Chapter 2
“No, Mr. Hadley’s lawyer is here. He wants to see you,” the butler said, his tone neutral.
A lawyer? Why would a lawyer come over suddenly?
Christina felt a mix of curiosity and unease as she quickly dressed and made her way out of the bathroom. In the living room, Leonardo Lozowski, Nathaniel’s lawyer, was seated on the couch. On the coffee table in front of him lay two sets of documents and a fancy pen.
“What brings you here, Mr. Lozowski?” Christina asked as she took a seat beside him.
Without wasting time on pleasantries, Leonardo got straight to the point. “Mr. Hadley asked me to deliver these documents to you,” he said, handing her one of the folders from the table.
A strange feeling stirred in Christina’s gut. Something about the situation felt off. She opened the folder and immediately felt her heart sink. The contents were a divorce agreement.
“A divorce agreement? He wants to divorce me?” Christina’s voice trembled with shock and confusion.
“That’s correct.” Leonardo nodded, his expression unreadable. “Once the divorce is finalized, the Steele family will keep the fifty million compensation.”
Christina could hardly process the words. Three years ago, the Steele family had been on the verge of bankruptcy. In exchange for a lifeline, her stepmother, Miranda Weaver, and her father had essentially sold her to the Hadley family. She had thought that at least five to eight years of marriage would be required before she could leave Nathaniel, yet here he was, ending things in less than three.
“Is he serious?” she whispered, still struggling to comprehend the sudden turn of events.
“Yes,” Leonardo confirmed. “Mr. Hadley has already signed the papers.”
“Why does he want a divorce?” she asked, the confusion still evident in her voice.
“He didn’t state his reasons,” Leonardo replied flatly.
Christina sighed, turning to the last page of the divorce agreement. With a resigned expression, she signed her name next to Nathaniel’s, the reality of her situation setting in.
I don’t know why he’s divorcing me, but he asked for it. This is my chance to escape. My family can’t stop this—no matter what they think.
Once Leonardo left, Christina was about to head upstairs to start packing when the butler returned.
“Mrs. Hadley is here to see you,” he informed her.
Christina turned to see Julia Hanks standing in the doorway. Despite being over fifty, Julia still exuded elegance and beauty as she stepped inside.
Julia sat down on the couch and immediately assessed Christina’s mood. A frown creased her face when she saw Christina’s apparent happiness.
“What are you so happy about?” Julia asked, her voice dripping with disdain.
“I’m happy because I’m getting divorced from Nathaniel,” Christina replied with a sense of finality. “I’ll no longer be staying in this house from today on.”
Julia’s face shifted in surprise. Divorce? Had Nathaniel actually gone through with it? She had come all this way with her own plans, but now they seemed pointless. If Nathaniel had divorced Christina, she had to act quickly to protect the family’s reputation.
“Hold it right there!” Julia snapped, regaining her composure. “I came here today to ask you—have you been cheating on my son?”
Christina froze, staring at Julia and the butler standing beside her. A faint smile played on her lips as she calmly replied, “No, I haven’t.”
After all, she had never even met Nathaniel, so there was no betrayal to speak of. And in any case, last night, she was the victim.
“You won’t admit it, will you?” Julia’s tone turned cold. “Fine, then. Search her bedroom!”
The housekeeper hurried upstairs to Christina’s room, and a few minutes later, they returned holding a men’s dress shirt.
“What is this?” Julia demanded, holding the shirt up.
“A shirtdress I bought this morning,” Christina replied, her voice steady. “It’s new.”
She wasn’t about to tell them about what had happened the previous night. If the Hadley family found out, the Steele family would be destroyed. Though she didn’t care for the Steeles, she wouldn’t let her mother suffer the consequences of her own actions.
Julia’s eyes narrowed. While the dress shirt seemed like an innocuous item, it clearly wasn’t something Christina would normally wear. The letter “N” was stitched in gold thread on the collar, a mark of luxury. It seemed out of place.