Sylas Vaughn walked in with a stern expression, just in time to witness Selena Sinclair walk right past his mother.
Her figure disappeared up the staircase, and then a door slammed shut.
His brow furrowed even deeper.
‘That Selena Sinclair… She’s dead set on not giving my mother any respect.’
He recalled all the previous times he’d brought her back to the family estate.
Selena Sinclair had always entered politely,
greeted his mother cautiously, and diligently played the role of a perfect daughter-in-law to a wealthy family.
But now, aside from a belly full of rage, he couldn’t find a single good thing about her.
The thought grew stronger, and his irritation escalated along with it.
A nameless fire surged within him.
Selena Sinclair went upstairs and looked around.
Everything was achingly familiar, exactly as she had left it.
Nothing had changed.
Her cold made her head feel fuzzy.
Suddenly, the phone in her pocket started ringing.
“Selena, I heard Sylas Vaughn took you away.
What’s going on?” Claire Cameron asked anxiously from the other end of the line.
“Claire, can you call in sick for me at work?
I’ll be back as soon as I handle things here.
Don’t worry, I can take care of it.”
Selena Sinclair casually stuck one hand in her pocket, held the phone with the other, and leaned against the edge of a desk as she spoke calmly to Claire Cameron.
“Selena, you have to tell me if you need help.
I’ll do whatever it takes to get you out of the Vaughn family’s clutches.”
“Mm, no need.
I can handle it myself,” she replied nonchalantly.
‘This time,’ she thought, ‘I’m going to make Sylas Vaughn pay for what he’s done.’
After hanging up, she scanned the room, then walked to a drawer and took out the divorce agreement she had already signed.
Her nose was badly congested, and her throat was a little hoarse.
Heavy footsteps sounded from outside the door.
Selena Sinclair focused, then walked over and opened it.
On the other side, Sylas Vaughn’s hand was raised mid-air, as if about to knock, but Selena had pulled the door open before his knuckles could connect.
“Sylas Vaughn, since you’ve already agreed to sign the divorce papers, please honor our agreement.
I’m going to the family estate tomorrow to explain everything to Grandpa.
I hope you won’t go back on your word.”
Sylas Vaughn’s brow was knitted tightly, his gaze locked intensely on her.
‘Since when did she gain the upper hand in our affairs?’
In the blink of an eye, his raised hand shot out without warning.
Caught off guard, Selena Sinclair felt her chin seized in his firm grip.
He forced her head up, compelling her to meet his deep, dark eyes.
Her heart suddenly clenched.
“Selena Sinclair, until I sign those papers, you are still my wife.
And as my wife, you should understand your duties.”
“So?
Did you bring me back here for something other than discussing the divorce?”
She questioned him coldly, her eyes firm and fearless, her tone showing no sign of weakness.
Her determined gaze stung him.
He had never expected his usually docile wife to be so unyielding; it made him uncomfortable.
He stared at her, his cold eyes sweeping over her calm face.
Suddenly, her features seemed somewhat unfamiliar.
His fingers tightened on her chin involuntarily.
He scrutinized her, his eyes narrowing to slits, his tone icy and heartless.
“Selena Sinclair, you’ve been Mrs.
Vaughn for three years.
How have you not improved at all?
You’re just as sharp-tongued and mean as the day you first entered the Vaughn family.”
“I have the Vaughn family to thank for who I am today.
That’s not wrong.”
Selena Sinclair tried to break free, but the disparity in strength between them was too great.
Her struggles were futile against him.
‘All these years, I couldn’t even count on both hands the number of times Laura Morgan must have secretly bad-mouthed me to him.’
When arguing proved useless, she had learned to be silent.
And now, it seemed he had come to see that silence as her duty.
Hearing her words, his eyes froze over in an instant.
He spoke again, his voice cold, “Selena Sinclair, must you make things this ugly to be satisfied?”
“I didn’t come back to argue with you about this…”
“So what?
I’m not signing.
Do you really think you can leave?”
He spoke with absolute certainty, his gaze fixed unwaveringly on her.
His words silenced all her rebuttals.
“Sylas Vaughn, are you trying to tell me you’ve fallen in love with me?
That you want to see where this goes?”
Selena Sinclair wrapped her arms around his neck, stood on her tiptoes, and leaned close to his ear, her whisper laced with provocation.
At six-foot-two, even on her toes, she could barely rest her chin on his shoulder.
Sylas Vaughn’s Adam’s apple bobbed.
Desire stirred within him.
An impulse he hadn’t felt in three years was instantly awakened by her words.
He subconsciously wrapped his arm around her slender waist, lifting her almost completely off the ground in an instant.
Looking over his shoulder, she saw the woman standing in the doorway.
She tightened her embrace and kissed him directly.
Hannah Hayes stood outside the door with a suitcase, witnessing the scene.
The suitcase in her hand suddenly dropped to the floor with a loud THUD.
“Honey, since your dear cousin Hannah Hayes is right here, why don’t we go ahead and sign that divorce agreement?
That way I can make room for you two.”
Selena Sinclair deliberately put on an intimate display, glanced at Hannah Hayes standing by the door, and then abruptly leaned in to whisper to Sylas Vaughn.
Sylas Vaughn frowned, his gaze fixed on the suddenly appeared Hannah Hayes.
A complex, indescribable emotion welled up inside him.
He pressed his lips together, suppressing the rage in his heart.
Grabbing Selena Sinclair’s wrist, he said coldly, “Selena Sinclair, you dare to set me up.”
“She came here on her own.
What does that have to do with me?”
Selena Sinclair casually patted his shoulder, as if brushing away her touch from a place it no longer belonged.
Then, she lifted her chin and demanded bluntly, “Sylas Vaughn, are you going to grant this divorce or not?
Or let me put it this way: do you want me, or her?”
“You…” His face flushed red with anger.
‘I can’t believe I let Selena Sinclair play me like that.’
His pride as a man was trampled in an instant.
A firestorm of rage erupted in Sylas Vaughn’s heart, burning all reason to ash.
In a flash, he viciously jerked her chin up.
His eyes were murderous as he snarled, “Selena Sinclair, I think you’re tired of living.”
He used so much force it felt like he would shatter her jawbone.
Selena Sinclair endured the searing pain, forcing out her words.
“Sylas Vaughn, this divorce…
are you going to sign it or not?”
She was certain she had seen through Sylas Vaughn, which was why she was forcing him to choose between Hannah Hayes and herself.
No matter which one he chose, as far as Selena Sinclair was concerned, she would be the winner.
That was why she didn’t care if Sylas Vaughn signed in front of Hannah Hayes or not.
She didn’t care about his answer at all.
What she wanted was an outcome—one that would allow her to walk away clean and escape his endless entanglement.
Or, she wanted him to utterly humiliate the idealized love of his heart.
Making him tell Hannah Hayes his choice himself—that satisfaction would be far greater than her threatening him with a knife to get a divorce.
“Selena Sinclair!” Sylas Vaughn ground out her name through clenched teeth.
He had never seen this aggressive side of Selena Sinclair before.
“Sylas Vaughn, don’t you want Hannah Hayes?
If you truly love her, then sign the divorce papers right now.”
Not to be outdone, Selena Sinclair’s voice was filled with an unquestionable authority, her gaze relentlessly firm.