Chapter 6

It was only when Amanda saw the divorce agreement in black and white that she finally understood.

Jacob was not joking. He meant it. He truly wanted a divorce. He truly did not want her anymore.

Panic seized Amanda in an instant.

No, this could not happen! She loved Jacob. So why couldn't he tolerate Dorian's presence in her life? She and Dorian had never done anything improper. Why wouldn't he believe her?

And now, on top of everything else, he was threatening her with divorce.

Her pride, her sense of self-worth, would never allow her to be "abandoned" by a man she looked down on.

She stared him down and searched his face for even the slightest flicker of hesitation, but found none.

"Jacob! I'll give you one last chance! Take back what you just said! Don't think you can threaten me into giving in by bringing up divorce. It won't work!" she shouted. Her bravado barely concealed the fear gripping her heart.

"Threaten you?" Jacob laughed, the sound laced with self-mockery.

Even now, did she really think he was using divorce as a tool to force her to give in? To make her bow her head?

He looked at Amanda. Her fitted black evening gown accentuated every curve of her body. Black stockings hugged her long legs, and four-inch stilettos completed the flawless image.

There had been a time when this queenly image of hers had captivated him. He had thought her beautiful and fierce all at once.

But now, all he felt was disgust.

"Amanda, don't you think you're taking yourself a little too seriously?" Jacob asked in disbelief. "You really think I'm using divorce to threaten you?"

Amanda sneered. "Isn't that exactly what you're doing?"

Jacob stared into her eyes and enunciated every word. "Then think of it as a threat if that's what you want.

"Right now, the biggest problem between you and me is Dorian.

"I'm a man, Amanda. I can't stand by and watch my own wife carry on with another man day after day, so don't you dare keep telling me to be tolerant. I have no tolerance left for this.

"And I can't accept this endless, bottomless debt repayment of yours either."

Jacob paused before he continued, "So either you get Dorian out of your company right now, cut him out of our lives for good, and end things with him completely. If you can do that, we stay together."

Amanda's expression darkened beyond words.

Cut off all contact with Dorian? How could she possibly do that? Dorian had broken his hand while saving her, and the injury had cost him his dream of becoming a pianist. If she cast him aside now, what kind of person would that make her? An ungrateful, heartless woman?

She couldn't do it. Neither her morals nor her pride would allow it.

Jacob watched the emotions shift across her face and already knew her answer.

He let out a cold laugh and continued, "If you can't cut him off, then we get a divorce and let each other go.

"I'll walk away with nothing. I don't want a thing. Sign the papers, and tomorrow we'll go to the courthouse. Then it'll be over between us once and for all.

"I have nothing else to say. The choice is yours."

Jacob left the decision to her. Then he stood quietly and waited for her answer.

Amanda's mind was in complete turmoil.

Divorce? The word alone made her heart race with panic.

Did she love Jacob? Of course she did. How could she not?

After five years, she had grown accustomed to a life with Jacob in it. She was used to coming home from work every day to a table full of hot food. She was used to the cup of water he warmed to just the right temperature whenever her stomach ached. She was used to the herbal remedies he brewed during her period and the warmth of his arms around her whenever she curled up with a hand pressed to her belly.

Jacob was like air. She barely noticed his presence when everything was normal, but now, the thought of losing him made her heart ache unbearably.

But what about Dorian? How could she let go of him?

Dorian had saved her life. Treating him well was simply the right thing to do. She was only repaying a debt. There was nothing improper between them.

Why couldn't Jacob understand that? Why did he have to be so petty about it?

All she wanted was to keep things as they were: her beloved husband and family on one side, and the man to whom she owed her life on the other.

Why couldn't the two coexist? Why couldn't Jacob be more generous, more mature, and help her take care of Dorian?

The more Amanda thought about it, the more aggrieved she felt. Soon, she convinced herself that Jacob was simply being unreasonable.

She took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down.

'Jacob is only acting on impulse,' she told herself. 'Jealousy has clouded his judgment, and I need to make him see reason.'

But when she looked at Jacob's cold, indifferent face, the panic in her heart slowly turned to anger.

She sneered, her voice thick with disappointment and contempt, "Jacob, you really do impress me now.

"Five years, and you never picked up any other skills, but you've certainly learned how to be possessive and scheme against people.

"Look at yourself right now. Petty and aggressive. How are you any different from a shrew?"

'A shrew?' Pain stabbed through Jacob's heart. 'Is this really how she sees me?'

His fist clenched instantly.

He had given everything to this family. He had learned to cook and make soup, all to suit her tastes. He had even given up his own career and ambitions for her. And in her eyes, he had become nothing more than a shrew?

'Fine. Just fine!'

Amanda failed to notice the change in him. She continued, lost in her own thoughts. As far as she was concerned, she had already claimed the moral high ground.

"Divorce? Not a chance," Amanda said flatly.

She took a deep breath and tried to appeal to his emotions. "Darling, stop this. We have real feelings for each other. Why does this have to end in divorce?"

When Jacob remained unmoved, she changed tactics. "Besides, the company is at a critical point right now. I don't want our divorce to have a negative impact on the business.

"This could affect the future of the entire group. Do you understand that? This isn't just about me!

"And as for cutting off contact with Dorian, that's even more out of the question!"

Her tone hardened again, filled with unwavering conviction. "He saved my life! I can't just abandon him when he needs me most! I'll say it again. There is nothing improper between us. Nothing at all!"

She poured everything out in one breath. In her mind, she had laid out every consideration and every consequence with perfect clarity. If Jacob had any sense left, he should know exactly what to choose.

Jacob listened to her speak with such righteous conviction and nearly laughed from sheer fury. 'What touching feelings. What admirable concern for the company. What spotless innocence.'

She claimed there was love between them?

Was love slapping her own husband across the face in front of everyone for another man?

Was love staying glued to another man's side day after day despite knowing full well that her husband hated it, then dismissing it as innocent intimacy?

Was love hearing her husband ask for a divorce and responding not by trying to save their marriage, but by calling him a shrew?

Was that really what love looked like?

That wasn't love. That was shamelessness.

Every excuse she gave was nothing more than a way for her to keep enjoying her husband's devotion with a clear conscience while maintaining an ambiguous closeness with another man.

What made her think Jacob was obligated to meekly swallow it all?

Jacob let out a cold laugh. "Amanda, do you really think I'm that pathetic?"