Chapter Two: In Three Months, We Divorce
Elara’s POV
My father never called me before ten in the morning unless someone had died—or the conglomerate’s interests were on life support.
Clearly, today it was the latter.
I looked at Austin. “Come back to Lipton Manor with me.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Are you ordering me around?”
“My father will expect an explanation for today’s news.”
“This is still about securing the succession in three months?”
I paused. “That’s part of it.”
The hint of amusement on his face faded. I didn’t tell him that when my father’s call came in, my first thought had been that if Austin went with me, perhaps the ordeal would be a little easier to bear.
“For the next three months, I need you to maintain the appearance of a stable marriage in public,” I continued. “When necessary, you’ll come with me to the Richter residence and help contain the fallout from today’s scandal.”
“And after that?”
“Three months from now, whether or not I become the Richter Group’s next CEO, we’ll get divorced. I’ll make room for the woman you’re seeing.”
When I finished, I lowered my head and straightened the strap of my bag. There was nothing wrong with it. I simply needed something to do with my hands.
Our marriage had lasted three years, yet it took me less than a second to say the word divorce.
Still, I looked up at him. Would he at least ask why it had to end?
The last trace of laughter disappeared from Austin’s eyes.
“What do I get out of playing along for three months?”
“First, today’s story won’t spiral into a marital scandal involving the man at the helm of the Thorne Group.”
“That’s a minor inconvenience. I could bury it in a day.”
“Second,” I went on, “I can give the new consumer brand under Thorne first negotiating rights for BR’s exclusive European co-branding resources next quarter.”
He looked at me without speaking.
BR’s distribution network was exactly what Thorne’s new brand needed. I knew I had his attention, yet I felt none of the satisfaction that usually came with closing a deal.
When I had asked him to come with me, he hadn’t agreed. It was only when I put business on the table that he began to take me seriously.
“If you don’t want to, I’ll explain things to my father myself. I’ll also have PR announce this afternoon that we’re discussing a divorce. That should stop the press from hounding our teams for answers.”
Austin’s gaze darkened. “You know what that would affect.”
“I do. My succession prospects, and the family fund partnership you’re after.” I met his eyes. “But I can’t keep telling everyone that everything between us is fine.”
He stared at me as if searching my face for something.
“Elara, you’ve already calculated every consequence.”
I almost told him I hadn’t.
I hadn’t figured out why, after deciding to divorce him, I still wanted to hear him say that he didn’t want one.
He studied me for a long time.
“Three months.”
“Not a day longer.”
“And once you secure the succession, we divorce?”
“We divorce even if I don’t.”
His thumb went still against the rim of his glass.
“All right.”
Even though I had expected it, the firmness of his answer sent a sudden stab of pain through my heart, swift and sharp as a needle.
I picked up my bag before the pain had time to spread.
“I’ll wait while you change.”
He didn’t move. “That’s it?”
I looked up. Perhaps he had something else to say.
His gaze lingered on my face, but in the end, all he said was, “Fifteen minutes.”
“Fine.”
I turned away. Behind me, his footsteps were unusually slow, but even after the bedroom door closed, he said nothing more.
Exactly fifteen minutes later, Austin emerged. He wore a black suit, his tie immaculate, and all traces of his earlier indolence had vanished.
Just as he reached my side, his phone rang. He glanced at the screen and answered.
I didn’t know what the person on the other end said, but Austin’s expression turned cold in an instant.
“Don’t move. Wait until I get there.”
He ended the call and headed for the elevator.
I followed him for two steps. “Austin, we still have to go to the manor.”
“Something happened to her.”
“Who?”
“Lucy. Someone’s following her.”
I stared at the hand gripping his phone. He hadn’t responded this quickly when he agreed to divorce me.
“Send security,” I said. “Or your assistant.”
“I need to make sure—”
“What did you just promise me?”
He stopped.
I had meant to remind him of our agreement, but when the words reached my lips, something else came out.
“Just for today, could you come with me first?”
The elevator doors opened. He didn’t step inside. Instead, his gaze dropped to my hand. Without realizing it, I had touched his sleeve. I let go at once.
“Elara, do you actually want me with you, or do you just need me sitting there so your father will keep his mouth shut?”
“Do you really have to draw such a clear distinction?”
I didn’t know how to answer without making myself look ridiculous. I did want my father silenced, but I also wanted Austin to stay because he chose to.
When I had faced Lucy earlier, every word had come out polished and precise. But with Austin, even asking him to stay felt as though I were risking the exposure of something I desperately wanted to hide.
“I can go alone.” I withdrew my hand. “But you gave me your word, and I don’t want to make up another excuse for why you couldn’t be there.”
He watched me for a moment, then raised his phone again and issued a few quiet instructions.
