Quinton leaned back slightly against the sofa.

“Take off the towel.”

The sudden voice startled Nadia. She looked up and only then realized there was someone else in the room.

“Why are you here?”

Nadia frowned.

Quinton let out a mocking laugh, his contemptuous gaze falling on her.

“Stop pretending.”

He took a drag from the cigarette between his lips, stood, and walked up to her. Then he exhaled a thin cloud of smoke toward her face.

“You heard me come in, so you walked out of the bathroom dressed like this. Now you’re pretending you didn’t know I was here?”

Quinton reached out with the hand holding the cigarette, intending to pull loose the towel wrapped around her.

“Nadia, you’re better at this than I thought.”

Nadia dodged his hand in disgust, stepped back to put distance between them, and quickly put on a robe.

Her voice was cold.

“I didn’t know you were here.”

She turned toward the walk-in closet to change. She didn’t want to spend even one more minute with Quinton.

Her attitude made irritation rise in him.

He grabbed her directly and pulled her into his arms, trapping her there.

“That’s enough.”

The cigarette was still between Quinton’s lips. When he spoke, smoke drifted across Nadia’s face.

“How long are you going to keep making a scene? The company’s annual gala is next Saturday. You’ll attend with me. Once we appear together, those rumors online will naturally die down.”

He didn’t see the disgust in Nadia’s eyes. Or rather, he didn’t believe she would keep fighting him.

Otherwise, why would she have fainted into his arms last night right after asking for a divorce?

Women could have a temper once in a while. For the sake of her pretty face, he could tolerate it.

“As for Xena’s child, you don’t need to worry about it. Once the baby is brought home, the staff will take care of everything. This is good for you too. Otherwise, Mom will keep using this against you, and it hurts me to see that.”

Quinton felt that after saying this much, Nadia should know when to stop.

But Nadia shoved his hand away.

“I think I’ve made myself clear. I’m moving out tonight. Once you have the divorce papers drafted, just mail them to me. We don’t have joint assets, and we don’t have children. I don’t want anything. I’ll leave with nothing.”

Quinton’s expression darkened at once.

He watched Nadia walk toward the closet, then followed her.

Nadia pulled a set of clothes from the closet.

Seeing Quinton standing there, she didn’t want to argue with him, so she raised her hand to close the walk-in closet door.

But Quinton blocked it with his hand.

“Get out. I need to change,” Nadia said.

“Didn’t you say you wanted a divorce and would leave with nothing?”

Quinton reached out and snatched the clothes from her hand.

“I bought these for you. You want to leave with nothing, yet you still plan to take them with you?

“Look at yourself. Is there anything on you that wasn’t paid for with my money?

“No joint assets? No. You’re the one with no assets.

“Everything you eat, use, wear, and put on your body. Which part of it didn’t come from the Zeller family’s money?

“You make it sound so noble, leaving with nothing and owing each other nothing.

“Why don’t you go ask your stepfather? Ask Victor Zimmer how much he’s taken from the Zeller family. Ask him how much money he’s made by using the Zeller name.”

Quinton’s words crushed Nadia’s dignity underfoot and ground it into pieces.

He watched her face gradually turn pale, the color draining from it. He watched her lips tremble as she fought back her tears.

He admitted that when a woman looked like this, no man could truly resist feeling some pity. He also realized that his words had been too harsh.

But he had been pushed to the edge too.

All he had done was fool around with other women. Why did Nadia have to cling to that one thing and refuse to let it go?

Aside from that, how had he ever treated her badly?

Even the reason he went looking for other women was because of Nadia.

Susan was right.

He had been too good to Nadia. He had spoiled her until she no longer knew her place.

Starting today, he would make Nadia understand that she had no leverage to challenge him.

He would also make her understand what happened in the Zeller family when someone refused to behave.

He gave Nadia one last look, and there was far too much meaning in his eyes.

Disdain. Contempt. Threat.

Nadia saw it all clearly.

The door closed behind him, and at last, Nadia was the only one left in the room.

She leaned against the cold marble wall and slowly slid down until she was curled into a ball, holding herself tightly.

Quinton was right. She had no leverage to negotiate with him.

She had nothing. Now, she didn’t even have the right to leave.

She had married Quinton right after graduating from college. She had helped him build connections, managed relationships for him among the wealthy wives, offered him advice, and helped him gain a foothold at Zeller Corporation step by step.

But in Quinton’s eyes, none of it counted.

Back when she had still been kept in the dark, Quinton had at least been willing to keep up the act and play the part of a good husband.

Now, he couldn’t even be bothered to pretend.

Nadia almost wondered if she should thank this scandal.

Without it, would she have gone on being a fool for the rest of her life?

Looking at the clothes and jewelry in the walk-in closet, Nadia knew it was time to wake up.

Since when was she the kind of woman who could only live off a man and survive by reading his moods?

She changed clothes and went downstairs, ready to leave.

Quinton was already gone. There was no sign of him downstairs.

Not having to see him again made Nadia breathe a little easier.

As she walked toward the front door, she told a maid to arrange for a driver to take her out.

But the maid said, “Mr. Zeller gave orders. From now on, anything that belongs to the Zeller family is only for members of the Zeller family. Since you no longer want to be part of the Zeller family, Mrs. Zeller, you can’t use anything that belongs to them either. That includes the family driver.”

Nadia had already reached the entryway. At those words, she turned back to look at the maid.