2

Chapter 2

Her eyes darted around, playing innocent. "I just threw it on... I thought it was fine."

Just then, Damien walked in.

He saw Daisy fumbling with the jacket zipper, and his face darkened instantly.

"Amelia! What are you doing? She's pregnant, can't you see that? She needs stability!"

I laughed coldly. "Of course I see. But what I see more clearly is her wearing your stage jacket—the one that belongs only to you—brewing coffee in my kitchen."

"It's just a jacket!"

Damien stepped forward and grabbed my arm, trying to calm me down. "Can you be rational? She's pregnant, her emotions are unstable. You should be understanding."

"Rational?" I shook off his hand, my voice sharp as a blade. "Damien, last night when you stayed up until dawn humming songs to comfort her, where was your rationality? You're not her husband!"

The air froze.

Daisy immediately teared up, as if she were the victim.

"It's all my fault. I shouldn't have put you in this position..."

She whispered tremulously, placing her hand on his arm in a pitiful gesture.

Damien instinctively moved to shield her, glaring at me over her shoulder. "Look what you've driven her to!"

My heart felt like it was being torn apart. Five years of restraint and compromise crumbled in that instant.

My voice came out cold and final. "If that's how it is, then go ahead and fulfill your responsibility. We're getting divorced."

Damien froze for a moment, then laughed—a ridiculous, grating sound. "Divorce? Stop being dramatic. What do you want? A new car? Jewelry? A PR contract you can't even handle? Name it, I'll give you anything."

Daisy drew in a shaky breath, tears streaming down her face. "Stop fighting... I'll leave. It's all my fault."

She took a step back, like a wounded animal.

Just as she'd calculated, Damien immediately grabbed her arm, his voice urgent. "Don't talk nonsense. You're not going anywhere."

I'd had enough. The crack in my heart finally shattered completely.

"If she's not leaving, I am."

My voice was cold and firm, like a verdict. "I'll have my lawyer draft the papers. Property division, the house—" I paused, my eyes sharp as knives. "You should know, the Franklin Band's funding has always been controlled by the Wallis family. I won't lose to you."

Damien's face changed instantly, his voice dropping to a growl. "Amelia! Stop this. Divorce? Not happening!"

I met his eyes, my tone icy, as if announcing an irrevocable judgment:

"This is a ruling, not a negotiation."