Chapter 196
Chapter 196
The fact that Jonathan wouldn’t give Marina an official status genuinely caught Marina off guard.
But, really, it was exactly what anyone would expect–utterly predictable. Still, when Niamh actually heard it straight from Marina’s lips, she realized she couldn’t pretend to be unaffected.
On the surface, she played it cool.
But deep down, it still hurt.
Just not as much as it used to.
And to Niamh, that felt like progress.
“Congratulations,” Niamh said.
Marina shot her a cold, mocking smile. “Don’t bother pretending.”
After the party, Niamh returned home. She hesitated for a long time before finally texting Jonathan on WhatsApp:
Jonathan, how’s the new divorce agreement coming along?
At that moment, Jonathan was in the middle of an all–night international video conference with Blackspire.
He glanced at his phone.
Niamh rarely messaged or called him while he was working. On the rare occasions she did–and only if it was urgent or truly important–he would always hang up on her without hesitation.
Eventually, she just stopped trying to interrupt him.
“Mr. Thomas…”
When Prescott noticed Jonathan was distracted, he quietly nudged him back to the
meeting.
Jonathan glanced at the business partners projected on the big screen and said, “You’ve got your numbers wrong–it should be 29.67344 billion. Why don’t you check your calculations again? I’ll wait.”
With that, Jonathan stood up and left the conference room.
10-53
Prescott noticed Jonathan took his phone with him–a rare occurrence.
Outside, Jonathan headed to the break room, poured himself yet another cup of coffee, and started fiddling with his phone.
Meanwhile, back in the old house on Trinity Lane, Niamh was nearly asleep, drifting off in bed, when her phone chimed. The sound pulled her back from the edge of sleep.
She picked it up, surprised to see a reply from Jonathan.
At this hour, she hadn’t expected him to respond.
Jonathan: So I need to give you real–time updates on the divorce agreement now?
The tone made Niamh wonder if she’d annoyed him.
Niamh: That’s not what I meant. I’m just a little anxious, that’s all.
She sent the message and waited. It took ages for Jonathan to reply:
Of course we’re getting divorced. No need to be so impatient. Who’s rushing you–Peter, Preston Winslow, or Julian?
The string of names made Niamh frown.
Niamh: Don’t make it sound like I’m having an affair. Aren’t you the one who’s in a hurry? You want to make things official with Marina.
The Thomas Group, break room.
Jonathan finished one cup of coffee after another, but the WhatsApp conversation dragged on.
Marina told you?
Yes.
Niamh’s reply came instantly, Jonathan’s charming lips curled into a faint, knowing smile.
Next time you’re jealous, just say so. No need for all the hints. Also, I’m in a meeting. Don’t waste my time.
When Niamh read that, she was so furious she nearly blocked his number.
She cursed Jonathan under her breath, but he didn’t reply again.
Back in the conference room, everyone had been waiting for twenty minutes.
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19:53
Chapter 196
It shouldn’t have taken nearly that long to recalculate the numbers.
Jonathan finally returned, placing his phone back on the table.
Prescott watched him quietly and couldn’t help but notice–Jonathan actually seemed to be in a better mood.
Niamh didn’t sleep well that night. By morning, she had huge dark circles under her eyes.
Determined not to look too worn out, she spent two full hours carefully doing her makeup and picked out a stylish, perfectly tailored suit.
Today, she was meeting someone important for a business lunch. Looking anything less than put–together simply wasn’t an option.
