Filed to story: Quinn Lane and Julian Sterling Book PDF Free
“If you had tried harder and become someone more impressive, if you had made Chase fall in love with you, then when something like that happened he wouldn’t have handed you over without hesitation.”
“Fine,” Quinn said. “Then I admit it. I’m not impressive at all. Didn’t he used to like you? Since you think he’s so wonderful, once I divorce him, why don’t the two of you just get together?”
“What nonsense are you talking about?” Rosalie snapped angrily. “What would people say if they heard that? Even if I liked him, I would never steal my own sister’s husband. That’s exactly why I left the country back then!”
Quinn smiled faintly and said nothing more. She ended the call.
Rosalie tried calling again, but Quinn did not answer.
Furious, Rosalie dialed Chase instead.
“No matter what happens, you cannot get divorced,” she said firmly.
Chase replied, “Rosalie, I think you’re right. A divorce would involve a lot of complicated issues, especially the effect it could have on the company’s stock price. The board would definitely have a problem with it.”
“Exactly,” Rosalie said. “Go apologize to Quinn and ask her to forgive you. She does have a lot of flaws, and after what happened to her… well, you know. But she’s always loved you. Just show her a little kindness. Even if it’s out of pity, give her some affection so the two of you can get through this situation first.”
Chase said, “Alright, I understand. But Rosalie, you have to remember something. The only person in my heart is you. Even if I’m nice to her, it’s only because of you.”
Rosalie enjoyed the attention, yet still spoke in a gentle, pretentious tone.
“Chase, please don’t say things like that. We’re destined not to be together. Just think of it as me letting you down. If there’s a next life… maybe I can make it up to you then.”
She sniffed softly as she spoke.
Hearing that, Chase immediately felt his heart ache. “Rosalie, don’t say that. You never did anything wrong. I’m the one who failed you. Don’t cry. I’ll do whatever you say!”
Quinn returned to Lucy’s apartment.
Not long after she arrived, someone knocked on the door.
She knew it wasn’t Lucy, because Lucy had already called earlier to say she would not be back until tomorrow.
Quinn did not open the door. Instead, she walked over and asked through it, “Who is it?”
Chase’s voice came from outside. “Quinn, it’s me. Open the door.”
Only then did she unlock it. The moment the door opened, the first thing she saw was a bouquet of bright red roses.
Chase stood there holding the flowers, smiling. “Quinn, these are for you.”
Quinn did not move. Leaning lightly against the doorframe, she looked at him.
“Why are you here? Do you need something?”
Chase extended the bouquet toward her. “They’re for you. Aren’t you going to take them?”
In his mind, he had already done more than enough. He had come personally and even bought flowers.
Surely Quinn would be overwhelmed with gratitude.
Chase said, “I know I haven’t paid enough attention to you before. But don’t worry, that’s going to change. I’m going to treat you right from now on. You like flowers, right? I’ll bring you flowers all the time.”
“Thanks, but I don’t need them,” Quinn replied in a cool, distant voice. “Whether it’s your kindness or your flowers, I don’t want either. Let me say this one more time. When I said I want a divorce, I was not joking.”
“You think divorce is that simple?” Chase snapped, suddenly irritated. “A stable marriage is good for the company. If word gets out that we’re divorcing, the stock price could start swinging all over the place. Our competitors will jump on the opportunity and start making moves. Can you handle the fallout from something like that?”
Quinn thought for a moment and said, “We can keep the divorce confidential. If you don’t want anyone to know, I’ll cooperate.”
“You think this is something we can keep secret?” Chase scoffed. “Things like this never stay hidden.”
Quinn said, “Do you really think this kind of marriage is worth keeping? Chase, you literally sent me to another man’s bed, and you still expect me to stay married to you?”
“I already told you, I didn’t have a choice!” Chase shot back. “Why do you keep bringing that up?”
“You destroyed me,” Quinn said coldly. “I barely made it through that, and now you think saying sorry is enough to make everything okay?”
Chase stared at her impatiently. “So what exactly do you want?”
“I want a divorce,” Quinn said. “If you won’t agree, fine. Then I’ll just go public with the whole thing. Let’s see what hurts your company more, a divorce affecting your stock price, or people finding out you’re a disgusting excuse for a husband with zero moral compass!”
“Are you out of your mind?”
