What She Overheard in Her Own Marriage novel Chapter 416

"Finnian..." Noelle turned from the sofa at the sound of his steady footsteps. She stood up slowly, her tear-streaked eyes still glistening with vulnerability.

Finnian looked at her and gave a stiff nod. "Get some rest."

"I'm sorry..." Noelle took two frantic steps toward him. She reached out, only to pull her hand back tightly against her chest. She whispered, "I'm so sorry."

Finnian paused and looked back at her. "Noelle, there's no need to apologize. There's nothing to be sorry for between us."

Noelle froze, her gaze turning vacant as she stared into his eyes. "Was... was giving Aethelstan to me really Rafael's idea?"

Finnian nodded, his voice dropping to a somber timber. "Yes. I don't know why he said those things to me back then. Maybe he had already found out about his illness and kept it hidden from all of us. Thinking back on it now, when he pulled me aside that day, he must have known what was coming."

A look of absolute devastation washed over Noelle, and she began to tremble weakly. "So that's how it was. Rafael arranged everything so perfectly for me, yet as his wife, I never even noticed his health was failing. It's all my fault... If only I had paid more attention."

"There's no point in dwelling on that now," Finnian replied, his face an unreadable mask. "He's gone. The only thing you need to focus on is safely delivering his children. Don't let him leave this world with regrets."

It was as if Noelle's outstretched emotional lifelines had been severed with a single, brutal slice. A violent chill wracked her body, and she slowly sank back onto the sofa. If his previous actions had offered her a sliver of hope, listening to his conversation with Josephine upstairs had utterly annihilated it.

Noelle looked up at him with fragile desperation, silently begging for just a few words of genuine comfort or affection.

"I'm heading home. Stay here at the estate," Finnian said flatly, turning on his heel and walking out of the grand hall.

Left alone, a suffocating weight pressed down on Noelle's chest.

Throughout their seven-year marriage, Kaia had been like a quiet, nourishing rain, seamlessly weaving herself into every intricate detail of his life. While the conglomerate demanded his endless attention, he had comfortably placed her within the confines of their marriage, watching her evolve from a young woman into a mother. She was Mrs. Sanders, yet... she had never really felt like Mrs. Sanders, because he had never intentionally carved out a space for her in his heart.

He knew it wasn't because Kaia wasn't incredible enough. It was simply that... he had grown so used to her managing their home perfectly that he had forgotten to appreciate her brilliance. He had merely enjoyed the effortless comfort of their marriage.

He remembered a day when he had seen Kaia write in one of her books. She had written that the marriage she desired was one where they acknowledged each other's presence, understood each other's needs, truly saw one another, and offered mutual respect.

At the time, he had brushed it off as sentimental nonsense. Looking back now, he realized that was the ideal partnership she had been waiting for all along.

Finnian closed his eyes against the glaring afternoon light. Finally, he picked up his phone and typed a message to Kaia.

It was only two short sentences: "I'll sign. Let's get a divorce."