The Transactional Marriage That Imploded novel Chapter 24

Mathis had already gotten out of bed and grabbed her wrist. "Didn't I tell you to stay with me? You don't listen to a single word I say."

Bianca wrenched her arm free, her eyes cold as ice. "Call the cops if you want. I've suffered enough humiliation in this house for one night. If you really want to blow this up, I don't care if we both go down. Let's see what kind of media storm your precious childhood sweetheart and her illegitimate child will have to face. You want to ruin me? Fine, bring it on. You have a reputation to protect; I have nothing to lose. Trust me, Mathis, fighting me to the bitter end won't end well for anyone."

"Try me," Mathis challenged.

Bianca didn't bother responding. She grabbed her purse and walked out without a backward glance.

Getting a cab from the Jagger Estate was nearly impossible. She had to walk a considerable distance down the road before any ride-share app would pick her up. As she walked, she cursed Mathis in her head for being an absolute monster.

She hadn't made it far when the sky opened up, pouring freezing rain over her. Bianca felt completely cursed, chilled straight to the bone.

Suddenly, she heard a car engine pulling up. The window rolled down, revealing Simon Jennings—Mathis's childhood friend and a brilliant neurologist.

Surprise flashed across Simon's handsome face. "Bianca, what are you doing out here in the rain? Get in."

Simon was a true gentleman. They had kept in touch over the past three years because of Mathis's medical treatments.

Without hesitating, Bianca opened the door and slid into the passenger seat. She gave him the address to her apartment, making Simon pause. "You're not staying at the Begonia House?"

"I'm planning to divorce Mathis," Bianca replied calmly.

Simon noticed the nasty bruise on her forehead and couldn't help but ask, "Mathis wouldn't hit you, would he?"

Bianca's chest tightened. During the chaotic fight earlier, Mathis hadn't cared about her injury at all, yet his friend noticed it immediately.

It just proved how completely Mathis disregarded her. His little outburst earlier was nothing more than retaliation for her disobedience.

"Hadrian threw a bowl at me," Bianca answered.

Simon frowned. It wasn't his place to judge, but what kind of father-in-law physically attacked his daughter-in-law?

The Jagger family really was something else.

The next morning, when she turned it back on, there were over a dozen messages from Mathis, a stellar display of his sudden sense of "husbandly responsibility."

"Psycho," Bianca muttered.

Right below his texts was a notification that Cynthia Quinn had unsent a message.

It looked like Mathis had gone straight to Cynthia's side last night. Too bad she was throwing herself at a man who clearly didn't respect her.

Bianca couldn't resist firing back a text: [What did you send last night? My phone was off. Send it again.]

Cynthia didn't reply. Bianca scoffed at how pathetic it was and headed to the hospital.

After the examination, the doctor's expression was grave.

"Tell it to me straight," Bianca said. "I'm prepared for whatever it is."