Chapter 56: Hypocritical

Jeremiah looked exhausted, clearly having been scolded by his family. He was stubborn and always sided with Elsa. Now, he was reaping what he sowed. He clenched his teeth, tugged at his tie, and tried to suppress his anger. “I’m here today with sincere intentions to talk,” he said. “As long as you stop bringing up the divorce, I’ll agree to any conditions you make.”

I found it laughable. “Jeremiah, what’s your promise worth to me? All I want is a divorce. If you can’t even agree to that, how can you talk about sincerity?”

His face turned pale with rage, and he clenched his fist. “Must you make this so difficult? After all these years of marriage, I can’t believe you don’t have a single ounce of affection for me!”

Hah. I had never met someone so narcissistic. What gave him the nerve to think I would still love him after being betrayed?

“Don’t worry,” I said. “If you keep refusing the divorce, I’ll take it to court. If you want to avoid embarrassment, you might as well sign the papers quickly. When things get messy, it won’t just be you—the entire Cornell family will look bad!”

His attitude seemed to soften slightly, though his expression remained dark. “I know you’re still angry about what happened with Elsa, but is it worth giving up all our years together over such a small matter? If you have grievances, I can try to make amends. I’ll agree to whatever you want. Why drag our families’ cooperation into this?”

I couldn’t believe he still had the gall to play the emotional card. I took a deep breath, stood up, grabbed the lawsuit papers, and slammed them onto Jeremiah’s face. “I have no feelings for you now. In fact, I wish you’d just drop dead. So, please stop being delusional. Just sign the divorce papers, or I won’t hesitate to let the world know who you really are!”

Jeremiah stared at the papers, stunned. His eyes widened. “What? You… you really want a divorce? Jane, are you out of your mind? Is it because of Eric? What’s so special about him? We’ve been together since college, and now you’re willing to throw away our marriage for him? I’m warning you, if this divorce happens, I won’t take you back no matter how much you beg me later!”

Who cared if he didn’t take me back? I took a slow sip of my water. “You don’t get to control who I like. There’s no more affection between us, and who I’m with is none of your business! You care so much about Elsa, don’t you? If we don’t divorce, how is she going to be your legal wife?”

He stood up angrily and laughed through his fury. “Our issues have nothing to do with Elsa. Why are you insulting her like that? I see it clearly now—you’re the one who has jumped from me to Eric. The only reason you’re so desperate for a divorce is to quickly marry him! Do you think he’s serious with you? He’ll get bored after some time and dump you.”

I looked at him indifferently. “So what? What gives you the right to criticize me, to judge me? You’ve been all over Elsa, and now you’re accusing me of being promiscuous? Isn’t that a little hypocritical?”