Chapter 7

"What, do you want to keep me chained up at home like a dog, cooking, cleaning, and waiting on you hand and foot? And then you can openly carry on an affair with your savior without a care in the world?" Jacob demanded.

Amanda's expression instantly darkened. "You..."

"What about me?" Jacob advanced on her step by step and gave her no room to breathe. "I'm already stepping aside willingly and letting you two have what you want so you can be together out in the open. And you're still not satisfied?"

Jacob's voice suddenly turned sharp and cutting. "Or maybe... this is what you like. Maybe you enjoy the thrill of sneaking around."

Those words were more vicious than any insult he had ever thrown at her.

Amanda shook with fury at the vile accusation, her lovely face flushed red. Her chest heaved violently, and the tight evening gown strained against her curves.

"You bastard!" She raised her hand again, ready to slap him. Then she saw the handprint still visible on Jacob's cheek. Her hand froze in midair, unable to come down.

"Jacob... you... You've gone too far..." She felt deeply wronged. "I didn't... I really didn't—"

"Enough!" Jacob cut her off, unwilling to hear any more excuses. "You won't sign it. Is that it?"

Amanda bit her lip and glared at him stubbornly without a word.

"Fine." Jacob nodded, his face betraying nothing. "If you won't sign, so be it. Tomorrow, I'll go straight to court and file for divorce."

With that, he did not spare her another glance. He turned and headed toward the bedroom.

This woman was beyond saving.

Amanda watched Jacob walk away with such absolute resolve, and panic finally seized her.

'File for divorce in court? No! Absolutely not!'

If things went that far, if they ended up in court, the conflict between them as husband and wife, along with everything between her and Dorian, would be laid bare for the entire world to see.

What would happen to the Guldner family's reputation? What would the media write? How far would the company's stock price fall?

She did not dare imagine it. She could not let things go that far.

Fury surged through her, and all reason deserted her. 'Jacob, how long are you going to keep this up?'

"Jacob, stop right there! Unless you want your mother's medical bills to stop getting paid!"

Jacob was about to enter the bedroom when she nearly screamed the words before she could stop herself. His footsteps halted abruptly. His entire body went rigid.

Time itself seemed to stop in that instant. The steady ticking of the wall clock was the only sound left in the living room.

He slowly turned around and looked at the woman he had once loved to the bone. Now, she seemed like a complete stranger.

Amanda stood frozen, her eyes betraying panic and regret that she could not hide.

She regretted the words the instant they left her mouth. She knew what she had said. She knew exactly what those words meant to Jacob.

His adoptive mother was the person closest to him in the entire world. She was the most vulnerable, untouchable place in his heart. And Amanda had just used the woman's failing health as a weapon against him.

How could she have said something so vicious?

Amanda's lips trembled. She wanted to explain. She wanted to tell him she had not meant it and had only lashed out in anger.

But when she saw the complete absence of emotion in Jacob's eyes, not a single word would come out.

"You... What did you say?" Jacob asked again as though he had not heard her correctly. His voice was hoarse.

He could not believe his own ears. Part of him desperately hoped he had simply misheard.

This was the same woman who had once sat beside his mother's hospital bed, held the old woman's hand, and said softly, "Don't worry. With you here, Jake would never dare mistreat me."

How had she become the woman standing before him now? How could she use his mother's illness to force him into submission?

A chill ran through Amanda under his gaze. Regret and guilt tightened around her chest until she could barely breathe.

She stammered out an explanation. "Jake, I... I didn't mean it that way. You made me so angry that I lost my head. Why did you have to say such awful things to provoke me..."

Her voice grew quieter and less certain with every word. She knew that after what she had said, any explanation would sound hollow.

The damage was done. There was no taking it back.

"Didn't mean it that way?" Jacob repeated under his breath before letting out a bitter laugh.

"Heh... Heheh..." He walked toward Amanda one deliberate step at a time. "So what did you mean, then?"

He stopped in front of her and looked down at her. "Say it again, Amanda."

The weight in his voice made Amanda's entire body tremble.

"I... I..." Terrified, Amanda backed away until she hit the wall and had nowhere left to retreat.

As she stared at Jacob, she suddenly felt as though she no longer knew him. But the pride bred into her bones and the self-respect she carried as a corporate CEO would not allow her to show weakness in front of Jacob.

She could not back down. The moment she did, she would lose completely.

At that thought, Amanda straightened her spine and met his gaze head-on. She forced down her guilt and panic. In their place came a cold recklessness born from having nothing left to lose.

"I said..." She lifted her chin and repeated each word distinctly. "If you dare divorce me, I won't pay another cent toward your mother's medical bills! Did you hear me clearly this time?!"

She spoke with absolute conviction.

As she watched the color drain from Jacob's face, an unexpected flicker of vengeful satisfaction stirred within her. Beneath it, however, lurked guilt and fear that she refused to admit even to herself.

Jacob's body jerked violently as a sharp pain tore through his chest. He clutched at it and gasped for breath in great, heaving gulps. It felt as though every organ inside him had caught fire.

His fists clenched and unclenched over and over. His nails dug deep into his palms, yet he felt none of the pain. Nothing could compare to the agony in his heart.

He was torn between preserving his dignity and saving his adoptive mother's life. The weight of that choice crushed him until he could barely breathe.

His mother's aged, kindly face appeared in his mind. This good woman had carried him home on a snow-swept winter day and given him a second chance at life.

She and his adoptive father had raised him through hardship on their meager income and put him through school.

During his most rebellious years, she had patiently reasoned with him and kept him from going astray.

The life he had now was a gift from his mother. He could live without dignity. He could live without anything else.

However, he could not live without his mother.

A fierce storm of emotion flashed through his eyes: boundless rage, unbearable humiliation, and pain that cut straight to the bone.

In the end, he buried every last bit of it. He had lost completely. Nothing remained.

Jacob slowly unclenched his fists and raised his head to look at Amanda. The woman he had loved for five years now appeared utterly twisted and ugly in his eyes.

"Fine." Jacob forced the single word out with tremendous difficulty.