Scarlett didn't break stride as she left the office. The moment she was gone, Cassian's expression darkened. He yanked his tie loose with a sharp tug and tossed it aside.
It was always the same.
Every argument ended the same way. She was stubborn as stone, cold and immovable. If she hadn't given birth to Ryan, she wouldn't have any place in the Blackthorne family at all. And now she had the nerve to bring up divorce.
Given her situation, who else would want her besides him?
Scarlett clutched the divorce papers and headed for family court, determined to submit it before closing.
But as soon as she reached the lobby downstairs, she ran straight into Cassian's father, Alistair Blackthorne, who had arrived for an inspection.
Alistair was in his sixties, well-preserved except for the frost of silver at his temples.
"Alistair," Scarlett greeted him properly, standing at attention.
Alistair smiled warmly. "Perfect timing. Call Cassian down and join me for a walk around the company."
Scarlett hesitated for a moment but said nothing about the divorce. Alistair would never agree to it, but her mind was made up.
Since the agreement was already in hand, tomorrow would do just as well.
As they headed upstairs, Scarlett fell a few steps behind.
"You handled Cassian's wedding arrangements very gracefully," Alistair said earnestly. "You're sensible and generous. Another woman would never have given up her own wedding like that. Don't worry. The Blackthorne family will never fail you."
Scarlett listened to his words as her heart sank deeper into an icy abyss.
When the Blackthorne family had faced bankruptcy, they had desperately needed the Wycliffe family's resources to survive. Now that the crisis had passed, they felt perfectly comfortable treating her like a disposable tool.
"So everyone in the Blackthorne family knew Cassian was holding a wedding with Elowen except me?" Scarlett's voice turned cold, laced with naked mockery.
Alistair's smile froze, and he turned to bark at Cassian. "Cassian! What is the meaning of this?"
Cassian lowered his voice. "Father, this is between my wife and me. There's no need to disturb the entire household."
So household peace required sacrificing everything she had and handing over her husband to another woman?
Alistair coughed dryly and delivered a performative reprimand. "Cassian, even if you care for Elowen, you should have discussed this with Scarlett first. Scarlett is so even-tempered, surely she wouldn't have refused, would she?"
Listen to that. If she refused, she would be cast as a vicious shrew.
A citywide scandal of betrayal, brushed aside with a wave of the old man's hand.
"Since the wedding is already done, let's move past this," Alistair said dismissively.
"And if I refuse to move past it?" Scarlett said suddenly.
The temperature in the office plummeted.
Alistair's face darkened. "What exactly do you want?"
Scarlett let out a cold laugh. "I planned that wedding from start to finish. I traveled to over a dozen countries to find that one-of-a-kind ring. A planning package of that caliber would cost at least thirty million from the best wedding firm in the city. Out of consideration for old times, I'll settle for cost recovery. Thirty million."
"Thirty million?" Alistair sneered, his earlier warmth gone entirely. "Haggling with your own family over money. Do you have no sense of propriety?"
Cassian's face was full of impatience. "Scarlett, are you done making a scene?"
"Family?" Scarlett shot back. "How come I wasn't family when my wedding was stolen?"
"Scarlett!" Cassian's voice was sharp and threatening.
"Elowen didn't just steal my wedding. She sent me the livestream link on my phone," Scarlett said, each word cutting. "That kind of family? I can't afford it."
Alistair's eyes turned vicious. "You are Cassian's legitimate wife. No one can take that position from you."
"Is being Cassian's wife supposed to be some kind of honor worth bragging about?" Scarlett tore away the last shred of pretense without hesitation.
She had once given everything to the Blackthorne family, pulled the company back from the edge of bankruptcy. But if they saw her as nothing but a burden, why should she keep degrading herself?
Alistair's face turned iron-gray with fury.
"Father, let me talk to her alone," Cassian said, his face livid as he dragged Scarlett into the break room and slammed the door behind them.
"Weren't you acting so tough just now, saying you'd leave the marriage with nothing?" Cassian looked down at her from his full height, his eyes full of mockery. "Now you're making outrageous demands?"
In his eyes, every act of defiance from Scarlett was nothing more than a cheap ploy for his attention.
Scarlett's expression remained detached. "Thirty million is fair compensation for my work. Transfer it to my account, or I won't hesitate to release all the evidence to the media and let the entire city see exactly what kind of mistress Elowen really is."
"You wouldn't dare!" A flicker of menace flashed in Cassian's eyes. "Don't push me."
Scarlett looked at him calmly. "The replay of that livestream isn't hard to find online. That's all the evidence I need."
Aksara