Harry
The apartment is quiet when I get home from spending the morning with Isabella and her team of lawyers. We've started getting a case together against Christian, a really good one.
I had Melissa take Ottilie out of the house for the day, not wanting her to witness her parents fighting. That's the one thing I'm proud about over these last few months. Ottie has relatively no idea that Adriana and I are in the midst of this war. It's not her responsibility to worry about us, and our feelings toward each other shouldn't have an effect on how Ottilie sees either one of us.
If someday down the road, Ottilie decides she wants to have a relationship with her mother, who am I to stop her? Sure, I hate Adriana and the fact that she abandoned her newborn daughter, but that's not up for me to decide. I'm not going to force her one way or the other.
Adriana hasn't figured out yet that I've been seeing Isabella. I let Melissa in on what was going on with her, as well as Warren. When I'm not able to check up on her, he'll go and see if she needs anything. I've been playing my cards right, trying to make sure that Adriana is as unsuspecting as possible before I make any big moves.
I wanted to get the divorce in order. Since the prenup is expired and there would be too much litigation to fight against it, we've come up with an alternate plan. A settlement, where she takes one hundred million dollars to sign the divorce papers and leaves us alone for good. Of course, there are other stipulations and compromises written in, such as properties I'd give to her should she want them. It's the best offer she is going to get from me, and she'd be stupid not to take it.
If she doesn't though, that's just going to be years and years of litigation. Years that I could be spending with Isabella and Ottilie. Years that we will never get back. She'd keep it going just to make the three of us miserable. Just to spite me.
I think I have the upper hand, though. She's not the only one with tricks up her sleeve.
Since I'm not seeing Isabella again until tomorrow, I walk over to my office. Lately I've kept a bottle of scotch in my desk hidden should Isabella randomly drop by. I don't want her to feel tempted in any way. I don't even drink too often, but tonight, I'm gonna need some liquid courage.
Pouring myself a small glass of scotch, I put the bottle away and pick up the glass to take a sip. And as if on cue, I hear the elevator ding as the doors open.
I walk to the door of the office, holding the top of my glass as I lean against the frame with my arms crossed. It doesn't take long for Adriana to come into view with a new designer shopping bag in her hand.
She smirks when she sees me, pushing her sunglasses up on her face. "Well, didn't expect for you to be home. I thought you would still be at work. Where's Ottie?"
"Ottilie is still out with Melissa. We need to talk, Adriana."
As she puts the bag down, her smirk stays plastered on her face. "Do we? I see you're drinking so is talk code word for something else?" She approaches me, ready to make an attempt to seduce me but my jaw sets as I look down at her.
"That isn't happening again, you know that."
"I knew you'd come around eventually. I had thought it would've been sooner but I'm glad you came to your senses." She tries to put her hands on my hips but I step back.
"Have a seat in my office, Adriana. I have some things we need to discuss." My voice is serious, making sure that she understands that I'm not playing around.
With a roll of her eyes, she walks past me into the office. I take another sip from my glass before following her in. She watches as I sit on the opposite side of the desk from her and open a folder. Without a word, I place the divorce papers and settlement contract in front of her with a pen.
"You're gonna sign these."
She scoffs when she reads what the papers are. "Well you're confident aren't you? I'll have my lawyers take a look and I'll let you know what changes I want to make."
My head shakes. "No. Adriana, you are going to sign these. Today. I'm done dragging this on."
"Do you think I'm an idiot, Harry? That I'll just sign contracts and divorce papers without reading them over?"
I shrug, sitting back in my chair. "Read them. I have all day. But you're signing them. We aren't getting up until those papers are signed."
With an annoyed sigh and another roll of her eyes, she picks up the settlement contract and starts to read. It doesn't take long for her to start shaking her head. "This is bullshit, Harry. Do you think I'm an idiot? Why would I sign this? One hundred million? We've been married for seven years."
"And you were absent for three of those years."
"We have a child together."
"Ottilie will be living with me. When it comes to Ottilie, I have no problem providing for her. Should she be with you for whatever reason, there will be a separate account that is only to be used for Ottilie. As she gets older, she will take over that bank account."
"You really don't trust me, huh?"
"Not even slightly. But I'm not going to keep her from you. I'm willing to be amicable if you agree to this."
"Willing to be amicable but you can't trust me. How is that going to work?"
I sigh, shaking my head slightly. "Adriana, I married you. I had a relationship with you and put my trust in you and you took advantage. You stole money from me and left as if Ottilie and I meant nothing. So no. I don't trust you with my wealth. I don't want to be married to you anymore. But you are Ottilie's mother. We are family, whether we like it or not."
"You just want to look better in the divorce. If you think I'm gonna let that happen-"
"Adriana. I am trying to make compromises. I'm trying to move on with my life."
"And what are you compromising in this arrangement? Because from what I've read so far, you're getting everything you want."
"If I were getting everything I wanted, you wouldn't be getting a cent. I wouldn't give you your choice of property. Just sign the papers, Adriana. It's your best offer and your only offer. I'm not giving you this chance again."
"Our marriage isn't something you can strong arm me into ending. Just so you could go back with your slutty little girlfriend? Do you think I'm actually stupid?"
I shake my head again. "Adriana you don't want to go there with me..."
She looks pissed, "No, I do want to go there. You aren't denying it, so what? Did you fuck her lately? Surprised she still took you back."
"No, I haven't. But that reminds me, how's Derek Taylor?"
Her face drops in a split second, not expecting me to bring up that name. But my expression stays firm, not letting her avoid this conversation. She stammers slightly, "I... I don't know why you'd bring him up..."
I shrug, "Sign the papers and you can pretend I didn't bring him up."
"So what, you're blackmailing me now?"
"No. Blackmailing would be telling you that I have pictures of you and Mr. Taylor in some very compromising situations over the last few weeks. Blackmailing would be anonymously sending those pictures to the tabloids and exposing your affair. Blackmailing would be tipping off the media to the fact that you weren't at a rehabilitation center. No, you were spending the last three years traveling the globe with Mr. Taylor. That would be blackmailing you into signing the papers. But you know, it's up to you."
When Adriana came back claiming she was hiding out at a rehab for three years, I could just smell the bullshit. If she was gone for a year, maybe I would understand. But three years without one attempt to make a connection with at least Ottilie?
I hired a private investigator pretty quickly. Someone to look into her and what her deal was. Especially since I needed proof that she wasn't in rehab like she claimed so that I could reinstate the prenup.
Finding out she was sleeping with Derek Taylor wasn't too surprising. She always would disappear with him at events and I always had a feeling they were together these last few years. In the beginning she may have left me for him, but she got way too deep into our relationship once Ottilie was born and she knew it. Now I'm a billionaire and his generational wealth and status in society isn't enough anymore.
It seems like she left him once she got wind that I was recently declared a billionaire. He chased her back to New York soon after. For what I'm not quite sure. Maybe I'll never see the side of Adriana that he does.
They've been sleeping together again since he got to New York. Meeting up at the same hotel room while I'm being made to feel guilty that I fell in love with Isabella. Talk about fucked up.
That's probably where she was today. Sneaking around the city with Derek. It's why she looks so guilty. It's why she can't even come up with an excuse. She actually thought I was oblivious enough to not figure it out eventually. Maybe she was hoping that because I was so hung up on Isabella that she could get away with being with Derek still. She probably was right, but I'm glad that I know.
I'm honestly not even that upset that she cheated. Our relationship was flawed from the start and even though we thought we could make it work, clearly the universe had other plans for us. Through me, she met Derek and because she left, I met Isabella. There's no part of me that is even disappointed by this outcome, because now I get to be truly loved and have a family with Isabella.
"Now why don't you finish reading that contract. I'm more than willing to discuss what properties you would want, if any, and a possible visitation schedule for Ottilie. As I mentioned before she will be living with me but of course, as she is your daughter as well I'd be more than accommodating if you want to spend a weekend with her or if you want to take her on vacation."
Adriana shakes her head with an unreadable look on her face, but I think it's a mix of fear and anger. "We had a contract. A prenup. It expired, why won't you just uphold your end of the deal?"
"Because you voided the agreement. There were rules set in place that explicitly mentioned cheating. The prenup was put in place to protect my assets, and for this exact reason. That prenup has been invalid for years. You're lucky you're even getting anything from me."
"You know how this is gonna make you look right? The public will hate you."
"I think they'd be pretty understanding once they find out you made up a story about having postpartum depression. That you really just abandoned your husband and newborn. That you cheated, you stole money. That you got me drunk and didn't have my consent to have sex, just so you could ruin my relationship with a kind woman."
Her eyes narrow, clearly pissed that I've backed her into a corner. She knows that if I go public about the lies she's told, she's not only become the bad guy in this saga, she'd lose all her deals. Ever since she came back into the public eye, she's been embraced and shown so much attention. Not that she deserves it.
"So what? I sign the contract and the divorce papers and you'll get rid of all of this blackmail?"
"Honestly? If you agree to all the terms and we come to a reasonable agreement when it comes to other assets, I'd even be willing to put on a front that we tried to make things work but we grew apart in the years we spent away from each other and we want to focus on amicably coparenting Ottilie. I'd even sign divorce papers so we can file simultaneously to avoid further speculation."
It's the best way out of this for both of us. Even if I were to expose all of Adriana's lies, I'd still look like an asshole who didn't believe his wife was going through something. What kind of loving husband investigates his wife as soon as she comes back?
"And how will you address the whole financial part of it?"
"We will say that even though the prenup has expired, we agreed to uphold it because we spent almost half of our marriage living apart. It would only be fair."
She sits back in her chair with her arms crossed over her chest. "You have this all planned out huh? And how are you going to explain it to the public when you are seen again with that girl?"
"How are you going to tell the public you're in a relationship with Derek?" I retort, not liking all these questions. "We aren't happy, Adriana. We aren't happy, but by some chance, we've both found people who make us happy. Why are we forcing ourselves to stay together? Because of some money? This is no way to live, no way to raise a child. At the end of the day, we have to think about Ottilie and what's best for her."
Adriana looks down, picking at the skin around her nails. "Ottilie doesn't even like me anyways." She murmurs, and it honestly does break my heart a little bit.
"Dri, that's not true. She's just confused. It's not easy for a little kid to understand the nuances of why relationships don't work or why you weren't around. To be quite honest, she doesn't know that you haven't been around in years. But what she does know is that things aren't stable between us. We don't fight around her, but she can feel it. The best thing we could do for her is to find happiness outside of each other. The older she gets, the more she'll resent us for staying together."
A soft sigh escapes her lips. She stares at the paperwork in front of her before uncrossing her arms and leaning forward. "Fine. But we'll file simultaneously. She shouldn't have to know all the gorey details."
With a breath of relief, I can feel the weight of the world lift off my shoulders. "Of course, I agree one hundred percent." For the first time, we've made a decision that is right. "Thank you, Adriana."
She nods, pursing her lips together as she studies me. "You're different now. The Harry I knew would've just released those pictures and blamed it all on me without a second thought."
"You're different, too. I didn't think I'd see the day where you give in and do what's best even if it doesn't benefit you."
"I think... I think the best thing I could do as Ottilie's mother and your wife is leave. The best thing I could do for myself is walk away. Not from everything, I still do want to be in her life and be her mother. She was a part of me, I grew her, I don't think I'd ever be able to just leave her forever. But I also am not afraid to admit that these past few months have been hard. I love her so much, but I just don't have that motherly instinct. I want to travel and go to events and not have to worry about a kid. Derek can give me that."
I nod, surprised she's being so honest with me. But at the same time it feels nice. "And that's okay, Adriana. We wanted different things in life, that's not a crime. All I ask is that you're honest with me, just as I'm honest with you. I love being Ottie's dad. I don't mind keeping her full time while you do what you need. And with time, she will understand that we did what was best for our family."
We spend a little over an hour going over the contracts. She agrees to the payout, as well as asks for the Bali and Los Angeles properties, as well as the brownstone on the Upper East Side. I'm more than happy to oblige since I never go there and they were only purchased in the early years of our marriage to appease her.
Strangely, I feel as though I understand her a bit more. She never wanted the family life that I did. She wanted a life of luxury, going on lavish vacations and being a part of high society. I was a stepping stone to getting status, but once I started wanting to settle down, she started planning her escape.
When she left, I wasn't nearly as well off as I am now. Nobody could have predicted that Sapphire would become as big as it did and that my wealth would grow so exponentially. Maybe if I wasn't raising Ottilie on my own, I would've found her and prioritized the divorce. The prenup would've protected me and we would've moved on from each other years ago. But now here we are, trying to clean up the mess we both took part in making.
I walk Adriana to the elevator, agreeing that I'll have her things sent to the brownstone in the morning. More than anything I'm just happy that I get to sleep in my own bed again.
Before she leaves, she turns toward me with a pensive look in her eye. "I know I've talked a lot of shit about her, but Isabella is good for Ottie. I hope I didn't ruin things too much between you too, and if I did I'm sorry."
My head shakes slightly. "You didn't ruin things, but thank you for apologizing. And I wish you and Derek all the best, really."
"Thanks, H."
The elevator doors slide shut, closing this chapter of my life for good.
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im kinda sad that this is almost over like damn we've gotten so far
gab