Chapter 12 The Divorce Agreement in Hand
Chapter 12 The Divorce Agreement in Hand
After leaving the coffeehouse, Anneliese slid into the car and instinctively rubbed her chest. It still ached a little.
Just then, her phone buzzed–WhatsApp. Thinking it was from Jessica, she hurried to check, but it turned out to be from Joel, whom she’d just added.
‘Mrs. Shaw, do you know Mr. Fullbuster?
‘Nothing important. Just checking to see if you’ve blocked me.
Anneliese stared nkly at the screen. Seriously? <i>What </i>the hell is wrong with him<b><i>? </i></b>
Coincidentally, Jessica’s message popped up. ‘Signal jammers are in ce.
And she sent a Sneaky rat GIF along with it.
Anneliese’s eyes lit up.
and she sent back a sticker of a cat getting patted on the head.
Exiting that chat, her eyesnded again on Joel’s message.
<i>Mr. </i><i>Fullbuster</i>? So, hisst name really is Fullbuster
She thought back to what Joel had said earlier–that the Top Ten Young Entrepreneurs Award Zacharias receivedst year had been handed to him by that same man.
Back then, she had paid close attention to everything rted to Zacharias. She remembered the ceremony too–she’d been there in the audience, watching Zacharias take the stage<b>. </b>
Too bad her eyes had only ever been for him, so she hadn’t noticed the presenter at all.
dup the
Still, she had looked up the presenter’s identity afterward.
Jonathan Fullbuster.
In the business world, his name was practically synonymous with power and money. Unlike Zacharias, who had wed his way <i>up </i>from nothing, Jonathan came from the prestigious Fullbuster family in
–
long–standing noble lineage.
The family’s fortune stretched back generations, even as far back as the 18th century or carlier. In more recent history, the Fullbusters had started with aviation, then expanded into real
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estate, finance, tech, banking, entertainment–you name it. Their wealth was staggering.
Jonathan was known as the Prince of Halden. He was a year younger than Zacharias, yet already a dominant force in the business world. Despite his youth, his worth was in the billions, and he had earned his stripes in more than one battlefield.
It was said that even though the family empire no longer relied on aviation, Old Mr. Fullbuster remained a staunch traditionalist. He believed aviation was the foundation of the family legacy and insisted that anyone vying for leadership had to prove themselves at their family’smercial airline, FullAir, first, by bing a captain. Only after conquering the skies would they be deemed worthy of controlling the Fullbuster Group.
Jonathan, a prodigy, still held the record as FullAir’s youngest captain. Now the CEO of FullAir, he was said to be just one step away from taking full control of the group.
“Anne, when the ceremony starts, you’re <i>only </i><i>allowed </i><i>to </i><i>look </i>at me–not <i>him</i><i>!</i><i>” </i>
Anneliese still remembered what Zacharias had said the night before that award ceremonyst
year.
<i>“</i><i>Of </i><i>course </i><i>I’ll </i><i>only </i><i>look </i><i>at </i><i>you</i>! <i>My </i><i>husband’s </i>so handsome<i>–</i><i>I </i><i>wouldn’t </i>notice <i>anyone </i><i>else </i>even <i>if </i><i>I </i>tried. <i>What</i><i>, </i>Mr. <i>Shaw</i>, are you <i>suddenly </i><i>feeling </i><i>insecure</i>?”
“Jonathan <i>Fullbuster </i><i>might </i><i>be </i>born with a <i>silver </i><i>spoon</i>, but that’s all he’s got on me. Give me ten more years, and I’ll <i>be </i>just as good<i>–</i><i>better </i>even. <i>So</i><i>, </i><i>honey</i>, <i>don’t </i>you <i>dare </i>look at anyone <i>else.</i>”
<i>“</i>Okay, okay. I won’t. Not even a nce!”
Those old memories came rushing back, and Anneliese curled her lip in disbelief.
How did Ipletely ignore someone like <i>Jonathan </i>just to stare at Zacharias all <i>night</i>? Wow. <i>I </i><i>really </i>was blind back then.
That evening, Zacharias was home for once. But oddly enough, the woman who used to cling to him like a shadow whenever he was home hadn’t shown up all night.
He finally found her in the sitting room, seated by the window and typing furiously on herptop. She was so focused that she hadn’t even noticed him walk in.
Zacharias leaned over to look at her screen. “Honey, what are you working on?”
Over the past two days, Anneliese had been cramming all the professional knowledge and recent industry developments she’d missed over the past four years, Every night, she
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organized her notes and questions into PowerPoint slides and sent them to her mentor.
She had already sent three emails so far–even though they hadn’t replied once, she was. determined to keep going. She wanted to prove her resolve. This time, she wouldn’t give up halfway.
“Just browsing some random stuff. Got bored at home.” She instinctively angled the screen. away from him<b>. </b>
Zacharias stared at her for two seconds, then calmly reached over and pressed the power button to shut theptop down.
“What are you doing?! I didn’t save my work!”
Furious, Anneliese red at him, but Zacharias had already taken theptop and set it aside. Then he scooped her up and settled her on hisp.
“Honey, your job right now is to nurse your health and get your body ready for pregnancy. Have you been taking the herbal tonics? What did the doctor say?”
His voice was full of concern, but Anneliese could barely contain the burning resentment rising in her chest. Her smile twisted with cold irony.
