He Asked Me To Divorce, I Said Yes Chapter 09
Only then did I learn about Julian’s past.
But I refused to give up and continued chasing after him.
Everyone wants to believe they will be the exception.
I pursued Julian for three years, and he remained cold toward me the entire time.
Mia finally lost patience. She dragged me to a bar and rounded up a group of gorgeous men to keep me company.
“There are millions of men in the world,” she said. “Julian isn’t worth wasting your life on.”
Then she grabbed my hand and pressed it against one of the men’s abs.
They felt incredible.
I was enjoying myself when my phone suddenly rang.
Julian was calling.
My heart skipped. It took me several seconds to answer.
His deep voice came through the phone. “Where are you?”
I jolted and answered without thinking, “A-at home!”
I regretted it immediately.
The bar was so loud that he had to know I was lying.
—
I was still trying to think of a way to cover the lie when Julian said through clenched teeth, “Nora Bennett, turn around. I’m right beside you.”
I turned and met his dark gaze.
From where he was sitting, he had a perfect view of my hand resting on another man’s abs.
For no good reason, guilt shot through me.
Julian strode over, grabbed my arm, and marched me outside.
The moment we got into his car, I tried to ask what was wrong.
Instead, he locked an arm around my waist and kissed me hard.
I smelled alcohol on his breath and pushed at him, my voice trembling.
“You’re drunk…”
His only response was to deepen the kiss.
I couldn’t get away.
I didn’t want to.
He lost control for the rest of the night.
The next morning, with the bed in complete disarray, Julian looked at me and said, “Nora, marry me.”
I thought I had misheard him and stared up in disbelief.
He raised an eyebrow. “What? You don’t want to?”
—
“I do! I do!”
Overjoyed, I threw myself into his arms.
Afterward, Julian and I got legally married in a civil ceremony at the County Clerk’s Office.
Before the ceremony, I signed a prenuptial agreement stating that I would have no claim to the Prescott family’s assets.
Even that couldn’t diminish my happiness.
Mia, however, was furious. She called me a lovesick idiot and cut me off.
Looking back, she had been right.
This time, I intended to listen to her and meet the man even she approved of.
We arranged to meet at an oceanfront café.
I had to admit that Mia had excellent taste.
The man she had chosen was fit and handsome, and he spoke with an easy, gentlemanly warmth.
Our conversation was going well, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that someone was watching me.
When I turned around, I saw Julian sitting behind me.
His dark eyes remained fixed on me, his expression impossible to read.
I had no choice but to end the date early and go home.
—
Julian followed me all the way to my front door.
Finally, I turned to face him.
“Mr. Prescott, inviting yourself into a single woman’s home isn’t exactly appropriate.”
Pain filled Julian’s eyes.
“Nora, I regret it.”
I said nothing.
Julian continued as though he hadn’t noticed.
“I never loved Audrey. I have always loved you. I was only… trying to repay a debt of gratitude.”
“My childhood was difficult. Once, I was locked in a storage room for three days, and no one found me.”
“Audrey heard my weak cries for help and found someone to get me out.”
“I’ve always been grateful to her.”
“So when she came to me for help after her divorce and her family threw her out, I agreed to what she asked.”
“She can’t have children, and she was terrified she would end up alone with no one to rely on. Her parents are gravely ill and don’t have much time left.”
“She wanted to put their minds at ease before they died.”
I couldn’t stop myself from interrupting.
—
“So she sacrificed my marriage to secure her own future?”
My voice broke.
“Julian, you only did this because I had no mother to stand up for me…”
The color drained from his face.
“Nora, I’ve always been a fool.”
“I loved you all along, but I couldn’t get past what happened to me. I kept taking it out on you.”
“You weren’t happy even after we married. I was never there.”
“And after Audrey came back, I treated you even worse.”
“Nora, could you give me one more chance? This time, I’ll learn how to love you right.”
I looked at him and gave him a genuine smile.
“Julian, I’ve been happy since our divorce.”
His face went deathly pale.
He staggered and nearly fell, catching himself on the fence outside my house.
A long time passed before he looked at me with reddened eyes.
“Nora, can we still be friends?”
I shook my head.
—
He gave a bitter smile. “Can I at least visit you occasionally?”
I shook my head again.
Julian walked away looking utterly defeated.
I thought I would never see him again.
Instead, only a week later, he appeared in front of me once more.
This time, he had moved in next door.
Annoyance rose in me, but before I could say anything, Julian spoke.
“Nora, I’ll only stay here from time to time. I won’t stay long. Please don’t move away again because of me.”
I didn’t believe him.
I turned to leave.
Julian called after me, “I’m telling the truth. Prescott Holdings has too much going on for me to waste all my time here.”
Then he added, “Nora, I still have to go make money for you.”
I suddenly remembered that I owned ten percent of Prescott Holdings.
A flicker of guilt hit me, and I stopped trying to make Julian leave.
Mostly, though, I was delighted.
What could possibly be better than being rich and husband-free?