The next day, Calista received a call from Lucian's lawyer early in the morning. They agreed to meet up at a café. She contacted Harvey just in case the situation put her at a disadvantage.Judging from how Lucian readily agreed to the divorce, she assumed things wouldn't go smoothly.When Calista arrived at the destination, Lucian's lawyer was already there. She recognized the person. It was Timothy Howard, the general counsel of Northwood Corporation. The cases he took involved a huge sum of claims. She had never heard that he would accept family law cases like divorce. However, she soon realized that it was not a small lawsuit case. The asset distribution alone was worth billions."Mr. Howard, what do you mean by this?"Timothy demonstrated his professionalism by being deliberate in his choice of words. "The debt Mr. Northwood cleared in your stead is considered your personal debts before marriage. According to the law, he has the right to claim his money back after divo
Calista was at a loss for words. She got angry upon hearing that. She terminated the call right away. To begin with, he was never one to speak nicely.Still, three million was a huge amount of money. How was she supposed to gather that much money within a short period?Vexed, she went to Yara's antique shop. The staff recognized her. "Ms. Everhart, Ms. Quinn is on the second floor.""Thanks."She found her way to the second floor when Yara led a client to the stairs. Yara was surprised to see Calista. "Why are you here at this hour?"Calista flopped onto the couch lifelessly, recounting the whole story.Yara was utterly dumbfounded. "How could he stoop this low? Is Northwood Corporation going bankrupt? Why is he setting you up for money?"Calista couldn't comprehend the reason for him to do that.Not only was Northwood Corporation doing fine, but its future was also promising.Yara asked, "So what's your plan?""What else can I do? I have to return the money."It was clear
After verifying that the painting was authentic, Calista carefully placed it in a box. Next, she gave Lily a contract to sign her name."Back then, that best art student could sell a painting for 30 thousand. Yet, she's working as someone's assistant, running errands right now. I wonder what it feels like." Lily wasn't over with the mockery.This matter was supposed to be a blot on Calista's life forever.However, Lily didn't notice any hint of anger on Calista's face other than indifference.The latter didn't utter a word as she hugged the box and left.She made sure her back was straight until she hopped into a cab. Only then could she relax like a deflated balloon.The painting was seriously damaged, so it was considered a huge project. Due to the tight timeline, she didn't have time to waste.She headed straight home as soon as she grabbed the painting.Her house was a two-bedroom apartment. One of the rooms was used as her workshop.She spread a masking paper across the w
Lucian was mentioning Paul again."This is between us. Could you not drag an unrelated person into the matter?" Calista retorted.Lucian countered, "You're the one to talk. You didn't have that self-consciousness when you mentioned Lily."Calista smiled mockingly. "Is she unrelated to this?"Lucian kept silent. But his gaze was clearly saying, "You're throwing a tantrum over nothing.""If so, why is she using your credit card and even flexing it in public? She spends so much of your money in one go."Lucian's credit card didn't have an upper limit. She wondered if being a mere friend could benefit from such perks.His brows creased as he said, "Who told you that?" "Your sweetheart, of course."The way she addressed Lily deepened the crease between his eyebrows.He pinched her chin and watched her as though she was an object. "How could an idiot like you survive this long?""Lucian Northwood, you—"Before Calista could argue further, the waiters began serving the food. She
Calista was slow to react because she'd had alcohol. It was not until Paul called Lucian's name that she recognized the mocking voice.She didn't know why Lucian would come back so suddenly.But there was one thing she knew—she didn't want Paul to know what Lucian was going to say next.Calista rose from her seat in reflex and came up to Lucian. Due to her hasty steps and grogginess, she accidentally fell into his arms.He didn't move, allowing her to bump into him. He wore a cold expression on his face. Calista's legs were wobbly, so she had to grab his arms to balance herself. She was a little regretful about drinking so much.She looked at him and said, "D-Don't say it." Grievance and cuteness unintentionally colored her tone.His jaw was tense. "Why? Are you afraid he will find out how you tried to drug him? You didn't want to ruin your innocent and perfect image in front of him, right?"Calista's brows furrowed, expressing displeasure. Yet, he took the expression as an
Lucian pursed his lips. The veins on his forehead pulsated visibly. He called out to her sternly. "Calista!"Calista froze. Her heart trembled when she saw Lucian's terrifying gaze. "Are you serious? Why the anger? I'm only joking."He clenched his teeth and said, "You're asking for trouble."No one spoke for the rest of the journey. The atmosphere in the car became heavy and tense. Jonathan was so intimidated. He slowed down the vehicle and navigated the road more cautiously.Calista leaned against the car window again. She stared blankly at the scenery at night.The car finally stopped at Everglade Manor. Calista looked at the familiar villa in an off-white color before her. She lethargically pushed open the car door. She had lived alongside Lucian within these walls for three years after marriage. It was also the very prison that had held her captive for three long years. She had hoped to be a loving couple with him in the past. But her heart was cold now. She only want
"Seems like you haven't been taught a proper lesson. How dare you provoke me," Lucian said. Did he call that a lesson? Calista rose from the couch angrily. "Sure, I have the right to provoke you. Someone here right now couldn't even please me in bed!" Calista was certain Lucian wouldn't do anything to her. After all, she had lived like a widow throughout their three-year marriage!She had tried different tactics to save their marriage, but he always responded disdainfully. He must have been driven by alcohol earlier, which led to their intimacy. And now he was all cold and distant again. He had most likely sobered up. "Leave fast if you're going!" Calista demanded. She then turned and headed for the guest room on the second floor. She had become sober after a series of events. She forced herself to shower. She heard a car leaving after she was done. She knew where Lucian was going. When he pinned her down earlier, she felt his phone vibrate in his pocket more than once
Lucian's expression remained unreadable. Evidence of cheating? Hah, such audacious thoughts! "I was just waiting here for Ms. Scott. I never intended to harm her ..." "Did you capture anything?" "No, Mrs. Northwood wanted bed photos. She said she wanted to destroy your reputation and planned to share the pictures online to ruin Ms. Scott." Lucian remained calm. But his anger started to show. The commotion attracted hotel security. When they arrived, Lucian had already released the man from his grip. "Take this person to the police station," he instructed. The security team promptly escorted the man away. Lucian called David and explained what had happened. He then instructed David to handle the situation.He turned to Lily and said, "The stalker was arrested. You can relax now." Lily raised her chin. She was not ready to let it go. "So, what about Calista? She sent someone to stalk me. She even attempted to take private photos of me and shared them online. That's illega