“Getting pregnant takes two, doesn’t it? I’ve been doing my part. The question is–are you doing yours? Tell you what, I’ll schedule an exam for <b>you </b>tomorrow. You get yourself checked
it together.“” too, so we can work o..
“What am I supposed to get tested for?” Zacharias frowned.
with your testicles, “Sperm quality, obviously. And maybe see if there’s anything wrong epididymis–basic reproductive health. Might want to check your testosterone levels, any possible gic disorders, stuff like that.”
<i>Huh</i>, who knows <i>if </i>you’ve already picked up something <i>nasty</i><i>? </i><i>Wouldn’t </i><i>be </i><i>surprised </i><i>if </i><i>being </i>a cheating <i>b</i><i>*</i>stard is hereditary<i>. </i><i>And </i>you think <i>you’re </i>fit to father a child<i>? </i>
Without sparing a nce at Zacharias‘ now grim expression, Anneliese shoved him aside and
walked out.
Zacharias stared at her retreating figure and pressed his fingers to his temple. <i>What’s </i>going on? <i>Why </i><i>does </i>it feel like she’s <i>been </i><i>throwing </i>all kinds <i>of </i>shades? <i>Is </i>she still this <i>upset </i>about being <i>left </i>on the side <i>of </i><i>the </i>road that <i>day</i><i>? </i><i>Her </i>temper’s out <i>of </i><i>control</i><i>! </i>
When he returned to the bedroom, Anneliese was already asleep. Zachariasy down beside her <b>and </b>shifted closer, wrapping himself around her from behind.
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“Honey? There’s nothing wrong with me. Don’t go scheduling any kind of tests for me, alright?<b>” </b>
Anneliese kept her eyes closed, pretending to sleep, lips curled in a silent, bitter smile. Men are so selfish. Women risk their lives to carry their children, but ask them to take <i>a </i><i>basic </i>health test, and suddenly it’s too much.
Zacharias, seeing she wasn’t responding, assumed she’d fallen asleep. He sighed, gently turned her to face him, and pulled her into his arms before closing his eyes.
A long whileter, Anneliese opened hers. She slipped from his hold and rolled to the other side of the bed.
Same bed. Different dreams.
The next day at uderias Tech, Coral walked into the CEO’s office with a stack of contracts in her arms.
“Mr. Shaw, these are documents that need your signature. Mr. Septian asked me to bring them in,” she said, her voice soft and sweet.
Zacharias didn’t even lift his head. “Leave them. You can go.”
But Coral had no intention of leaving so easily.
Zacharias was focused on reviewing reports when the scent of her perfume drifted past. hade around the desk and was pushing the files directly toward him.
She
“Mr. Shaw, Mr. Septian said some of these need to be signed urgently,” she said,tching onto his arm as she pouted.
Zacharias‘ hand paused mid–page. He finally turned to look at her, his expression cold and his eyes utterly indifferent.
“Out. Don’t make me repeat myself.” His tone dropped, eyesnding on her hand–clearly, he wasn’t in the mood.
deal with other women. Plus, Coral had already overstepped once. If she hadn’t been so out of linest time, Anneliese wouldn’t have grown so suspicious.
Anneliese had been acting up the past few days, and he wasn’t in the headspace to d
Coral’s face paled, Zacharias‘ moods could be unpredictable, and she was genuinely a little afraid of him. Still, she couldn’t just walk out now. There was something buried in those files that needed to be signed.
11:29 Fri, Sep <b>5 </b>
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Panicked but stubborn, she bit her lip–and instead of leaving, she twisted her hips and slid herself right onto hisp. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she gave a spoiled little whine. “No! Are you tired of me already?”
A flicker of irritation crossed Zacharias‘ eyes, but then his gaze froze when he got a good look at her.
For a
split second, he thought he was looking at Selina.
He grabbed Coral’s chin, studying her face closely, eyes turning dark. “Who told you to do your makeup like this?”
Of course, Coral noticed the change in both his expression and body. Beforeing in, she had deliberately copied the look in that photo, even down to her outfit, mimicking that upper- ss, socialite style. She’d even rehearsed the expressions.
Zacharias‘ reaction stabbed her like needles–shame and fury tangled in her chest–but more than anything, she felt danger looming.
“Do you like it? I followed a beauty blogger’s tutorial,” Coral said coyly, tilting her head.
“It doesn’t suit you. Wash it off.” Zacharias dropped his hand from her check.
But Coral only held tighter to his neck and wriggled on hisp. <b>“</b>Funny… your body doesn’t seem to agree.”
Zacharias‘ breathing grew heavier. His hand slipped to grip her waist.
Coral twirled his tie between her fingers. “Come on, just sign the documents first. I don’t want Mr. Septian yelling at me.”
She leaned in close, breath warm against his ear. “Once I’m done delivering them… I’lle back and y with you. Whatever you want–I’ll do it.”
As she spoke, she twisted her waist to grab the stack of documents, bit off the cap of the pen with her teeth, and held it out to him with glistening eyes.
That humble, eager–to–please gaze clearly struck the right chord in Zacharias–especially when paired with that face.
His expression shifted slightly as he reached for the pen.
What he didn’t know–what he couldn’t have known–was that in the days toe, he woulde to regret this moment with every fiber of his being.
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Chapter 12 The Divorce Agreement in Hand
If he could, he would go back in time and drive that pen straight into his hand.