Chapter 2
Her tone was eerily calm, as lifeless as dead water.
"Are you... serious?" Ingemar asked, uncertainty in his voice.
"I personally prepared the divorce papers. They're in the study," Natalia said, turning to head upstairs.
"I'm walking away with nothing. Not asking for a thing," she added.
Ingemar felt a sudden, inexplicable panic.
He grabbed her wrist, his grip tight.
"No way!" he snapped.
"You're my wife, Natalia. As long as I haven't agreed to a divorce, you can't leave!" he shouted.
He thought his domineering declaration would make her back down, just like it always had before.
But Natalia just turned around and shot him an icy glare.
"Ingemar, three years ago, I was the one who practically begged you to marry me," she said.
"But now, I'm the one who doesn't want you."
She jerked her hand free and headed upstairs without even a glance back.
Ingemar was left standing alone in the empty living room, and for the first time ever, a wave of panic crashed over him.
He couldn't believe it.
He couldn't believe that Natalia, who loved him like he was her whole world, would really walk away from him.
She had to be acting out, using this as a way to push him into giving in.
He thought once she cooled off for a few days, things would go back to normal.
With that thought, Ingemar grabbed the gift box from the coffee table and went after her upstairs.
In the bedroom, Natalia was packing her suitcase.
She didn't have much, just a few clothes and some books, and her small suitcase was quickly full.
Ingemar leaned against the doorframe, watching her pack. The restless frustration inside him was growing stronger by the second.
"Stop pretending," he said, walking over and wrapping his arms around her from behind, resting his chin in the crook of her shoulder.
This was his go-to move whenever he wanted to coax her.
"I know you're still mad," he said, his voice softening. "Look, I brought you a present."
He opened the box, revealing a dazzling diamond necklace inside.
"It's the newest design from Laurentia. Looks amazing on you," he said.
Natalia froze, her body stiff as stone.
She didn't even look at the necklace. Her gaze landed on his open collar.
There, just visible at the edge, was a small, vivid red mark.
It was a lipstick stain.
And it wasn't hers.
Natalia felt her heart clench in an iron grip, the pain so intense she could hardly breathe.
So what he called being a "brother" for Iliona was to sleep with her.
Suddenly, Natalia couldn't help but laugh at herself.
For three whole years, she'd been nothing but a complete idiot.
"Ingemar," Natalia said, pushing him away, her voice eerily calm. "Check the news on your phone."
Ingemar, confused, pulled out his phone.
On the screen was the headline: *Young Artist Iliona Limmen Shines in Laurentia, Mysterious Tycoon Spares No Expense.*
The photo showed him gently putting a necklace on Iliona.
That necklace was identical to the one in her hand.
Natalia sneered to herself.
Did he get a buy-one-get-one-free deal?
"Natalia, please, just hear me out!" Ingemar said, his voice full of panic. "It's all just gossip. The media twisted everything!"
"Iliona wasn't feeling well, so I helped her out. It only looked that way because of the camera angle," he stammered.
"Oh, so the lipstick stain on your neck, is that just a camera angle too?" Natalia shot back.
Natalia's words made all of Ingemar's excuses stick in his throat, unable to come out.
He instinctively reached for his neck, his expression turning sour.
Ingemar stammered, "Iliona was drunk, it just... happened by accident..."
"That's enough," Natalia cut him off.
She didn't want to hear another word of his pathetic excuses.
She grabbed the divorce papers and a pen from the table, shoving them toward him.
"Sign it," she said.
"For old times' sake, at least keep a little dignity," she added.
Ingemar met her resolute gaze, and finally, his anger drowned out any trace of panic.
"Dignity?" he let out a cold laugh, snatching the papers and ripping them to pieces.
"Natalia, who the hell do you think you are? You think you can talk to me about dignity?" he spat.
"Don't forget, everything you own is because of me! Leave me, and you're nothing!" he shouted.
"You wouldn't even know how to survive without me," he added.
He thought his words would wake her up to reality, make her realize where she really stood.
But Natalia just stared at him, unmoved, like she was watching a clown perform.
Then she smiled.
"Really?" she said.
"Let's see about that," she added.
Natalia left, walking away without looking back.
She didn't take anything that Ingemar had given her.
The car, the house, the bank cards, and even the necklace he gifted her, were all left behind.
All she carried was her little suitcase and a heart shattered beyond repair.
Ingemar stood alone in the empty villa, his rage boiling over as he trashed everything in sight.