The Divorce That Brought Us Back novel Chapter 226

"What's wrong?" Maloney murmured, gently stroking the curve of her spine.

Nora didn't quite know how to articulate it. After turning it over in her head, she ended up talking about Yates.

"...He got scammed. The house is gone, and his money is tied up."

"He was in a horrible mood and went to Evergreen Wellness Center to harass Jasmine. When he couldn't find her, he went after Valery instead, but Nathan was there guarding her."

"As soon as Nathan saw him, he charged at him. But without his buddies backing him up, Nathan is totally useless in a fight. Yates kicked him so hard he broke one of his ribs."

"Now Mr. and Mrs. Smith are suing Yates, and on top of the real estate mess, he's facing two lawsuits at once."

It sounded like the perfect karmic retribution.

The Smiths and Yates were tearing each other apart, Nathan and Valery were living quietly, and Jasmine was finally free to focus on her career.

Wasn't this a good outcome?

Yet for some reason, Nora felt incredibly hollow.

Was she feeling that his punishment wasn't severe enough?

Maloney soothed her, "Don't worry. He's got another lawsuit waiting for him."

Nora rested her chin on his shoulder and asked softly, "What lawsuit?"

Maloney explained, "The project he invested the Smiths' money into is about to collapse. The capital won't be recovered, and he can't get the cash from the villa sale either. He's strapped for cash and will be forced to liquidate his remaining assets. Soon, he will have absolutely nothing left."

Nora blinked, stunned. "How can you be so sure?"

Maloney gave her a look, a flicker of genuine confusion in his eyes. He said flatly, "Because I was the one who orchestrated the trap."

Nora: "..."

Earlier, Maloney had mentioned he would take care of Yates.

But he had been completely silent about it, and no one else had brought it up.

Lately, Nathan had been strictly following Jasmine's orders, spending his days filming daily vlogs with Valery at the wellness center. Valery's condition was stable, Nathan was finally being productive, and the Smith parents had stopped blaming Jasmine.

Yates was publicly condemned, and Howard Quigley had physically forced him to apologize. It felt like justice had been served, and Jasmine didn't seem interested in seeking further revenge.

She just wanted to live her life in peace.

Moreover, ever since the scandal broke, Yates had been struck by an endless string of bad luck.

It genuinely felt like divine intervention.

But reality rarely handed out such poetic justice.

More often than not, the wicked thrived while the good suffered.

It took human hands to tip the scales.

Meeting Nora's shocked gaze, Maloney grew even more puzzled. "Didn't I tell you I was handling him?"

If he hadn't taken the reins, Nora probably would have dragged Felix into some half-baked scheme to ambush Yates with a burlap sack.

How could he not handle it?

"Uh..." Nora stammered. "Yeah..."

He had said that.

But...

Nora scrunched up her face. "But why didn't you say anything?"

She added, "You could've updated me on the progress or something."

"Progress?" Maloney's brow furrowed slightly. "You care about the progress?"

"Nora?" Maloney's eyes darkened, suspicion flashing in his gaze. He lowered his voice, testing the waters. "Did you think I wasn't going to help you?"

Nora squeaked, "No!"

Maloney: "..."

Nora: "..."

"I mean, you just hadn't mentioned it in so long, I thought maybe you forgot." She was digging herself into a deeper hole. "I thought maybe you were too busy..."

She trailed off.

Maloney dipped his head and bit her neck.

The pressure was a mix of punitive frustration and agonizingly careful tenderness.

His teeth grazed her soft, warm skin.

This was somehow worse than a spanking!

His hot breath spilled over her collarbone, sending involuntary tremors through her body. Reaching up, she grabbed the back of his head and babbled, "Maloney, I... I want to talk to you about something."

Maloney spared a single syllable between bites: "Speak."

"Well, um, since we jumped straight into marriage, we never really... dated. I... when Jasmine and Felix were giving off major chemistry today, I didn't even notice it... I, I was wondering, should we maybe try properly dating?"

Maloney froze instantly.

Jumped straight into marriage?

Never really dated?

Did she even hear the words coming out of her own mouth?