I looked up. He held the elevator doors before they could close and waited for me to enter, then stepped in beside me.
“Can we leave now?” he asked.
“Yes.”
Our reflections stood side by side in the mirrored wall. He reached out to smooth the turned-in collar of my coat, his knuckles brushing the side of my neck.
I didn’t pull away. Nor did I remind him that no one was there to watch us put on a show.
I stared at the changing floor numbers as the faint curve of my lips slowly disappeared.
Half an hour later, we entered Lipton Manor together.
My father sat in the middle of the drawing room, his expression grim. Hunter, my half brother, stood nearby. When he saw that Austin really had come back with me, he made no effort to hide the flicker of disappointment in his eyes.
I walked over and set my tablet on the coffee table before my father could speak.
“Presales from the launch reached one hundred and thirty-seven percent of our target. The trending stories may look bad, but they haven’t drowned out the attention on the new product.”
The reprimand my father had prepared died in his throat.
“PR will release a statement this afternoon,” I continued. “My marital situation will not affect the group.”
Hunter gave a derisive snort. “And because you say it won’t, it won’t? You’ve barely returned to the country and already caused this much trouble. Everyone in our circle is laughing at the Richter family.”
“Then you should thank me.”
He froze.
“If you had been the one onstage today, it wouldn’t be a laughing matter anymore. It would have been a catastrophe.”
Hunter’s face darkened at once.
My father slapped the armrest. “Enough.”
Then he looked at Austin.
“I want to speak to Elara alone.”
I followed my father toward his study. As I passed Austin, he took my bag from my hand.
“Come back down when you’re finished. I’ll wait for you.”
I nodded. Even my thank-you came out barely above a whisper.
Once the study door closed, my father pushed a document across the desk. I didn’t reach for it. I waited for him to speak first.
“I want you to secure a partnership between the Thorne Group and the Richter Group for the Bay development.”
I didn’t agree immediately.
“Why?”
His face hardened. “Because I’m your father.”
“But this is a corporate project.” I pulled out a chair and sat. “If all you want is for me to beg my husband for a favor, I’m not interested. If you want me to take charge, then make the terms clear.”
He stared at me as though only now realizing I was going to be especially difficult to control today.
After a moment, he said in a low voice, “If the partnership goes through, you’ll have full control of the Bay development.”
Something shifted inside me.
Real estate was the true heart of the Richter Group. BR was proof of my ability, but the Bay development was the kind of project that could decide who ultimately took the chairman’s office.
“What authority will I have?”
“What?”
“Authority over staffing, budget approvals, and the final offer in negotiations with the Thorne Group.”
My father frowned. “Elara, don’t push your luck.”
“Without those powers, I would be held accountable for the outcome without being allowed to control the process.” I leaned back in my chair. “That isn’t putting me in charge. It’s making me the scapegoat.”
He remained silent for a long time.
“Fine.”
“Put it in a board resolution.”
His expression grew even darker. I rose to my feet.
“Once the resolution is passed, I’ll speak to Austin.”
As I left the study, my mind was occupied with how to maximize my leverage.
Then, just as I was about to round the corner into the hallway, I heard Hunter’s voice from downstairs.
“Austin, don’t tell me you’ve actually fallen for Elara.”
My footsteps faltered.
My fingers curled involuntarily, and all at once, I was afraid to take another step.
The room below remained silent for a long time. Finally, Austin’s lazy voice drifted up the stairs.
“Fallen for her?”
After a brief pause, he laughed.
“I’d sooner fall in love with a dog than with her.”
My fingers clenched harder, and a distinct pain bit into my palm.
Someone downstairs was still talking, but I could no longer make out the words. Only moments ago, I had been wondering how Austin would answer.
Now that I had heard him, all I wanted was to turn back time by one minute, walk straight downstairs, and stop the question before Hunter could ask it.
My phone vibrated in my pocket. Molly had sent me the media list. The reporter who had asked the question at the event hadn’t been on the original invitation list.
I stared at the screen until the words stopped wavering.
Preserve the on-site footage and find out who added him. Do not pull the coverage of the new product.
After sending the message, I opened my conversation with the lawyer and instructed him to prepare the first draft of our divorce agreement. All property, shares, and brand rights were to be clearly divided.
He replied almost immediately, asking whether he should also assess measures to preserve marital assets.
Yes.
I didn’t put my phone away. Instead, I returned to my messages and looked at Austin’s name. His profile picture was right at the top. One call was all it would take to ask him what he had meant.
But he had already made himself perfectly clear.
I left the manor through the back door. Only after I was in the car did I send him a message.
Something came up at the office. I left early.
As the car passed through the gates, I still turned to look back.
No one stood at the entrance.
A cold laugh escaped me.
What had I been expecting?
