Too Late for Sorry, Mr. Billionaire (Chasing my Wife Back) novel Chapter 42

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SHANTEL’S small living room had become a storm center. Her phone lay on the coffee table, the screen lighting up with Charles’s social media posts, yet she hadn’t even touched it in the last five minutes. Instead, she sat cross-legged on the couch, her back hunched, her fingers running through her hair as she hissed for the umpteenth time. The sound was sharp, almost cat-like, as though it could slice through the thick tension that filled the room. She threw her arms over her face, then ripped them down again, her eyes glued to the phone.

“Ughhh!” she hissed, slamming the phone back on the couch. She leaned forward, muttering under her breath. “Why isn’t he answering? Why? Why?”

Her younger sister, Tiana, who had been perched on the arm of the couch with her legs tucked underneath her, finally looked up. She raised one brow, giving Shantel a sidelong glance.

“Don’t tell me Charles is really making you act this way, sis?” she asked, trying to keep her voice calm despite the amused smirk threatening to break through.

Shantel whipped around to look at her, eyes wide, lips pursed. “What do you mean, making me act this way? Of course he is! He knows he is my Charles, and he is ignoring me! Ignoring me, Tia! How dare he?” She sprang up, pacing back and forth, kicking at the carpet with her heels. “I have been nothing but patient. I have waited, I have begged, I have—” she paused, snatching the phone up again, “I have done everything, and he still… he still—”

“Still what?” Tiana asked, tilting her head.

“Still doesn’t call! Doesn’t answer! Doesn’t acknowledge me!” Shantel hissed, throwing her arms up in exasperation. She sank back down onto the couch, hair falling into her face. “I can’t believe this. After all these years, after everything, he has the audacity to move on, or act like he has, without me!”

Tiana let out a low whistle and leaned back.

“Slow down, sis. You are going to give yourself a stroke. Talk to me. What is it really that is going on?”

Shantel glanced at her, her eyes wild, darting between her sister and the phone.

“Tia… he is living it up. He is rich now, Tia. He has money. He is finally making it. And I— I want in. I want him back. I want him to know that I’m the one he should have had all along. I want—” she paused, pinching the bridge of her nose, “I want him to realize what he has lost.”

Tiana blinked, her lips pressing together to hold back a laugh.

“Wait. Slow down. You are telling me you want him back… because he has money now? How are you even sure he is rich?”

Shantel rolled her eyes and threw her head back.

“Are you kidding me? Tia, I see it! I see his posts on I*******m! The pictures with his friends at fancy places, the dinners, the trips, he even posts him clearing bills sometimes!” She hissed again, pacing the room. “Do you know what that feels like? Knowing that he is living well, and I’m not the one there enjoying it?”

Her sister laughed, more at disbelief than amusement.

“Hold on… how do you know he is really clearing bills on some nights? Are you spying on him?”

Shantel’s eyes narrowed.

“No! Julian told me that! He knows things. He told me everything. Charles isn’t broke anymore. He has made it. He has money. He is independent. And he should be mine!” She clutched the phone in both hands, almost hugging it.

Tiana leaned forward, her tone softening.

“And what about his fiancée? I mean he is engaged, right?”

Shantel waved her hand dismissively, lips curling into a disgusted smile.

“Oh please… That old hag? A divorcee with three kids? Come on, Tia. Please spare me that. He doesn’t know what he is doing. By the time I’m done opening his eyes, he will realize who the real woman for him is. Me. It’s me, Tia. Not her. Not that… that woman.”

Tiana shook her head, eyes wide.

“Shantel… listen to me. I’m just trying to be real here. Don’t you think you should consider… I don’t know… that he is engaged? You see his posts, right? The proposal, the ring, the whole thing?”