Chase was so furious he nearly threw the bouquet in his hand across the room.
“Forget how this affects me,” he snapped. “Don’t you have any sense of shame? If you tell people about this, how are you supposed to live with that afterward? Everyone will talk about you behind your back. They’ll all know another man slept with you…”
“And whose fault is that?” Quinn looked at him with icy calm. “My conscience is clean. If people want to judge, that’s on them. It’s not my wrongdoing. If leaving you means paying a price, then fine. I’ll pay it.”
“You!” Chase took a deep breath, trying hard to keep his temper under control. “Don’t do anything reckless. This absolutely cannot get out!”
Quinn let out a short laugh.
Chase forced himself to stay patient. “Quinn, when you married me, you must have wanted a real life together, right? So let’s do that. From now on we’ll be a loving couple. I promise I’ll treat you well. I won’t let you down.”
“Then I guess I’m the one letting you down,” Quinn replied. “Because I can’t accept you anymore. This marriage is ending. That part is nonnegotiable. The only choice you have is whether we handle it quietly and file the paperwork together, or let the entire world find out first and then file the paperwork.”
“Why are you being so stubborn?” Chase said. “If you divorce me, your reputation will be ruined too. What good does that do you?”
“As long as I can get away from you, I don’t care about the rest,” Quinn said, looking at him and realizing once again how blind she had been before.
“Then what do you want from me?” Chase asked irritably. “Fine. Name your terms. As long as they’re not ridiculous, I’ll agree. Does that work for you?”
“My only condition,” Quinn said calmly, “is divorce.”
“Quinn!”
Chase felt his temper slipping. One decision on that yacht had completely drained him. He felt exhausted and overwhelmed.
Quinn wanted a divorce. Fine. But he should at least get something out of it.
The problem was, he couldn’t get in touch with Maddox anymore.
What kind of situation was this?
The guy slept with his wife, gave him absolutely nothing in return, and then just vanished into thin air?
That meant he lost both his wife and the deal.
After thinking for a moment, Chase suddenly asked, “Has Maddox contacted you?”
A thought flashed through his mind.
Quinn sounded so confident about divorcing him. Maybe Maddox was backing her up.
The more he thought about it, the more possible it seemed.
If that was really the case, there was no way he was letting this go so easily.
“Who?” Quinn looked at him in disbelief when she heard the name. “Contact me? What exactly are you implying?”
“You slept with him,” Chase said bluntly. “Don’t tell me he hasn’t reached out since.”
In that instant, Quinn felt like the man in front of her had completely shattered her understanding of basic human decency.
How had she ever thought Chase was sincere, kind, and warm?
This wasn’t just bad judgment.
If she could go back several years, she would strangle her past self.
How did I ever fall for someone like Chase?
Chase continued, “No matter what, he took advantage of you. Are we just supposed to let that go? He’s got a pretty good deal going if you ask me.”
Quinn finally saw him for exactly who he was.
She said, “So what if he contacted me? And what if he didn’t?”
“If he did, what did he say?” Chase asked quickly. “Why can’t I get through to him when I call? And if he didn’t contact you, then I’ll go with you to find him. He slept with you. We can’t just leave it at that!”
“And then what?” Quinn asked.
“Then he compensates you for your loss,” Chase said righteously. “If he’s a real man, he’ll pay up. You deserve that.”
“Chase, how can you actually say something like that?” Quinn stared at him. “What do you call this, trying to profit off your own wife?”
“Don’t make it sound so ugly,” Chase said awkwardly, clearly embarrassed. “I didn’t have a choice. And since it already happened, we should at least minimize the damage.”
Quinn said nothing.
She just looked at him. Her eyes were filled with open contempt and ridicule.
Quinn didn’t even want to look at him anymore. Just seeing him made her feel sick.
“Stop looking at me like that,” Chase said irritably. “Am I wrong?”
“You’re right,” Quinn said flatly.
“Then did he contact you or not?”
Suppressing the wave of nausea rising in her throat, Quinn shook her head. “No. Think about what I said. You have eight days left to give me an answer. Otherwise, I’ll make everything public.”
With that, she slammed the door shut.
Chase stood there stunned. He raised his hand and pounded on the door.
“Quinn! Get back out here and finish this conversation! You…”
He didn’t get to finish.
