Chapter 273
Niamh held the package in her hands.
It was a paper envelope, just large enough to hold three identical copies of a divorce agreement.
She didn’t open it right there in the office. Instead, she waited patiently until she was back home.
The night was deep and still.
The old house on Trinity Lane glowed softly with warm light.
Niamh sat at her desk and slid the papers out of the envelope.
The words “Divorce Agreement” stared boldly up at her from the top of the first
page.
She flipped through the pages one by one.
Her memory was decent; she still remembered what the previous agreement had
said.
This one, at least in its opening sections, was identical to the last.
After all that time Jonathan had spent redrafting the divorce papers, he apparently hadn’t tried to sneak in any hidden traps with the wording.
After a while, Niamh finally reached the latter pages.
As she’d expected, this was where things had changed.
But the amendments weren’t what she’d imagined.
Jonathan had still included the clause about transferring ten percent of The Thomas Group’s shares to her after the divorce. This time, though, there were more requirements–layer upon layer of restrictions.
For example, it was spelled out explicitly that the shares she received couldn’t be sold, gifted, or otherwise transferred to anyone after the divorce, whether for money or for free.
Niamh ran her fingers through her hair, frustration prickling in her chest.
She couldn’t fathom why, after Jonathan had been so furious the last time–when she’d agreed to give Michael some of her shares–he’d still included this in the new agreement after all that delay.
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Last time, Jonathan had clearly been disappointed in her.
He must have felt she’d betrayed his trust.
Finishing the document, Niamh let out a small sigh.
So Jonathan would rather craft a watertight web of restrictions than simply withhold the ten percent stake from her.
She knew she shouldn’t overthink it.
Still, she couldn’t help wondering if Jonathan–no matter what–wanted to maintain some sort of connection with her, even after the divorce.
Niamh shook her head to clear it, picked up a pen, and signed her name to all three copies of the agreement.
Next to hers was Jonathan’s signature.
His handwriting was as bold and elegant as ever.
She thought to herself that Jonathan must have been very satisfied with this version of the agreement–so much so that he’d signed it first, confident she’d do the same.
After carefully putting away the signed documents, Niamh glanced at her phone–just in time to see a WhatsApp message from Jonathan:
Tomorrow. 10:30 a.m. City hall.
Direct and to the point. Pure Jonathan.
Niamh replied with a simple “Okay,” set her phone down, and went to wash up before bed.
-The next morning, the day seemed calm–at least on the surface.
Marina didn’t show up at the office that day, either.
She was at home, fuming.
“How could Michael be that dense? I may not have spelled out that I wanted to be in ‘Shine,’ but anyone with half a brain could’ve figured out what I meant!”
Marina hurled a throw pillow off the couch in frustration.
T
She’d had it all planned out–she’d asked Michael for a favor, hoping he’d help her get a feature in Miranda’s magazine, ‘Shine,’ just like Niamh.
That day. she’d been so cooperative for the photo shoot–utterly exhausted, yet not
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Chapter 27S
a single complaint–because she’d assumed she’d be appearing in ‘Shine:
But when the new issue dropped, her face was nowhere to be seen–not even a mention. Instead, some third–rate tabloid had slapped her photo from that shoot
on its cover.
Marina had never even heard of that magazine before. The ads inside were all for sketchy health supplements.
Only now did it hit her: Michael had contacted Miranda for the shoot, but she had no idea what exactly he’d arranged, and she’d never made her wishes clear.
That, she realized, was her mistake.
