Chapter five

Mark blinked at his boss, as if Liam had just grown a second head. Bring her here? Like she was some object he could summon?

“Would you like me to repeat myself in exchange for your job?” Liam’s tone was sharp, cutting through Mark’s hesitation.

Rude, Mark thought bitterly. I didn’t ask you to divorce your wife—why are you taking it out on me?

Still, years of working for the Brooks family had taught him when not to argue. With a reluctant sigh, he stepped out of the car and made his way toward Natalie.

“Miss Natalie… Miss Natalie,” he called gently as he approached.

Natalie slowly stepped back from the hug, releasing the man—her brother, as it turned out. She turned toward Mark with a confused frown.

“Mark? Is something wrong?”

He scratched the back of his neck, shifting awkwardly on his feet. “Uh… Mr. Brooks asked me to bring you to him.”

Natalie frowned at Mark’s words. Her eyes narrowed slightly as she stepped to the side, glancing past him toward the sleek black car parked more than ten meters away.

The tinted windows revealed nothing of the inside, but she didn’t need to see to know—he was watching her.

She could feel it, like a weight on her skin.

Her lips curled into a faint, cool smile.

“I’m sorry, Mark,” she said calmly, eyes still on the car. “Please tell your boss… to avoid any misunderstandings, as we are already divorced, it’s better we act like strangers from now on.”

Inside the car, Liam sat still, his eyes fixed on the distant silhouette of Natalie. Though he couldn’t hear her words, he saw the way she smiled—controlled, effortless—and the slight tilt of her chin as she turned back to the man beside her.

Mark returned alone, his footsteps slower than before.

“Well?” Liam asked, voice cold.

“She said…” Mark hesitated, choosing his words carefully. “She said, to avoid misunderstandings, it’s better if you both act like strangers from now on.”

Liam’s jaw clenched.

Strangers. First she forced this marriage on him. Now she wants to act like strangers. “Drive,” he muttered after a long pause.

**************

“Mark, by tomorrow morning I want all news about my divorce to vanish”. Liam said into the phone as he walked into his house. How or when his divorce with Natalie got out was unknown.

Could she have done this? Obviously if his father and grandmother finds out, he will be in trouble. It’s been three days since he has divorced Natalie now but somehow…..

his phone rings, cutting off his thoughts, Liam let out a sign. It was his mother calling, he wasn’t in any mood to start telling her news about his divorce yet but knowing how petty she is, she won’t stop until she gets an answer.

“Hello mother”.

“I knew you’d finally come to your senses and divorce that woman. You have made me proud. Don’t worry, i will make sure she leaves empty handed, she won’t be getting a penny from you”.

“Mother, she doesn’t want anything. With all the trouble you make her go through, why would she even stay here?”. He was starting to think his mother might be involved in all this.

“She doesn’t want anything? How is that possible? She has been in our family for years, wasn’t it because of money?”.

“I’m sure she cheated on you,” his mother spat. “Have you seen the news? She’s out with those men like she’s on parade—how shameless!”

Liam’s jaw tightened. His fist clenched on the desk.

He had tried to ignore the photos—the ones that surfaced just a day after the divorce. Natalie laughing with that same man from the courthouse, another photo of her at a café, smiling. It wasn’t just the images that bothered him. It was how free she looked. As if she’d been waiting to exhale.

Was it possible? Had she left him because there was already someone else?

“Liam,” his mother said again, softer now, trying to regain control.

But something inside him snapped.

“Mother,” he cut in coldly, “Natalie and I are divorced. That chapter is closed. But if I hear that you—or Lily—are trying to make trouble for her, I won’t take it lightly.”

There was stunned silence on the other end of the line.

“You may not have respected her,” he added, voice low, “but she was still my wife for three years. Show some dignity.”

Then he ended the call without waiting for a reply.

Why do I care? Liam wondered bitterly, jaw clenched as he stared at nothing. She can laugh with as many men as she wants. It’s over.

He hadn’t taken two full steps before his phone rang again, sharp and insistent.

He groaned. “What now…”

He ignored it.

It rang again.

And again.

With a grim expression, Liam finally check. One glance at the caller ID made his jaw tighten.

Of course. Adrian.

He pressed accept, voice clipped. “What is it?”

“Liam!” Adrian’s voice crackled with urgency. “Jesus Christ, have you seen your ex-wife?!”

Liam sat up straighter, a muscle ticking in his jaw. “Did you just use ex wife and still asking me if I have seen her?”.

“I’m literally at her bachelor party—or whatever the hell this is. Bro, she’s throwing it like she’s celebrating a second life. There are—” Adrian paused, clearly overwhelmed. “There are male dancers, and she’s right in the middle of it, laughing like a damn goddess. She’s even—God—dancing for them.”

Liam froze.

His grip on the phone tightened so hard his knuckles turned white. “She’s what?”