Chapter 80
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“Oh? Consequences I can’t handle?” Julianne covered her mouth with a light laugh, her eyes filled with contempt.
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She looked at me like I was nothing, like something she could crush without a second thought. Her smug confidence radiated from every inch of her being like I wasn’t even worth the effort to destroy.
After her mocking laugh , she signaled to one of her most loyal lackeys with a subtle glance.
The guy with bleached blond hair caught the cue immediately, egging the others on to close in around me and Mr. Holland.
“Hey, Emilia , ” he sneered, his tone dripping with malice. “Your precious Mr. Holland is getting up there in age, huh? One little accident, and he might be bedridden for months.”
He snickered. “But don’t worry. Medical bills? I’ve got money to burn.”
He leaned closer, his voice turning darker. “If you don’t know what’s good for you , I wouldn’t mind teaching you a little lesson first.”
My eyes sharpened , cold as a blade. No matter what, even if it meant dying here, I wouldn’t let them lay a finger on Mr. Holland.
“Julianne, if you’re so eager to meet your end, I’ll happily grant your wish!”
Before Julianne could respond, Iturned to the group advancing on us and let out a cold laugh. “What’s the matter? Did no one tell you that Irvin and I already signed the divorce papers? By the end of the month , I’ll be officially divorced!”
The group froze , startled by my sudden declaration.
Even Julianne was caught off guard. She stared at me , completely dumbfounded.
She’d always assumed that my talk of divorce was just a bluff, a tactic to play hard to get. She only pressured me to revise the divorce agreement because she feared the possibility–no matter how slim–that I might actually want out.
To her, I was someone who could never afford to walk away , someone who needed Irvin more than anything. The idea that I’d willingly let go of the marriage–and the potential financial payout–was something she never truly believed.
But now, hearing me publicly announce the divorce, she was visibly shaken.
I didn’t stop there.
With a disdainful snort, I continued, “If Irvin still hasn’t made things official with Julianne after our divorce, then maybe he just doesn’t love her enough. Maybe he doesn’t want to follow in his father’s footsteps.
“You should be blaming your dear Irvin for not loving you enough, not coming after me, and accusing me of clinging to this position! I’ve long stopped wanting to be Mrs. Sawyer, alright?”
Still reeling from my first statement, the group looked even more confused.
“What do you mean by that, you simp?” someone finally blurted out. “Emilia, stop talking nonsense! Irvin loves Julianne more than anything–everyone knows that! How could he not love her enough?”
Ignoring the second half of his protest, I covered my mouth in mock surprise, feigning shock. “Oh my god, don’t tell me… Do you guys not know?
“Well, ” I said, dragging the word out for dramatic effect, “the reason Irvin and Julianne didn’t end up together back then wasn’t because of me. It was because Julianne had… other preferences. You see, she was more into Irvin’s dad.”
The crowd fell into a stunned silence.
I continued, gleefully twisting the knife. “You heard that right. Julianne and Irvin’s father actually got married in Ventia. Legally, Irvin should be calling her stepmom.”
“What?”
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The chaos that erupted after that was as satisfying as it was deafening.
“Oh, and by the way,” I added helpfully, “I’ve got a copy of their marriage certificate. Do you want to see it?”
The color drained from Julianne’s face as the crowd around her descended into murmurs of disbelief, outrage, and disgust. Her usual composure was nowhere to be found.
For a moment, she looked like a delicate flower caught in a raging storm, swaying helplessly, ready to break at any second. Anyone watching might’ve felt pity for her.
But not me.
Unlike Irvin, I didn’t have a soft spot for her.
I couldn’t understand why Irvin doted on Julianne so much for the longest time while constantly insisting they were “just siblings“. Why would a man who was so obviously in love with someone hesitate to divorce his wife and be with the woman he supposedly adored?*
But after receiving that investigative report from overseas, everything finally clicked.
Irvin’s hesitation wasn’t out of loyalty to me or guilt over hurting me. It was because Julianne had once been with his father, Phillip Sawyer–legally, even–and that was a line he couldn’t cross. No matter how much he cared for her, that shadow loomed too large.