Chapter 143
Sharon ended the call and gave Vincent's arm a firm yank as he sat next to her. "Did you even hear a single thing I said?"
Vincent's brow was furrowed, his jaw set tight. "I'm going ahead with the divorce, Grandma. You don't have to get involved."
Sharon shot him a look, clearly annoyed. "If you don't want to lose Hannah, you'd better listen to me.Otherwise, I'll call her myself and tell her you're suddenly feeling just fine and ready to get those divorce papers signed."
"Hannah and I are filing for a divorce," he remarked,his tone cold.
Pressing a hand to her chest for dramatic effect,Sharon commented, "You infuriating rascal! If you don't want me to faint out of distress, get your butt upstairs." She ushered him toward the staircase. "Imean it-do what I say this time. Pretend you're not well. Hannah's probably on her way. It'll just be the two of you in the house, so don't waste this opportunity."
With a sigh, Vincent gave a reluctant "okay" and slowly made his way upstairs.
Sharon watched him go, a heavy sigh slipping out.Without her help, the chances of him winning Hannah back were slim.
Up in his second-floor bedroom, Vincent undid three buttons on his shirt and rolled the sleeves to his forearms. He found himself struggling for words to speak with Hannah later on.
Stretching out on his bed, he stared up at the ceiling,his mind blank.
Nearly twenty minutes crawled by before footsteps echoed up the stairs.
The door creaked open with a soft click.
"Vincent,are you alright?" To his surprise, it wasn't Hannah who walked in.Brinley stood there instead.
Vincent shot upright on the bed, his eyebrows knitting together. "Why are you here?"
A note of annoyance crept into his words, though he hardly noticed it himself.
Brinley caught the tone and tried to hide her discomfort with a forced smile. "Vincent, were you expecting someone else?"
Without meeting her eyes, Vincent replied curtly, "No one." He marched over to the window and yanked the curtains wide open. "Why do you come to my room?"
A look of concern flickered across Brinley's face. "I heard you weren't feeling well, so I came to check on you. Are you still burning up?"
She reached out to touch his forehead, but Vincent dodged quickly, making his way over to the vanity."I'm fine," he said,brushing her off. Reluctantly, Brinley let her hand fall to her side. "Glad to hear you're okay."
For a few moments, the silence grew heavy between them.
Brinley tried to play it cool. "So, what's the plan after you and Hannah finalize the divorce?"
"No plans," Vincent said, his expression darkening."If you've got nothing else, I'd like to rest."
Brinley wasn't ready to give up. "Actually, there's something else. VitraMind's holding a bidding event in a few days, and it's Polaris Tech's first time in the ring. I'm kinda nervous. Could you come with me?"
"Just send all the details to Derek," Vincent replied as he turned away from her, making it clear the conversation was over.
Understanding she'd outstayed her welcome, Brinley offered a brief goodbye and quietly left the room.
Once the door shut behind her, anger twisted her features. Hannah had tricked her once again! Vincent's eyes had flickered with disappointment the moment he saw her. He seemed to be waiting for someone, and most likely, it was Hannah whom he wanted. Doubts crept in-maybe Vincent was second-guessing the divorce.
Brinley refused to let that happen. Without wasting time, she pulled out her phone and called the investigator she'd previously hired to dig up dirt on Hannah.
The first thing Brinley asked for was the phone numbers of Hannah's parents. Giving this divorce a push was her goal, even if it meant stooping low.
Using an anonymous number, Brinley fired off a storm of nasty messages to Hannah's parents, each one full of spiteful insults aimed at Hannah.
Elsewhere, Raymond and Margaret were enjoying a walk through their quiet hometown when their phones suddenly lit up with notifications.
As they read the texts, their anger boiled over. Every message was a cruel attack on Hannah."Hannah's so shameless. She's cheating and still won't let go of Mr. Jones."
"What a disgrace HHannah is. How did you end up raising such a disgraceful daughter?"
Raymond and Margaret had lived through this kind of drama before. Last time, they'd fallen for misleading claims and doubted Hannah. This time, they chose to trust their daughter and tried calling her right away.
When every call went to voicemail, Raymond and Margaret made up their minds right there. They would head straight to Dorbarrow. Hannah was supposed to be in the middle of a divorce from Vincent. What had prompted such insults?