Chapter 3

Edward sighed on the other end. "I know you hate me, but my hands were tied back then. You wouldn't believe my reasons anyway.

"Regardless, I'm now the head of the Quandt family. It's up to me whether you come back or not."

Zayn's voice was ice-cold. "Not interested."

"Don't be so quick to refuse. What if I told you I had information about your sister? Wouldn't you want to know?" Edward's tone sharpened. "If you want answers, come back to the family. That's the deal—think it over."

Then Edward hung up, confident he'd struck a nerve. He knew Zayn would do anything for a clue about his sister.

"Edward Quandt... if you're lying to me, you'll regret it," Zayn muttered. Finding his sister had been his greatest hope for over a decade—and a last wish of both his mom and grandma.

Not even two minutes later, Edward called back.

"What now?" Zayn snapped, irritation spilling over.

"A little respect wouldn't kill you," Edward replied coolly. "I'm still your father."

"Then get to the point, or stop wasting my time."

Edward gritted his teeth, the insult hanging in the air, rare for the powerful head of the Quandt family. "There's one more thing I forgot to mention."

"Yeah?"

"I understand you're married to someone named Yvonne Beech?" Edward had clearly dug into Zayn's life already.

"Am I not allowed to get married?" Zayn shot back.

"Oh, you can get married—just not to Yvonne. You'll divorce her. I'll introduce you to someone way more suitable."

Zayn was stunned into silence for a moment. "Are you serious? Since when do you control my life? You didn't even ask if I'd go along with this."

"Then let me make it simple—if you want info on your sister, you'll do what I say. My men will bring your new fiancee by this afternoon. Tomorrow, you'll register the marriage, then come back here with her."

Zayn let out a dry laugh. 'This is unreal.'

He replied, "Fine. But if you're lying to me, the Quandt family's gonna regret it."

To Zayn, divorcing Yvonne was already a done deal. Agreeing to marry whoever Edward had lined up? Just another box to check.

To hell with love. It was meaningless now. A lifetime was a lifetime, no matter who you spent it with.

Moments later, his phone buzzed—it was Yvonne.

They hadn't spoken in days. While Zayn was dealing with his grandma's funeral, Yvonne had been glued to Eric, busy with BeechCorp and deepening her connection with him. Yet, his cold silence had left her feeling oddly unsettled.

"Where have you been? Why haven't you contacted me?" she demanded, her tone sharp. "Oh, and about your grandma—you mentioned her at the airport. How is she?"

Zayn let out a bitter laugh. "No need to worry. I've already taken care of her funeral."

Silence stretched on the other end.

Though she'd been ready to end things, the news of his grandma's passing caught her off guard. She suddenly realized why he'd tried to talk to her at the airport—he'd wanted her to visit his grandma one last time.

"Zayn... I'm sorry."

"Save it. I don't need your apologies. I'm guessing you called about the divorce?" His tone was clipped, every word colder than the last. "Don't worry, I'm in. Let's finalize it tomorrow morning."

"What's with this attitude?" Yvonne was caught off guard by his bluntness. She'd expected him to be devastated, maybe even beg her not to leave.

At the very least, she thought he'd be too crushed to speak. But here he was, totally unfazed.

"So eager to divorce me?" she asked, her tone icy.

Zayn scoffed. "Isn't this what you wanted? Or are you actually suggesting we keep this going?"

Yvonne felt a twisted satisfaction, thinking his reaction meant he didn't really want the divorce after all.

“You’re overthinking it—I’ve already made up my mind. I’m done. But don’t worry, I’ll make it up to you. I love Eric, and… I’m sorry, but that’s just how it is. You were good to me, sure, but when it comes to real love, I can’t pick you. And honestly? Eric’s just… way out of your league.”

"Oh, is that right?" Zayn replied flatly.

Yvonne's voice softened, filled with admiration. "He's not like you. He was born to do great things.

"Graduated from Harvard, worked on Wall Street, and now he's back in Khelmoria to take over his family's business.

"He's had the best education, tackled the hardest jobs, and he's got the ambition, skill, and confidence. It's just not something you could ever match.

"You might be nice to me, but you're too... average. No drive, no ambition—you're not the kind of guy I could build my life with. Find a nice, simple girl and settle down."

Zayn got the message loud and clear: he wasn’t good enough for her. She didn’t want to waste her life on someone she saw as a nobody.

But if only she knew what she was really walking away from...

"My future's no concern of yours," he said, his voice sharp. "Tomorrow at nine, bring all the paperwork for the divorce. Don't be late." And with that, he hung up.

"Ugh! How dare he hang up on me!" Yvonne fumed, throwing her phone onto the couch, feeling off balance inside.

"Here, darling," Eric murmured, appearing beside her with a plate of sliced fruit. He fed her a piece of apple, his gaze soft as they locked eyes, lost in their own sweet little bubble.

"Were you upset?" he asked, noticing her irritation. "Was it because he didn't want to go through with the divorce?"

Eric knew she had just been on the phone with Zayn.

Yvonne blinked, a little thrown. "No... actually, he agreed."

"Really?" Eric looked surprised. "Did he ask for anything?"

"Nope, just said he'd meet me tomorrow at nine to finalize it."

"Did he agree to hand over the BeechCorp shares?" Eric asked.

"Nope.”

Eric's eyes narrowed with a knowing smirk. "Then he's probably going to try and negotiate for something in person."

Yvonne sighed. "Maybe I should just offer him the house as compensation?"

Eric chuckled, running a hand through her hair. "I don't mind. It's just a house. My family's got more properties than we know what to do with. We'll never be without a place to live."

"You're the best," Yvonne murmured, kissing his cheek. "For us, that house is nothing. But for him? It's probably more than he'd make in a lifetime. Consider it my parting gift."