Trouble in Paradise

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a paragon of high moral standards he was.

"If that's the case... Let's get a divorce!" I didn't hesitate

anymore.

Silence filled the small space for two seconds. I thought Nicholas might say something, or perhaps offer an explanation. "Alright. You'd better not regret it," he said blandly.

Was

I lowered my head numbly. To him, Claudia untouchable. Going against her was equivalent to going against him.

"Oh, by the way," he added before leaving, "I was drugged at a social event tonight. Don't misunderstand."

I closed my eyes as tears streamed down my cheeks. At that moment, the world seemed to fall completely silent.

The man who made love to me so intensely just now didn't really love me.

Only then did I realize his body had indeed been very hot. The last bit of hope in me was snuffed out. He only came to me for relief after someone else had plotted against him.

I whispered, "Nicholas, what am I to you?"

Was he afraid that Claudia couldn't handle it if he was too rough with her? Well, that no longer mattered. It was time for me to leave.

After waking up at noon, I wandered around Coral Villa while reminiscing about my four years of marriage. I had been fooling myself all this time. I tried to recall if there was ever a time when Nicholas firmly chose me over Claudia when we both appeared together. It seemed there wasn't.

As I was leaving, Wendy brought in a mug of herbal tonic, most probably at Frances' behest. Sadly, it was impossible for Nicholas and I to have a child together.

I recalled Frances telling me that the herbal tonic was best consumed after copulation. As her words echoed faintly in my mind, I poured the tonic into the flower pot in the room.

I softly said, "Grow strong in my place."

On my 18th birthday, my father gave me an apartment as a gift. It wasn't exactly a large unit, but it was located in the highly prized downtown area. My dad said young women should live in populated areas for their own safety.

I walked out of the villa's gates and looked up at the sky. I imagined my father's face hiding in the clouds. Perhaps he was secretly watching over me.

"Dad," I called out with an unladylike grin on my face. "Have you known all along that Nicholas wasn't the right one for me? Is that why you prepared a place of refuge for me in advance?"

Just as I got into the car and was ready to leave for the apartment, I received a call from my mother, Brenda

Thompson. "Ariana, the company is facing a crisis!"

Soon, I learned from her that a batch of goods was stuck at customs. She was very anxious about this.

"Ari, if we can't get this batch of goods released, the company's cash flow will be cut off. The buyers aren't easy to deal with. If we can't deliver, we can't return their deposit either. They'll surely sue us!

"Ask Nicholas for help. He should have some connections, right? The shareholders are making a fuss, and I can't hold them off much longer!"

""Mom," I interrupted her.

My calmness contrasted sharply with her panic. "Mom, we've done our best. It's better we sell off the shares. I'm sure Dad won't blame us."

"What?" Brenda exclaimed. She sounded incredulous, and she was probably thinking that she might have misheard me.

In the next second, her voice rose by an octave. "Do you know what you're saying, Ariana? How can you think of handing over your father's lifelong business to someone else? How could I have raised such an ungrateful child? "Without Jones Corporation, would you have married the man. you loved? Would he have even noticed you? You're a fool! Without a family business, people will talk behind your back. Don't you know this?"

Brenda began to sob in a low voice. "Why do you think I worked

my ass off? It's all for you!"