My Husband’s Ex Lived in My House for Three Years Chapter 07
“It’s getting late,” I cut in, my tone cold and hard, leaving no room at all.
“I’ve got work tomorrow. I’ll have my assistant bring the divorce papers over to you. Remember to sign them.”
“And one more thing.”
I turned my head, and the balcony light traced a cool, clean line along my profile.
“Lucas, you said you bought me a new villa, a new car, a ring, a cat.”
“Did it ever cross your mind that I could buy all of those things myself?”
“Whatever I want, I’ve never needed someone else to buy it for me.”
With that, I hung up, switched the phone to silent, and turned to walk back into my room.
The moon outside was bright and clear, and there was a lot to get done the next day.
Early the next morning, I arranged to meet Hannah at a coffee shop in the financial district.
She was already sitting in a corner when I arrived, an untouched coffee in front of her, her careful makeup unable to hide the dark shadows under her eyes.
It seemed the night’s gossip storm had cost her some sleep.
The moment she saw me walk in, she practically shot to her feet, her eyes going red and her voice trembling at just the right pitch.
“Ms. Langley, I’m sorry… I never imagined things would blow up like this.”
“If you’re going to blame anyone, blame me, not Lucas. He didn’t know any of it. To him I really was only…”
“Sit.” I pulled out a chair and sat, raising a hand to signal the server for a hot latte.
Hannah faltered, then lowered herself back down, her fingers twisting together.
“Ms. Langley, I truly never wanted to wreck your marriage. I never once thought…”
“Hannah.” I said her name evenly. “You think far too much of yourself.”
She went still.
“I’m not divorcing because of you, and I never was.”
“I’m divorcing because this marriage already had a problem at its core.”
“With you or without you, I’d have ended up right here.”
The coffee arrived, and I lifted the cup and took an unhurried sip.
“I asked you here today because there’s something I need to discuss with you.”
Hannah watched me warily, the tissue in her hand already wadded into a ball.
“Every dollar you’ve spent since you came back to the country, the villa you’ve lived in, the car you drive, the living expenses in your account.”
I looked at her. “All of it is marital property that belongs to Lucas and me.”
The color drained out of Hannah’s face.
“You haven’t worked since you got back, so all of it came from Lucas.”
“And every sum he gave you while the marriage was still valid is, strictly speaking, half mine.”
“If you don’t believe me, I can have my lawyer run you the numbers.”
“I… Ms. Langley, what exactly are you trying to say?”
“It’s simple.” I set the cup down and folded my hands on the table.
“I’m giving you two choices.”
“First, you put out your own statement and publicly admit your relationship with Lucas.”
“You admit you were the mistress, the third person who forced her way into someone else’s marriage.”
“Second, we see each other in court, and I sue you for taking marital property, and at that point it won’t be something a single apology can fix.”
Hannah’s face went from white to red, then to a sickly green.
Her lips shook, and it took her a long while to force out a single sentence.
“Doing this will destroy Lucas…”
“Whether Lucas lives or dies has nothing to do with me.”
I looked at her and gave a small laugh. “Pick one.”
The silence stretched a full three minutes.
Hannah kept her head down, her shoulders shaking hard, and in the end, she still fished her phone out of her bag.
Her fingers tapped a few times at the screen, and then she raised her head and looked at me, her eyes as red as a rabbit’s.
“I’ll post it… I’ll post it, okay?”