Chapter 7

Shane's whole body went rigid, his eyes locking onto the scattered divorce papers on the floor. When he bent down to pick them up, his fingertips felt cold. Even his breathing turned uneven. "What is this?" He was just about to flip the first page when his phone erupted loudly. Shane always used the default ringtone, but this time it blasted a playful cartoon theme song. Gianna was immediately reminded of the keychain hanging from Stella's purse, realizing it was the same cartoon character. So, she knew exactly who was calling. Whatever Stella said on the other end drained the color from Shane's face in seconds. He stacked the loose sheets together in a rush, not even bothering to glance at what was written on them, and headed for the door. He only left her with one sentence. "Gianna, don't use divorce to throw a tantrum." Gianna almost laughed at how ridiculous it was. If he had just looked, even once, he would've seen that the divorce papers were already signed by both of them. She calmly stacked the papers, locked them in the cabinet, and exhaled. The end of the waiting period was getting closer. She was almost there. Soon, she would finally be free of Shane and everything tied to him. Over the next few days, Shane barely came home, but he started sending her gifts nonstop. Sometimes it was limited-edition designer items. Sometimes it was the sports car she had once admired but couldn't bring herself to buy. He even sent her three different luxury houses in a row. After drafting a five-percent share transfer agreement, even gossip pages online were buzzing. "Is Mrs. Kurt pregnant or something? Shane's spoiling her like crazy." Gianna tore the share transfer agreement into pieces. She circled the last day of the divorce waiting period on her calendar. Gianna heard that that day was also Stella's engagement day, which explained why Shane hadn't been coming home lately. He had been helping Stella choose her wedding dress and pick out rings almost like he was the one marrying her. By early evening, Shane finally came home. His steps were unusually fast, his expression tight. The man who was always calm and collected looked sharp enough to cut. Gianna was eating dinner when he grabbed her wrist so hard that pain shot straight up her arm. "What are you doing? Let go of me—" She tried to yank free, but the moment she met Shane's furious stare, she froze. "Was it you?" Shane demanded. "Gianna! Ever since Stella came back, you've been sulking, acting out, and picking fights with her. You're her sister-in-law. Can't you treat her a little better?" Gianna looked at him and suddenly laughed. It was the first time Shane had ever spoken so many words to her at once. He had said so many words that she couldn't even count them. But of course, it was all for Stella again. "You're still laughing?" Shane's eyes darkened. "Do you even realize Stella is in holding right now? She's been pampered her whole life. How is she supposed to survive something like that?" Gianna stayed unusually calm. "Shane, believe it or not, but I didn't do anything." "She was arrested for theft." Shane took a deep breath. "If it wasn't you, then who else could it be?"