The Transactional Marriage That Imploded novel Chapter 161

Bianca thought he was completely out of his mind. "No," she refused coldly.

A bitter ache spread through his chest. "So my love means absolutely nothing to you."

Bianca glared at him, finding him utterly ridiculous.

"You keep saying you love me," she snapped, unable to hold back anymore, "but for the first three years of our marriage, you never laid a finger on me."

He hadn't even let her sleep in the master bedroom until he was fully recovered.

Mathis's eyes reddened. "Back then, I didn't know how much time I had left. If you were sleeping next to me, I wouldn't have been able to control myself.

If our bond grew too deep, how would you have survived after I died?

I only dared to be with you after Simon declared me completely cancer-free.

Bianca... I've been standing in the dark for so long. I just wanted you to step into the shadows and face it with me.

I was selfish. When I thought my days were numbered, I just wanted you by my side.

And I made you stay home as a housewife because I know exactly how captivating you are. The moment you stepped out to work, countless men would be lusting after you. I couldn't handle that."

Hearing the confession he was three years too late to make, Bianca felt a brief flutter in her chest, but it quickly flatlined.

She didn't believe a word of it.

Nothing but lies ever came out of Mathis's mouth.

Pulling off the best acting performance of her life, she said, "Fine. I believe you. Now can you please stop torturing me? Go sleep in the guest room. I can't sleep with you here."

Mathis's breathing grew heavy. "So, even knowing I've loved you for ten years, you still refuse to give us another chance?"

Her voice turned to ice. "I refuse. I'm not going to swallow the bitter pill of your infidelity. If a man can't be devoted to me and only me, why would I want him?"

Mathis answered her unsolvable grievance with silence, yet he stubbornly wrapped his arms around her, insisting on holding her as they slept.

Fuming, Bianca tried to comfort herself by pretending she was just being humped by a dog.

"Didn't you agree to sign the divorce papers?" she asked, clinging to her last shred of patience. "Why did you suddenly back out?

By five in the morning, Bianca crawled out of his arms.

If she stayed near him any longer, she was afraid she wouldn't be able to stop herself from going to the kitchen for a knife to stab him.

When Mabel got up and saw Bianca sitting in the study looking exhausted while writing code, she asked, "Did he stay the night?"

"Yeah."

Mabel frowned. "Do you still have feelings for him?"

Bianca was tying a silk scarf around her neck, a weak cover-up that Mabel saw right through.

Bianca shook her head. "No. He's using that woman's injury to blackmail me. Every time I run into the two of them, it's just pure bad luck. Next time he comes over, don't open the door. He never does anything decent."

"Alright."

Despite her exhaustion, Bianca had no desire to spend her holidays dealing with Mathis. "Grandma," she suggested, "let's go to Tidehaven for the New Year's holiday! I heard from Milo that the food there is amazing.