She Called Me A Kept Woman, I Kept The Family Fortune Chapter 04

She Called Me A Kept Woman, I Kept The Family Fortune Chapter 04

I forced down the anger burning in my chest and kept my voice cold.

“The way you’re talking, you’d think you want me to divorce your precious Mr. Caldwell.”

Madison grinned.

“Since you’ve figured it out, I might as well stop pretending.”

“That’s right. I think I’d make a much better Mrs. Caldwell than you do.”

I looked at her without expression and said, “Go on. What else?”

Madison gave me a dismissive look.

“Mr. Caldwell wants a divorce.”

I went still for a few seconds, then turned to Ethan.

“Is she telling the truth? You really want a divorce?”

Ethan raised a brow, naked disgust in his eyes.

“Madison’s right. I’ve wanted to divorce you for a long time. The only reason I waited this long was because my father kept pressuring me.”

“And since everyone’s here tonight, they can all witness it.”

“I, Ethan Caldwell, want a divorce.”

I stared at him, my voice flat and cold.

“You mean that?”

“Ethan, are you sure you’ve thought this through?”

Without missing a beat, the idiot in front of me pulled a folded set of divorce papers from inside his jacket.

“Evelyn, don’t bother trying to talk me out of it. I’ve never had feelings for you. Not once.”

I studied him for a moment and let out a long breath.

“Mr. Caldwell, looks like you’ve had those ready for a while.”

Ethan nodded like it was nothing.

“Exactly. I’ve wanted out of this marriage for as long as I can remember.”

“I wanted it then. I want it now. And I’ll want it tomorrow.”

Madison immediately started applauding from the stage, and the rest of the guests joined in, cheering him on.

I swept my gaze around the room, and the corner of my mouth lifted.

“Well, after all this, it would almost be rude of me to say no.”

“Fine. You got what you wanted. I agree to the divorce. But…”

Ethan lit up the moment he heard me agree.

He cut me off before I could finish.

“Evelyn, if you’re agreeing, then this is easy.”

“Name your price. I’ll give you whatever I reasonably can.”

I waved him off and gave him a knowing look.

“Don’t get ahead of yourself, Mr. Caldwell. We can talk about money later.”

“I may have agreed to the divorce, but the auction isn’t over.”

“My last bid was three million and one dollar. Still bidding, Mr. Caldwell?”

I knew Ethan well enough to know his pride couldn’t stand being challenged.

The moment he realized I was still going after the painting, his face darkened.

“Hart, don’t push it.”

I arched a brow and waved him off.

“What happened? Three million is enough to scare off the chairman of Caldwell Holdings?”

That was all it took. Ethan snapped.

“Fine. Let’s see how long you can keep bluffing.”

“Four point five million.”

“Four point five million… and one dollar.”

Ethan glared at me and raised the bid again.

“Seven point five million.”

As the price climbed, beads of sweat formed on Ethan’s forehead.

I let out a cold laugh, taking my time.

“Mr. Caldwell, since we’re all here for charity, why don’t we stop inching the price up and settle this in one bid?”

“Fifteen million dollars.”

The ballroom erupted.

Most of the people there were worth tens or even hundreds of millions on paper. Having fifteen million dollars in liquid funds ready to move was something else entirely.

The force of my bid stunned Ethan into silence.

That was when Madison, quiet until now, stepped forward.

“You little bitch, this is an auction, not a game where you can shout whatever number you feel like.”

“Anyone can yell fifteen million. The question is whether you can actually pay it.”

Ethan’s eyes lit up at once.

“Madison’s right. Why should I keep chasing every number you throw out?”

Then he gave me a nasty smile.

“Hart, don’t say I didn’t warn you. If you can’t prove you can cover that fifteen million, you’ll be facing legal consequences.”

Madison immediately raised the microphone and whipped up the crowd.

“Mr. Caldwell is right. We want proof of funds. Right now.”

Watching the frenzy build in her eyes, I felt my smile deepen.

“After all this, you finally asked the question that matters.”