The Transactional Marriage That Imploded novel Chapter 144

She had no idea what he was trying to achieve.

"Will you sing Happy Birthday to me?" he asked.

"Fine!"

It was just going through the motions. Bianca played along with his little performance, desperate to just get it over with and leave.

But Mathis could clearly hear how utterly detached she sounded while singing. He frowned. "Do you have to be so half-hearted about it?"

"What, should I wrap my arms around you and belt it out?" she retorted. "You're a man with a soulmate. A deeply devoted one, at that.

I know my place. It'd be a real sin on my part if I ruined your unbreakable bond."

Mathis silently made a wish and blew out the candles.

Bianca forced herself to sit patiently and eat a single slice of cake, but he still showed no signs of wanting to leave.

Finally losing her patience, she asked, "Mr. Jagger, may I go now? I want to go home and sleep."

"Alright, I'll take you back. I already had Zane drive your car home, so you won't need to get a cab to work tomorrow. Your belly is getting bigger, and it's going to be hard to drive soon. Do you need me to hire a chauffeur for you?"

Mathis's attentive behavior would make anyone on the outside believe he was a perfectly doting husband!

"I'm already looking into it," Bianca declined flatly. "No need to trouble yourself, Mr. Jagger."

She actually had no intention of hiring a driver. When driving became too difficult, she would just take a cab until she had given birth and finished her postpartum recovery.

The car ride back to the villa was completely silent. Thankfully, he didn't make any further demands.

"Yeah, even if he did go see her, it doesn't mean anything. He never did anything like this for her. He even bought out her patent credits. My place in his heart is entirely different."

"That's exactly how you need to look at it. Mathis plans to take Aeterna public on the Harbor City Stock Exchange by March. You'll be the one ringing the opening bell, and you'll be the star of the show.

I expect he'll marry you by then, since he still has to get past old Mr. Jagger. Don't throw temper tantrums with him. Men need women to provide emotional support. You need to treat him well."

"I will!"

After hanging up, Cynthia posted on her social media: *My Mr. Jagger's birthday is today. He looks so handsome in the custom suit I got for him.*

Below it, she attached a photo of Mathis wearing the expensive suit she bought, his sharp, tailored shoulders and flawless face making netizens swoon over how well Cynthia was being treated.

Xanthe saw it and was absolutely livid. She took a screenshot and threw it into their group chat, asking: [Is this what Mathis was wearing tonight?]