Sham Marriage Quit Real Heiress Strikes Back novel Chapter 51

Charles kept his tone measured, choosing not to escalate things in front of the younger generation.

Camille's face turned a sickly shade, but she didn't dare argue back. She clenched her jaw so hard it showed, her breathing uneven with suppressed anger.

Elena picked up her bag and walked out, leaving the mess behind for the Hawthorne family and the Hart family to deal with.

She drove back to her apartment and told Chloe everything that had happened. Chloe was practically buzzing with excitement. "So you're really going to divorce Nathan?"

"There was never a real marriage to begin with, what exactly would I even be divorcing?"

Elena picked up a piece of salmon and took a bite. After putting on that whole performance earlier, she was starving.

"Fair point."

"Now that everything's out in the open, I won't have to keep going back to the Hawthorne estate and playing nice with Nathan, which honestly was exhausting."

Now things worked out perfectly. She had a solid reason not to go back, Charles would be on her side, and she had also driven a wedge between Camille and Nathan. It was a win on all fronts.

At this very moment, Nathan and Camille were probably already at each other's throats.

And for the sake of those shares, Nathan would still have to find ways to win her over.

"But wait, who gave Charles that video?"

Chloe looked completely puzzled.

Elena slowed down as she ate. The fake marriage with Nathan was something she had only told Chloe, so who else could possibly know?

A name suddenly popped into her mind.

Then she immediately felt like it didn't quite make sense.

"Alright, I'm going to shower. Want to grab dinner later tonight?"

She was starting at Velmora Media next week, and she wasn't about to waste her last bit of free time.

After setting a time with Chloe, Elena went to shower and planned to take a nap afterward.

When she came out of the bathroom, she saw more than a dozen missed calls on her phone.

Most of them were from Catherine. She didn't even need to guess.

They were all about Camille. There were also messages.

Elena didn't even open them. She deleted everything straight into the trash. She didn't expect even a hint of concern from Catherine anyway, and reading them would only ruin her mood.

There were also a few messages from Nathan.

All apologies.

Elena glanced at them briefly and wished she could toss both him and the messages into the trash together.

The most recent missed call was from Alexander.

She made herself a cup of herbal tea, stepped out onto the balcony, and called him back. "Mr. Kingsley."

There was a pause on the other end. Elena suddenly realized she had defaulted to that again.

"Sorry, force of habit."

This guy is really pushing it.

"There's a gala on Thursday, and I don't have a date. Are you free?"

Elena hesitated. "I start my new job next week, so I'm not sure about my schedule. If I'm free, I'll let you know ahead of time, okay?"

After all, he had helped her in a big way. Turning him down over something as simple as being his date would feel a bit cold.

"You'll be free."

Alexander's deep voice came through again.

A faint tingling sensation brushed her ear, and she instinctively touched her earlobe, not quite catching what he said. "What did you just say?"

"Nothing. I've got work to do. Talk later."

Before Elena could respond, he had already hung up.

Nathan drove Camille and Richard back to the Hart residence.

The moment they got out of the car, Catherine started going off, her tone sharp. "What exactly is this supposed to mean? You let Camille go through that kind of humiliation. It's been five years, and you still haven't secured those shares. Are you planning to keep her hidden forever?"

In her mind, there was only Camille, her adopted daughter. She had completely forgotten that her biological daughter had been deceived for five years.

Five years of sincerity and youth, wasted.

Nathan's expression turned icy. "So what are you suggesting? That I give up the Hawthorne shares? If the Hart family doesn't need the Hawthorne family anymore, and Camille doesn't need to be Mrs. Hawthorne, I can go tell my grandfather everything right now?"

That single sentence shut Catherine up instantly.

Over the years, Nathan had brought plenty of benefits to Hart Group. If things fell apart now and Charles took offense, with so many heirs in the family, there was no way Nathan would still inherit Hawthorne Group.