Chapter 1
The first thing the billionaire Jasper Price did after going bankrupt was to file for a divorce.
Holly Segal had received the divorce papers earlier on. She knew he only did that to shoulder the debts alone, not wanting to burden her for the rest of her life.
Therefore, instead of signing the papers, she took on over a dozen side jobs. In the day, she toiled away at those jobs, wanting to earn more money like her life depended on it. After work, she’d go around collecting recyclables for hours on end.
It was all to support Jasper during the toughest time of his life.
Even though her body ached all over from the exertion, she’d put on a good front once she returned to their rental apartment.
Knowing the enormous pressure Jasper was under, she eagerly kissed him back when he kissed her as she’d always done. As their clothes were strewn all over the floor, things started to get steamy in that narrow bedroom.
Jasper wrapped his arm around her waist. He was about to shift into another position when his phone rang from the bedside table.
He saw the incoming caller ID, and the desire in his eyes faded into a sense of clarity.
“Holly, I took on an interpreting job. Hold it in for a moment, and don’t make a sound. Okay?” Holly looked in the direction of the ringtone. If she remembered correctly, the number shown on the phone belonged to Tom Ellis, Jasper’s assistant. But hadn’t he resigned after Price Group declared bankruptcy?
Why would Jasper tell her that it was a call from his side job?
She was still puzzled when Jasper answered the call in Penrinese, “What’s up?”
“Mr. Price, I saw Mrs. Price at the hospital today. Seeing how pale she was, I asked around. Then, I found out that for the past month, she’d been doing side jobs, collecting recyclables, and had even sold her blood to the hospital frequently far the money to pay off the debt. “The doctor said her health may be at risk if she continued selling her blood. Do you think it’s better to tell her that you aren’t bankrupt and are only pretending to be so?”
Upon hearing that, Jasper frowned. “Who are you to tell me what to do? How am I going to get Holly to agree to the divorce if I don’t put on this act?
“Naddy has cancer and doesn’t have much time left. Her last wish is to be my wife, so I must
marry her. After she passes, I will restore my status and my marriage with Holly. Stop worrying over that.”
Tom couldn’t help but sigh. “Mr. Price, you know very well that Ms. Fulton forged that cancer report”
Jasper’s tone became cold at his words. He snapped, “Enough!”
Tom didn’t want to give up. “Mr. Price, it’s been so many years, but you’ve never stopped thinking about Ms. Fulton. Then, what about Mrs. Price? Who is she to you?”
“I’m just making do with her!”
Suppressing his anger, he ended the call. Holly’s heart sank at that sight.
Some time later, she felt someone embracing her
Jasper kissed her gently on the corners of her lips “Holly, let’s get a divorce.”
Holly finally snapped back to her senses. She looked up at him with eyes that were filled with. shock and anger. Tears welled up in them as she gazed at the man before her.
She wanted so badly to tell him that she could actually understand Penrinese.
She was confused, and endless questions filled her mind, but she couldn’t bring herself to voice them out.
Eventually, she decided not to ask anything. The metallic taste of blood choked her, and with much difficulty, there was only one word she could utter.
“Sure.”
Jasper didn’t expect her to agree so easily. He was stunned. Still, however shocked he might be, he was even more eager to get it over with.
He immediately got to his feet, went to the wardrobe, and handed her clothes. “The courthouse is still open. We can get the procedures done now.”
His eagerness rendered Holly speechless. She got dressed and left with him.
On the way, Holly gazed out the car window at the streets, thinking how ironic everything was.
She met Jasper for the first time at a gathering with her college roommates. One of them, Nadine Fulton, was drunk and phoned Jasper, whom she addressed as her “uncle” to get her.
From the late–night conversations that they had had, all of them knew that Nadine was an orplaan. Jasper, who was a family friend to her, was the one who raised her.
But it wasn’t until Holly truly set eyes on Jasper that she realized Jasper was only several years older than them and had immensely good looks. He didn’t look like a parent at all.
He prepared gifts for all of them for their first meeting and took them back to school. He
carried himself with an aloof and elegant demeanor.
All Nadine’s roommates took a liking to him, and Holly was no different.
However, Holly knew her place. She didn’t badger Nadine for Jasper’s contact number like her other roommates because she knew they were from two entirely different worlds. She could never be in a relationship with him.
So, she suppressed her feelings for him and would only gaze at him from afar to ease her yearning whenever he came to pick up Nadine.
In the year of her graduation, Holly secured an opportunity to pursue her studies abroad. Just as she was preparing to leave, Jasper approached her.
He said he needed a wife. He had fallen in love with her at first sight and asked if she’d like to marry him.
Being greatly and pleasantly surprised, Holly could no longer suppress her overwhelming
feelings for him. On that day, she went with him to have their marriage registered, all while feeling giddy.
However, Nadine made a huge fuss at their house when she found out.
Crying, she questioned Jasper as to why he’d treat her that way. She’d only confessed her love to him the day before, yet he married someone else right after. She couldn’t stop crying and even ruined their home.
Furious, Jasper sent her to Eustania to further her studies. Before Nadine left, all he said to her was, “No one would fall in love with someone who’s like a niece to them. I’m a human, not a brute!”
With that, the commotion calmed down. Holly was still overwhelmed with the joy of being able to marry the person she loved and didn’t think much about it.
During the two years they’d been married, Jasper had been extremely nice to her, and she poured her love on him. Even when Price Group went bankrupt a month ago, she never left him.
But today, Holly finally learned that the one Jasper had always loved was Nadine.
Perhaps he’d only married her back then so that Nadine could forget about him.
That was why the moment he learned that Nadine had cancer, he eagerly faked his bankruptcy so he could divorce Holly despite knowing the pathology report was a fake. It was all so that he could unleash the pent–up feelings he’d had toward Nadine.
With her hands over her eyes, Holly sobbed. Since Jasper was so desperate to divorce, she’d fulfill his wish.
The divorce procedures didn’t take long. After leaving the courthouse, Jasper hailed a taxi. He wasn’t aware of Holly’s emotions.
“Holly, I’ve sent someone to move my things out. Wait for me at the rental apartment. I will settle my debts in a month and take you back to our villa. Then, we’ll get married again.”
As he spoke, he opened the car door. Before getting in, he seemed to remember something else. He stopped to stroke her head.
“We aren’t really divorced. In the meantime, don’t fall for other men. Do you hear me?”
Holly didn’t answer him. In silence, her gaze followed the taxi as it sped off, and shet responded to his request in her heart, “No, Jasper. The divorce is real to me, and we’ll never get back together.”
