No Sex for Six Years Because of Her? I'm Done novel Chapter 482

Chapter 482 Everyone Wants a Bite

Listening to these shameless, twisted lies, Amelia felt nothing but disgust.

The light in her eyes dimmed, bit by bit.

In that moment, she couldn’t help but realize just how right Mason had been.

This estate, in the eyes of the Harlows–and even certain members of the Rowes–was nothing but a piece of raw meat, and everyone wanted a bite.

And to the rest of the world, no matter how she handled it or which side she leaned toward, the other would resent her for it and never leave her alone. It was a lose–lose situation no matter what she did.

Why should she put herself in that impossible position for the sake of people like them?

Fiona had left her the estate, hoping she’d live a good life–not so she could be shackled to a burden she never asked for.

The only way to shut every last one of them up for good was to donate the estate to charity, to help people who actually needed it.

Amelia took a deep breath, locked her cold gaze onto Clara’s eyes–so carefully dressed up as warmth but razor–sharp with calculation underneath–and cut her off before she could say another word. “Don’t even think about it. I’ll handle the estate my own way, and it will have absolutely nothing to do with the Harlows.”

Amelia’s tone left zero room for negotiation.

The smile on Clara’s face froze, and a flash of anger darted through her eyes.

Her hand instinctively moved to slam the table, but she caught the curious glances drifting their way from nearby tables and forced the fury back down.

She’d just wrapped up her loving–mother performance. She couldn’t break character now,

So in the span of a few seconds, Clara’s anger melted away and was replaced by feigned hurt.

Her eyes turned red as she squeezed out a few tears on command, pressing a handkerchief to the corner of her eye, her voice trembling. “Amelia, how can you say that? I know you haven’t been home in years, and you’ve grown distant from us. That breaks my heart. I only asked about the estate because I care about you. You’re still so young, and suddenly coming into that kind of money–I’m just scared someone’s going to take advantage of you.

“Tell you what,” Clara pivoted, making it sound like she was granting some enormous concession, “if you don’t want to talk about the estate, I won’t ask. But come home for dinner in a couple of days. We’ll all sit down together as a family and catch up. Your father and your sister miss you. Just a nice meal and some quality time. How about it?”

Come home for dinner?

Catch up?

1/3

7:05 pm P

Chapter 482 Everyone Wants a Bite

Finished

Amelia looked at the face in front of her, every crease mapped with scheming, and laughed coldly to herself.

That dinner would be nothing but a trap dressed up as a family reunion, with God only knows what waiting for her on the other side.

She was about to open her mouth and shut the invitation down flat when a slightly hoarse male voice reached her ears.

“Amelia, come here for a second.”

It was Ethan.

He had noticed what was happening at some point and was standing a short distance away, his brow furrowed as he watched her.

Amelia felt like she’d just been thrown a lifeline. She rose from her seat immediately and walked quickly to Ethan’s side, asking softly, “What is it?”

Ethan’s gaze swept over Clara and Beatrice’s table, a chill passing through his eyes before he turned to Amelia. “Come sit at my table. Your mother and sister are probably cooking up something. No reason to give them the chance.”

Amelia blinked, then looked up at him.

His profile was as sharp and unreadable as ever, but the words he’d just said carried something she hadn’t heard in a long time–a trace of genuine protectiveness.

Before Hannah had entered the picture, during the seemingly calm years of their marriage, every time Ethan accompanied her back to the Harlow Estate and watched Clara and Beatrice needle her and grab for whatever they could get, he never said much. But he always found a way to quietly position himself between her and the worst of it, deflecting the attacks without making a scene.

It was because of him that, for those years, the Harlows hadn’t been able to sink their claws too deeply into her life.

And that was precisely why, during those six years of marriage, Amelia had never been able to bring herself to give up completely. Every time she came close, one of those small, almost insignificant acts of protectiveness would soften her resolve. She’d find excuses for him, talk herself into holding on just a little longer.

Until the day he abandoned her on a frozen, empty road in the dead of winter to rush to Hannah’s side over some minor scratch–leaving her out in the cold to fend for herself.

That was the moment she finally understood. Everything Ethan had done before probably wasn’t love at all. It was more like … a passing impulse of pity for someone weaker.

Or maybe it was nothing more than protecting the image of his wife so she wouldn’t look too pathetic in front of her own family.

Now, that same protectiveness had surfaced again, but Amelia’s heart no longer stirred the way it once did. All that was left was a vast, unshakable calm.

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