Buying My Forever Wife novel Chapter 332

He was unraveling. The panic he usually kept hidden was written all over his face.

The hand gripping Ivy's wrist was visibly trembling.

Ivy noticed it immediately.

Meeting Mr. Foster's intense stare, she lifted her chin, completely unapologetic.

"Have you ever treated me like a wife? You knew Ethan had feelings for me, yet you let him move in for an entire week. Meanwhile, you—my supposed husband—vanished without a trace."

Ivy fought desperately to hold back her tears. Choking on the sorrow tightening her throat, she pushed on.

"Mr. Foster, if being married to me is so humiliating for you, then let's get a divorce!"

She knew the canyon between their social standings.

A man at the apex of the pyramid like Alaric would never publicly acknowledge someone like her.

She would just consider her past affections a complete waste of time.

She had enough money now anyway. Her father was dead, and her mother was in prison.

The DNA Heritage Report proved that she and her sisters weren't even biologically related to their parents.

She had nothing holding her back anymore. Life after a divorce couldn't possibly be worse than this.

Whatever happened, she refused to stay here and be caught in some twisted game between uncle and nephew.

"What did you say?"

Alaric looked momentarily dazed.

He barely registered the first half of her rant, but when the words "let's get a divorce" finally sank in...

His chest seized violently, pulling tight enough to cut off his oxygen.

Pure panic washed over him.

Desperate, he grabbed both of Ivy's shoulders, his voice shaking.

"I only let Ethan stay so you would reject him! Once you crushed his hopes, he would have left, and everything would have been fine."

Alaric's throat went bone-dry, every word feeling like a monumental effort to force out.

"Take back what you just said. Do you hear me?"

Alaric's strides seemed unsteady, his legs almost trembling.

That couldn't possibly be a reaction to her asking for a divorce, could it?

The old man had been gone for a week—he had probably been out partying and womanizing until he exhausted himself. That had to be why he was shaking.

Ivy pursed her lips, refusing to waste another ounce of concern on him. Taking a deep breath, she headed downstairs.

Alaric retreated to the master bedroom and locked the door.

He stumbled and collapsed onto the sofa, a suffocating wave of despair crashing over his chest, making his heart ache violently.

The agonizing devastation left him gasping for air, his entire body shaking.

The only other time he had experienced this visceral, soul-crushing terror was when Ivy had jumped into the river, and he had believed she was dead and gone forever.

Why was he feeling this same agonizing dread just from hearing her ask for a divorce?

Alaric couldn't understand what was terrifying him so much.

Why did the mere mention of her leaving trigger such an extreme breakdown?