Oops I Accidentally Ended Her Fake Perfect Life novel Chapter 19

**TITLE: Across the Fallen Golden Kingdom Distant Fires by Damon S. Creed**

Chase’s face was a storm of emotions, dark clouds swirling in his eyes.

“Dominic Faulkner? What in the world is she doing with him?!” he exclaimed, his voice low but laced with disbelief and fury.

His assistant, caught off guard by the intensity of Chase’s reaction, faltered for just a moment.

“Sir, it appears they’re… quite close. Their behavior suggests they’re more than just friends. Do you think… Mrs. Whitmore may have moved on?”

The air in the room thickened with tension.

Bang!

Chase’s fist collided violently with the ornate column beside him, the impact reverberating through the space.

“No way! She’s my wife! Nora wouldn’t just run off with another man!” His voice cracked with desperation, the words tumbling out like a frantic plea.

The assistant, trying to maintain his composure, handed over a folder, a heavy weight of reality.

“But sir… she filed for divorce just days ago. The papers are all here—assets, custody, everything is laid out clearly.”

Chase snatched the file from the assistant’s hands, his eyes scanning the words as if they were a foreign language. In a fit of rage, he hurled it across the room, the papers scattering like fallen leaves.

“No!”

His voice echoed, raw and filled with denial.

“She would never divorce me! Nora loves me! She can’t live without me! She wouldn’t leave me! Not Nora. Not ever.”

“Sir, the documents are—”

Before the assistant could finish his thought, Chase erupted once more, consumed by a whirlwind of emotion.

He ripped the divorce papers into shreds, each tear a defiance against the reality he refused to accept.

“If I don’t sign, we’re still married. She’s still mine!”

His eyes sparkled with a desperate certainty, as if clinging to a lifeline.

“Yeah. That’s right. As long as I don’t sign, we’re still married. She can’t go anywhere.”

“I don’t care if she hides at the ends of the earth—Nora Langston belongs to me. She always has. She always will!”

Chase’s laughter broke through the tension, shaky and hollow, a sound that echoed his unraveling sanity. Then, as if the laughter had cracked something deep within him, the sobs came, wracking his body with their intensity.

That night, Chase found himself sprawled on the cold floor, the world around him spinning in a haze of alcohol.

He poured glass after glass down his throat, the line between tears and whiskey blurring until they became one.

Regret washed over him, a crushing wave that twisted his gut.

Why hadn’t he intervened when Camila hurt Nora?

Why had he treated her as if she were insignificant?

He had always believed she would never leave him—no matter what.

But now, he realized how wrong he had been; he had been blind to her pain.

In a state that was half-dreaming and half-drunk, he saw flashes of their wedding day, a memory tinged with bittersweetness.

On that day, his company was teetering on the edge of collapse.

Nora had brought a significant portion of the Langston family’s shares into their marriage, single-handedly rescuing his empire from the brink of ruin.

She never once boasted about her sacrifice.

Never used it as leverage against him.

To the outside world, she had always claimed to have married for love.

But deep down, he knew the truth.

What had he ever given her in return?

In all those years together, he had never once remembered their anniversary.

He had forgotten her birthday, her desires, her needs.

Even the simple way she took her coffee—nothing.

Chapter 11

Faulkner Estate

Upstairs, in the master bedroom, Nora finally found herself in a deep, uninterrupted sleep.

After all the turmoil she had endured, she was granted a fleeting moment of peace.

As she stirred awake, Dominic entered the room, holding a document in his hand.

“This is the bid proposal the Whitmore Group is fighting tooth and nail for. Interested in taking a look?”

“Sure,” she replied, her curiosity piqued.

Nora took the folder, immediately diving into the details, circling potential loopholes in the Whitmore plan with a sense of purpose.

When she had first arrived at the Faulkner Estate, Dominic had been forthright.

“I’m the CEO of Faulkner Group—your ex-husband’s biggest competitor.”

“We share a common enemy. Interested in becoming allies?”

Without a moment’s hesitation, she had agreed.

The enemy of her enemy was her friend.

He had scrutinized her for a moment, his eyes dark and unreadable, but he chose not to press further.

“Pleasure doing business.”

“Pleasure,” she echoed, their hands meeting in a firm handshake.

Her palm felt like fire against his, and she quickly withdrew it, a strange warmth spreading through her.

She could have sworn she heard him chuckle softly to himself, as if he were in a surprisingly good mood.

“Your injuries—any lingering pain?” Dominic asked suddenly, his tone unexpectedly concerned.

Nora paused, caught off guard by his unexpected display of care.

“Oh… it’s better. I’m fine now.”

Chapter 11