What She Overheard in Her Own Marriage novel Chapter 363

Kaia's voice wasn't loud, but it left absolutely no room for negotiation.

Slowly, Finnian's hands fell away.

Kaia walked away without a backward glance.

Finnian stood rooted to the spot, the overhead lights casting harsh, flickering shadows across his face.

The moment Kaia stepped back into her room, Celine rushed over. "You were out there for a while. What did you guys talk about?"

Kaia collapsed onto the sofa, massaging her throbbing temples. "He doesn't want a divorce."

"Who is he to refuse? He's the one who screwed up! He's the one with no shame! If he were half a man, he'd sign the papers and give you your freedom back." Celine looked ready to commit a felony just hearing about it.

Men were always the primary beneficiaries of marriage—creatures praised since childhood for the bare minimum. Did they really expect women to just cater to their whims forever?

"He's probably factored in everything. A divorce would be a PR nightmare for him and the Sanders family, so he's calculating the cost-benefit ratio," Kaia said, seeing right through Finnian's sudden reluctance. Men always operated with ruthless pragmatism when their own interests were at stake, whereas women were expected to make emotional sacrifices.

"Don't let him get away with it. Play hardball. And do not walk away with nothing just to prove a point. Take everything you're owed. He has more than enough millions to spare for his little circus," Celine said fiercely, her heart breaking for her friend.

Kaia nodded. "I know. I'm not backing down. This divorce is happening."

"I'm just shocked someone like Finnian actually swallowed his pride and apologized." Celine had always pegged him as too arrogant to ever admit fault.

"He mentioned he was going to set Noelle up with Julian. But seriously, why would an incredibly successful, eligible bachelor like Julian want a widow with that kind of baggage?" Kaia scoffed, finding the idea utterly absurd.

"Well, either the guy is madly in love with her, he's blinded by her looks, or he's using her to tap into the Sanders family's resources. Never assume a man's motives are purely noble. They don't do anything unless there's a payoff. That's why they say a man marries the most optimal choice he can secure. We need to start thinking like men, instead of getting hung up on fairy tales." Celine had officially entered her jaded dating-expert era, her outlook growing more ruthlessly realistic by the day.

It was 9:00 PM, and Noelle was still sitting alone in her office.

The room was unlit, illuminated only by the glow of the city skyline through the glass, casting her in shadows.

She had been sitting there for hours. Dexter was handling the conglomerate's affairs in Finnian's absence, but Finnian himself had practically vanished. No one seemed to know where he was.

Noelle had pressed Dexter for answers, but he had dodged the question.

She had even called Elaine, who was equally clueless, assuming he was on a business trip.

But Noelle knew exactly where he was. He had gone after Kaia. Maybe he missed his daughter, or maybe... he was using his time off to salvage his marriage.

Exhaustion sank into her bones. Ever since Rafael passed away from his heart attack, Noelle felt like she had been stripped of her safety net. She spent her days consumed by anxiety over the future, desperately searching for a powerful man to anchor herself to.