The Transactional Marriage That Imploded novel Chapter 326

Mathis smiled bitterly. "If I had dragged Stellaride down with me, Bianca would have hated me even more."

Timothy Wyndham shot a gossipy glance at Bianca, but she remained completely expressionless.

He remembered seeing Mathis and Cynthia doing a linked-arms toast. When it came to acting, Mathis was truly unrivaled.

It made perfect sense why Bianca was so furious with him.

At this point, Bianca no longer cared whether she held any weight in Mathis's heart. All of that belonged in the past.

She said calmly, "You do deserve our thanks for this, Mr. Jagger. Allow me to offer a toast!"

Mathis tried to stop her from drinking. "You still have to drive me back later. I don't like using a designated driver."

He wanted to enjoy a private moment with her in the car, but Bianca wasn't going to give him the satisfaction.

Ignoring him entirely, she downed the glass in one go.

Mathis opened his mouth to speak but stopped himself. It seemed like no matter how he explained things, she just wouldn't listen.

Or perhaps she heard him, but she simply didn't care.

It pained him, but he didn't press her any further. Rather than obsessing over the past, it was better to focus on planning their future.

He absolutely refused to allow a future without her in it.

The conversation then shifted back to Aeterna's aftermath. Mathis explained that the courts wouldn't immediately liquidate Aeterna. Instead, independent regulators would be appointed to step in.

All the illegal funds that had flowed in and out would be seized, and the massive fines would be deducted from the assets of Neville Quinn and the underground laundering syndicate, without forcibly draining Aeterna's legitimate operating capital.

Cillian asked Mathis, "Are you going to take over Aeterna afterward?"

He had no intention of buying the shares at auction, purging the board of directors, rebuilding internal controls, and stripping out all the illicit overseas channels.

Aeterna was now mortally wounded. Furthermore, its rapid early growth had relied entirely on Mathis bleeding Dawnstar to keep it afloat. It simply wasn't worth the effort to run anymore.

More importantly, that company was a thorn lodged permanently between him and Bianca. Whether it lived or died from here on out was none of his concern.

Mathis replied, "I'm staying out of it. I've already spoken with the authorities. When the dust settles, I'll help Bianca get AuraByte Technologies back. After all, it was her father's life's work."

At the mention of her father, Bianca's facade finally cracked. This time, she raised her glass to Mathis with genuine sincerity. "Thank you!"

He downed his drink in one shot. "You're my wife; it's what I should do. If I hadn't involved myself in the Quinn family's mess, our situation would be completely different right now."

They wouldn't have had all those misunderstandings and hurt. Their wedding would have gone ahead exactly as planned.

But Bianca felt they wouldn't have lasted anyway. At the very least, their values fundamentally clashed. The old Mathis would never have allowed her to work.

He only wanted to lock her away for himself. She might have endured it for three years for her mother's sake, but she didn't have the mental fortitude to endure it for a lifetime.

They would have parted ways eventually.

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify