Chapter 3
Daniel was fuming, his hands trembling as he gripped his cane and stood. “Sneaking around as the side chick? You’re calling me trash her?”
Hannah’s face went cold as ice. “Mr. Cole, I didn’t have a clue your grandson was married when we started. If I’d known, a girl like me, with a clean slate, would’ve bolted.”
She spun on Liam, her eyes blazing. “You swore you and Aria were over, that divorce was just around the corner. That’s the only reason I gave you a chance. Now I’m stuck with this ‘side chick‘ crap, and everyone’s laughing. Clean up your damn mess, Liam. We’re done.”
Hannah stormed toward the door, but Liam grabbed her arm, his voice low and desperate. “Hannah, don’t walk out. Grandpa’s been played by Aria’s lies, that’s all. If you leave, she’ll never sign those divorce papers. She’ll bleed Cole Group dry, and my family’s screwed.”
His plea was raw, tugging at her heart. Hannah stopped, turning slowly. “You’ve got one day to fix this.”
“Got it,” Liam said, relief flooding his face.
He faced his grandfather, his tone rock–solid. “Grandpa, I only married Aria because you wouldn’t let me study abroad. It was a dumb move, and I never loved her. Hannah’s the one–she’s shown me what real love feels like.”
Daniel’s face stayed hard, while Aria just smirked, eating up their drama.
Liam didn’t back down. “Hannah’s killing it at Kerano Global Health, running the whole show. Top schools are begging her to speak. She’s got class, respect–the kind of woman born to lead the Cole family.”
Kerano Global Health was the real deal, a world–class institute with standards so brutal even hotshot professors struggled to get in. And Hannah was the one calling the shots.
Daniel’s icy stare softened just a bit. “If this is all a misunderstanding, I’ll say sorry to Miss Gibson. But Aria’s the only granddaughter–in–law I’ll ever accept.”
Liam’s grip on Hannah’s hand tightened, his eyes fierce. “Grandpa, I’m not changing my mind. Try to stop me, and I’m gone. I’ll follow Hannah to Erenoland and never come back.”
Pushing him now would only make things worse. If Liam really ran off with Hannah to Erenoland, the whole family would be done for.
Daniel stayed quiet, his brow furrowed deep.
The Cole family was barely holding on. Daniel’s only son was long gone, leaving a grandson who’d rather dissect cadavers than deal with dollars and a granddaughter who lived for the next party.
With no decent heirs to speak of, Daniel had put all his chips on Aria, his grandson’s wife. But then Liam, that moron, went and screwed it all up by cheating.
Daniel sat, his mind a mess, guilt carved deep into his weathered face as he looked at Aria. He sighed, the sound heavy with regret. “Aria, darling, the Coles have done you wrong. If you’re not okay with this divorce, I’ll fight it till I’m pushing daisies, I swear.”
Liain clung to Hannah’s hand, sweating like a pig, scared Aria might not let him off the hook.
Aria stayed cool, her voice even. “Liam’s got a new squeeze. No point in me hanging around where I’m not wanted.”
Daniel’s shoulders slumped, his voice soft and sad. “The Saxon family’s got their heiress. You’d just be extra weight there. Stick with us, Aria. I’m on my last legs, and when I’m gone, Cole Group’s yours.”
If Liam wouldn’t step up and have kids, IVF could fix that. Aria’s kid would still carry the Cole name, and the company would stay in the family.
“Grandpa!” Liam’s face twisted, his voice shrill. “You can’t just hand Cole Group to some nobody!”
Aria shot him a look sharp enough to draw blood. “Grandpa, I was just fine without the Saxons before I hit twenty, and I’ll keep on being fine. This marriage? If Liam won’t end it, I will. I’m not sticking around to play happy wife while he’s out fooling around.”
Daniel pressed a hand to his temple, sighing like the world was on his shoulders. “You two, beat it. I need to talk to Aria alone.”
Liam started to protest, but Hannah yanked him out the door.
Daniel’s gaze locked on Aria, heavy with something unsaid. “Aria, I’ll green–light the divorce.”
Relief hit her, but his next words were a gut punch.
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Chapter 3
That 150 million you threw in? You can take it back, and that’s it. The shares stay with us. I’ll toss in this year’s dividends to soften the blow, he said.
Aria’s eyes flashed with disbelief. “150 mil? That’s all you’re offering?”
Daniel’s tone turned steely. “You’re not a Cole anymore. Holding four percent of Cole Group isn’t right.”
“Grandpa, I never asked for a dime from you people. Why do you think I signed that prenup?” Aria’s voice was ice, her patience gone. “When Cole Group was tanking, stocks in the toilet, I dumped 150 mil into it. That four percent was mine–earned, not handed to me. Not just as Liam’s wife, but as a shareholder.”
Her eyes darkened as it all clicked. “I bled for Cole Group. It’s soaring now because of me. If you’re cutting me out of my shares, fine. But by market value, I’m owed fifteen billion dollars.”
Daniel’s face went pale, then red with outrage. “1.5 billion? That’s nuts. I’ll give you 230 million, plus dividends and a little extra. Take it.”
Aria let out a bitter laugh, her heart sinking. “I see it now. All your ‘kindness‘ these past two years? Just because I was your ticket to saving Cole Group. I had you all wrong. You forced that prenup on me, and now this? You’re just like the rest.”
Liam might’ve been too clueless to see her sacrifices, and she could live with that.
But Daniel? He’d watched her pour everything into his company, seen her fight tooth and nail, and now he was acting like she was some thief trying to steal what she’d built.
Aria’s eyes blazed with cold fire as she stared down Daniel. “Liam played me, and I’m fine walking out with nothing. I don’t give a rat’s ass about your Cole family fortune. But what’s mine? No one’s laying a finger on it.”
Her tone flipped so fast it threw Daniel for a loop. He coughed, gulped some water, and said, his voice loud enough to fill the room, “Aria, we’re grateful for that 150 million you pumped into Cole Group. It saved our bacon. But word is, your parents only coughed up 15 million for your wedding gift.”
His words were sugar–coated, but Aria caught the shade. She let out a sharp laugh, her face twisting with mockery. “Doesn’t matter where the cash came from. I put it in. That’s the deal.”
Daniel leaned forward, his voice turning steely. “You didn’t get a stake in Cole Group until after you tied the knot with Liam. You signed a prenup, Aria. You’re not touching a dime of this company. Offering you 230 million is already bending over backward, and I haven’t even put pen to paper on the transfer.”
Aria’s gaze went subzero. “So you’ve been playing me from day one.”
The prenup had been no skin off her nose–her own assets were a hot mess, and splitting with Liam would’ve left her in the red.
She didn’t care about the shares themselves, but handing them over to the Coles for nothing? Not in this lifetime.
It’d be a hassle, but her lawyers could sort it out without her breaking a sweat.
Daniel, stroking his scruffy beard, shot her a sly look from his sunken eyes. “Get smart, girl. Stir up trouble, and you’ll regret it. The Saxons won’t lift a finger for you, and crossing the Coles is like punching a brick wall.”
When sweet–talking didn’t work, he went full hardball.
Aria’s lips curled into a taunting smirk. “If you’re hell–bent on ripping me off, don’t cry when I drag you to court.”
This was going nowhere fast, and she wasn’t about to waste another second.
Daniel sneered. “Sue us? I’d love to see what lawyer’s dumb enough to take your case and tangle with the Coles.”
Aria didn’t miss a beat. “You’re half in the ground already. Don’t worry about my battles.” With that, she spun on her heel and strutted out.
His face twisted in fury, his breath hitching as he knocked a cup to the floor, shattering it.
The butler, hearing the crash, burst in and caught Aria’s icy stare, “Mrs. Cole,” he said on reflex.
Aria’s voice was light but laced with poison. “The Coles eat people alive and don’t even bother spitting out the bones. Don’t you dare call me Mrs. Cole
The butler stood there, gobsmacked, as Aria vanished down the hall. He scrambled into the study to check on Daniel.
In the
2/3
car,
Liam’s brow creased, his voice tight with confusion. “I don’t get why Grandpa’s so hung up on Aria. He really thought she could run Cole
Chapter 3
Group?
Hannah, who’d done her digging on Aria, spoke softly but with a razor’s edge. “I checked her out. Aria never made it to college–barely crawled through middle school. She was a total troublemaker: skipping class, throwing punches, messing with other kids. No way she’s got the brains to be
- VP.
Liam’s jaw hit the floor. Aria, a backwoods delinquent? He’d never heard a whisper about her rough past.
20
Hannah kept going, her tone smooth but loaded. “That Cole Group disaster two years ago? I looked into it. Three board members saw your grandpa was down for the count, swiped company funds, and bolted overseas. Cops hauled them back. If anyone deserves a pat on the back, it’s the police. But somehow, Aria got all the shine. People even say she sealed big deals to keep the company afloat. And that 150 million?”
She let it hang for a second. “The Saxons never gave two cents about their ‘mistake‘ daughter. They married her off the minute they got her back. No way they handed her 150 million. A few mil, maybe. I’m betting she pulled some shady crap to get that cash. If it blows up, it could sink Cole Group.
3/3
