Chapter: 4
Perhaps it was the way she looked at him now-her eyes, once warm and filled with love for him, were now completely empty.

There was no anger, no pain, just. nothing. It was a stark contrast to the woman who used to look at him as if he were her entire world.

For reasons he couldn't explain, the sight of her like this stirred something in him, an unfamiliar dissatisfaction. Annoyed by his own reaction, Joshua decided to hit back, his voice harder now. "She's pregnant. It's a delicate pregnancy, so I bought her a little something to lift her spirits."

Alicia's fists clenched before she could stop them.

Pregnant?

So, the nights she had stayed up waiting for him to come home, he'd been with another woman, working diligently to start a new family?

Seeing Alicia wince a little, Joshua felt a flicker of satisfaction.

"It's not that I don't want to sleep with you," he said, voice dripping with condescension. "You're just about as thrilling as watching paint dry. No man would want that."

His cruel words pierced through Alicia like a jagged blade, yet she managed to remain composed on the surface.

It wasn't that she avoided intimacy; she just wasn't the one to initiate it. Did that make her so undesirable? Was it a sin not to be seductive enough?

Taking a slow, steady breath, Alicia willed herself to stay calm.

"Fine," she replied quietly. "Let's get a divorce then. You can give her the title she wants."

The word "divorce" made Joshua's eyelid twitch involuntarily.

He scoffed, eyes narrowing with suspicion. “Is this another one of your games?"

Convinced he was right, his voice grew colder, more biting. “Alicia, for two years, you've pulled every childish stunt, begging for my attention. Aren't you tired yet? Because I sure as hell am."

He paused, letting his disdain sink in. “You claim to love me so much. Could you really walk away from me?"

Alicia couldn't help the bitter laugh that escaped her.

Love him? Did he even understand what that meant?

When Joshua's business had crumbled, leaving him with nothing but debt and shattered dreams, it had been Alicia who emptied her savings to pull him from the wreckage.

Out of gratitude-or maybe obligation-he had married her.

For two long years, she had been the dutiful wife, supporting him as he clawed his way to success.

And what had Alicia gotten in return? She had been cast aside like a useless relic, while another woman carried his child.

Her love, her loyalty, had been ground into the dirt beneath his feet. To care for this man any longer would be masochism.

Her voice steady, Alicia said, "Draft the divorce agreement. I'll agree to whatever terms you want."

And with that, she turned and disappeared through the door, leaving Joshua standing alone in the hallway.

For a moment, he stared after her angrily, but then a cold, mocking smile tugged at his Lips.

Fine, she can play the martyr.

He doubted she could keep it up for long.

Storming out of the house, Joshua headed straight to the apartment where his lover, Lilliana Green, awaited him.

"Well, that was fast," she teased upon hearing Joshua was getting a divorce, raising a brow. “Seems she wasn't as tough to deal with as you claimed."