Divorced From The Pretender novel Chapter 5

He laughed at my ignorance. I, however, found it laughable that he didn't understand what love truly was.

Real love didn't waver based on wealth.

"Nathaniel, I'd rather you be that broke kid in debt than this wealthy man full of lies. I've loved you, but that version of you was fake-an illusion you created. It's not the real you," I said.

He clearly didn't believe me.

"Celeste, don't pretend to be high and mighty in front of me. You should feel lucky I chose you out of so many. Not every woman gets to play such a grand role for three years. Be grateful," he whispered.

His arrogance made me want to slap him across the face, but he wasn't worth my anger.

I pointed at the door. "If you don't get out, I'll call the cops."

He hesitated, his mood darkening as he walked out.

I hadn't told my mom about anything with Nathaniel. After my father passed away, she raised me on her own, and I didn't want to burden her with my divorce, hoping I could tell her later when the time was right.

But I didn't expect Samantha to come looking for me.

As soon as I stepped out the door that morning to head to work, there she was, standing at my doorstep.

Samantha looked down at me. "So you're Celeste? You really do look like a total loser."

Her stylish designer outfit made me feel like I was wearing rags, filling her with a sense of superiority.

"Tell me, how much do you want to agree to divorce Nathaniel?"

I had no clue how Nathaniel had convinced her that I was the one fighting against the divorce. I didn't owe her any explanations.

When I tried to walk away, she grabbed my arm.

"I don't care what tricks you pulled to get him to marry you. Just know, he's mine. If you keep dragging this out, you'll regret it," she said.

No matter how decayed my marriage with Nathaniel was, legally we were still married. It wasn't up to Samantha to dictate any of this.

"This is my personal matter," I replied coldly.

But she responded with insults.

I chuckled. "You asked what I was doing? Well, this is it."

Looking at Nathaniel's ashen face made my bottled-up frustration ease a little.

"Shrew!" He cursed me.

I shrugged it off. After all, I couldn't coddle a guy like him.

Samantha clung to Nathaniel's arm and said, with a feigned sense of hurt, "Oh, come on, don't be mad! Ms. Sawyer probably loves you too much and doesn't want to lose you. She even called me a mistress just now."

Nathaniel shot me a glance. "The one who's not loved is the mistress."

I stayed expressionless. Anyway, I didn't love him anymore.

So, he couldn't hurt me at all.

However, he finally agreed to divorce me after being slapped.

If I had known earlier that he would fall for this trick, I would have slapped him a few more times.