Chapter 87

Angela POV

When I woke up the next morning, Sean wasn't home. Remembering we still hadn't set a time to handle the divorce paperwork, I called him.

"Angela." He sounded distant already. "I'm heading into the quarterly board meeting."

I forced my voice to remain steady. "We need to talk about the divorce proceedings. Now that Elizabeth's surgery was successful-"

"I can't discuss this right now." I heard papers shuffling in the background. "The board is waiting."

"Sean-"

The line went dead.

His attitude felt strange to me. Was he trying to avoid the divorce? But why would he do that?

After breakfast, despite the lingering pain in my right leg where Jennifer had kicked me, I decided to visit Elizabeth.

She sat propped against plush pillows, her silver hair perfectly coiffed despite her recent surgery. The sight of her made my heart squeeze with affection.

"Angela, darling." Her face lit up as I entered. "I was hoping you'd come by."

I moved to adjust her pillows, relief washing over me at the healthy color in her cheeks. "How are you feeling?"

"Much better, thanks to you." She caught my hand, her grip surprisingly strong. "The doctors say everything went perfectly. Though I must say, I'm surprised Sean isn't with you today."

I managed what I hoped was a convincing smile. "He's caught up in board meetings."

"Meetings?" Her eyes narrowed slightly in that way that always made me feel transparent. "That boy... he works too hard sometimes. Victoria was just saying the same thing yesterday."

Before I could respond, Dr. Carter appeared in the doorway with news of Elizabeth's remarkable recovery.

As I watched her beam at the prospect of returning home soon, I felt my throat tighten. How many more times would I be able to care for her like this?

Evening found me back at the penthouse, the city lights beginning to twinkle to life outside the windows.

Michael stood in the foyer, his usually perfect posture slightly stiff as he delivered Sean's message.

"Mrs. Shaw." He cleared his throat uncomfortably. "Mr. Shaw asked me to inform you that he won't be home tonight. There are some urgent matters at the office that require his attention."

From her spot by the window, Victoria looked up sharply. "Work? Is it really so busy that he needs to hide in his office all day and work late into the night?"

"The merger season is particularly intense right now, Mrs. Shaw," Michael replied smoothly, though I caught the slight hesitation in his voice. "Mr. Shaw is personally overseeing several critical deals."

Victoria's tone dripped with sarcasm. "Of course he is."

She turned to me, her eyes softening with concern. "Darling, you shouldn't let him get away with this behavior. A wife has certain rights, you know."

I thought Victoria must have misunderstood. She probably assumed Sean was meeting with Christina. But I didn't know how to explain to Victoria that Sean was actually avoiding the divorce discussion with me.

In the middle of the night, as I was drifting off to sleep, I felt a weight press down and something brush against my face. When I opened my eyes, I caught Sean's lips quickly sweeping across my cheek.

Sean jerked back immediately. "I... I was just checking if you were covered properly," he stammered, uncertainty coloring his voice. "The nights are getting colder."

Before I could respond, Sean walked into the bathroom.

I touched my lips, feeling them warm and moist with the scent of whiskey lingering.

So he wasn't really checking my blanket-he was kissing me?!

This realization shocked and confused me. Why would he suddenly kiss me?

But I couldn't ask him now. I was too tired and didn't want to start another argument in the middle of the night. I pulled the blanket tighter around me, deciding to pretend nothing had happened.

As the steady sound of running water echoed from the bathroom, I drifted back to sleep.

The next morning when I woke up, he was still not home. Was he avoiding me again? I decided to go to his office to find him. But when I arrived, there was no sign of him there either.

Emily appeared in the doorway.

"He's been in meetings since dawn," Emily offered, holding out a stack of quarterly reports. "But he left these for you to sign."

I gestured for Emily to place the files on the desk. After she left, I picked up my phone and dialed Sean's number.

"Where are you?"

"About to enter another meeting." His voice sounded distant, distracted.

"Stop hiding behind work, Sean." I fought to keep my voice steady, though anger threatened to break through. "We need to discuss the divorce. You're the one who wanted this, remember?"

A long pause followed, filled only by the sound of his breathing. After a long pause, he finally spoke,

"I don't want a divorce anymore!"

"What do you mean you don't want a divorce?" I gripped the phone tighter, my knuckles turning white. "You were the one who-"

"I just don't, okay?" His voice held a note of frustration I rarely heard.

"Sean, you can't just-"

"Look, I need to think things through," he cut in, his words coming out in a rush. "I have to go. The board is waiting."

"Sean, wait-"

But the line had already gone dead.

I lowered my phone slowly, still trying to process Sean's words. Before I could make sense of it all, movement at the doorway caught my attention. Christina stood there, her red hair catching the morning light like flames. My stomach clenched at the sight of her.

Christina's eyes widened slightly when she saw me. "What are you doing here? Where's Sean?"

I looked at her, thinking about my kidnapping two days ago-most likely orchestrated by her. I let out a cold laugh.

"Did you hit your head too hard or something? I'm Sean's secretary. What's so strange about me being in his office? As for you, those wounds haven't healed yet. You might want to stay home-running around will only make the scars worse."

At the mention of scars, Christina's hand instinctively went to the bandage on her forehead.

A flash of panic crossed her eyes, quickly replaced by anger. Her face darkened as she spat out,

"Angela, when are you finally going to divorce Sean? How much longer are you planning to keep him trapped?"