Chapter 12

Chapter 12

The car fell into an eerie silence for a while.

Maxwell cocked his head to look at her, “Because you’re an idiot, got a screw loose, blind as a ”

“I mean, really.” Rosemary couldn’t help but laugh in exasperation, “Why would I bother wasting time shooting the breeze with a pig?”

She turned to open the car door, but Maxwell grabbed her in a flash, his handsome face as grim as a thundercloud.

Outside, Hans, seeing no movement inside, rapped on the window more frantically, “Rose, are you alright

there

“Rose?” The man’s eyes narrowed with a chilly gleam, “Pretty cozy with the pet names, huh? Can’t wait to hook up with other man even before the ink is dry on the divorce papers? But gotta say, your taste in men has taken a nosedive.”

That last line was through gritted teeth Rosemary couldn’t be bothered to clear up the misunderstanding the name had caused. It didn’t matter anymore.

“Yeah, my taste in men has always been crap, hasn’t it? Ended up marrying you, didn’t I? Hans is just a co…a friend. Just because you play dirty doesn’t mean everyone’s out to play dirty like you.”

She could throw shade at him, but she wouldn’t drag an innocent person down with her. She didn’t say “colleague” because she didn’t want to get into a never–ending argument with Maxwell, and besides, wasn’t should be discussing right now?

there something more important the

“When you have some free time, let’s hit up City Hall and get the divorce papers signed”

Hearing her bring up divorce again made Maxwell’s temples throb violently. Rosemary didn’t give a fig about his expression, she just kept talking, “If it’s because of the contract not being up yet, I can pay the penalty”

She wasn’t sure which part had set Maxwell off, but his eyes were practically spitting fire, “Does your new flame know you’re still hitched? What would he think if he saw us getting cozy in the car?”

Rosemary thought to herself, “Damn it, is he even listening to a word I’m saying?”

But when she caught the knowing look in his eyes, her heart skipped a beat! The next moment, Maxwell. showed her he wasn’t kidding around.

His hands clamped around her slender waist, pulling her into his embrace, and then he leaned down for a kiss. The console between them didn’t do a thing to stop his advances. One hand found the seat adjustment button, and with the other supporting Rosemary’s waist, the seat reclined back, and she was pinned underneath him. This was the first time Rosemary saw Maxwell lose control like this, she squirmed, “Let me go!”

With her struggle, the car shook, and the knocking outside suddenly stopped.

This scene. Good luck to anyone not getting the wrong idea!

Rosemary immediately froze, glaring at Maxwell with red–rimmed eyes, her lips swollen from the kiss, looking utterly victimized.

Maxwell saw her like this, his mood softening: he pressed his hand to his temple, “Send him away, I won’t touch

you

The moment he withdrew, Rosemary hurriedly tidied up her disheveled clothes and hair, then pushed the door open and stepped out, slamming the car door shut with a bang!

Outside, Hans stepped back as the door opened, ‘Rose, did that guy in the car bully you?”

In the moment before the door shut, he caught a glimpse of the man inside those eyes flickering like a

bottomless pool.

And that suit on the man, Hans had seen it in magazinen before, easily a six figure price tag, and the car This guy didn’t look like an Uber thriver from any angle

Rosemary knew what Hans thinking, but just shook her head, I’m fine, thanks You go grab some food; I’m heading out”

Without waiting for him to say more, she flagged down a taxi, gave the diver the address of her new apartment, and the car sped off in a cloud of dust.

Back home, Rosemary headed to the bathroom. After a shower, she called the lawyer who had helped her draft the divorce agreement, “Louis, what are my chances of winning a divorce lawsult under these circumstances?”

“If you want the property division you mentioned before…it’s going to be tough.” Louis remembered Rosemary’s case vividly because of the massive property involved and the husband’s status.

“

if I don’t care about the property?”

Rosemary had never expected to get a slice of Maxwell’s wealth. She had listed it just to tick him off.

“Then it depends on how much Mr. Templeton wants the divorce. You can still file, but if Mr. Templeton. disagrees.

it could drag on for a long time. Without evidence of abuse or irreconcilable differences, judges tend to advocate for reconciliation, and if they don’t grant the divorce the first time, you have to wait three months to appeal.”

Rosemary figured that the main reason Maxwell was clinging to her was that she had brought up divorce first, bruising ego, and the timing made it easy for people to assume Victoria was the other woman.

But they were secretly married. If this went to court, everyone would find out, and Victoria would never shake. off the homewrecker label. For Victoria’s sake, Maxwell would surely agree to the divorce.

pressed her lips, “Louis, draft a lawyer’s letter and send it to him for me.”

After hanging up let out a long sigh.

Louis was quick. The next morning, Maxwell received the lawyer’s letter. Christ, who always Maxwell’s mail first, had a bad feeling the moment he saw it.

Sure enough the atmosphere in the office plummeted a few degrees as he saw Mr. Templeton’s frosty expression and tentatively said, “Mr. Templeton, Ms. Chambers might just be playing hardball with you.”

Maxwell looked up, sweeping Christ with an icy glare, Find out what Rosemary’s been up to lately.”

What kind of lucrative job had she landed or who had she hooked up with to be so bold as to send him a lawyer’s letter!

It wasn’t hard to track Rosemary’s movements and by noon Christ had exact news, “Ms. Chambers is currently working at Heritage Revive Studio.”

“Heritage Revive Studio?”

“A restoration studio that’s big news in the antiquities game, they only handle the tough gigs, the big league stuff. Only the cream of the crop gets in there, real national treasures.”

Maxwell frowned, he couldn’t recall Rosemary ever messing with that sort of thing, though she did graduate from some fancy art college.

“She can fix up antiques?”

“

, Ms. Chambers is in there as a janitor.”

Christ had to check it out himself, and saw Rosemary sweeping the floor with his own eyes. Just to make sure he wasn’t barking up the wrong tree, he even asked around to confirm she was indeed a janitor

“A janitor?” Maxwell snorted, tossing the lawyer’s letter away. “Seems the lady of leisure got bored of her

bottomless .

And that suit on the man, Hans had seen it in magazines before, a six–figure price tag, and the car.

This guy didn’t look like an Uber driver from any angle.

Rosemary knew what Hans was thinking, but she just shook her head, “I’m fine, thanks. You go grab some food, I’m heading out.”

Without waiting for him to say more, she flagged down a taxi, gave the driver the address of her new apartment, and the car sped off in a cloud of dust.

Back home, Rosemary headed to the bathroom. After a shower, she called the lawyer who had helped her draft the divorce agreement, “Louis, what are my chances of winning a divorce lawsuit under these circumstances?”

“If you want the property division you mentioned before…it’s going to be tough,” Louis remembered Rosemary’s case vividly because of the massive property involved and the husband’s status.

“What if I don’t care about the property?”

Rosemary had never expected to get a slice of Maxwell’s wealth. She had listed it just to tick him off.

“Then it depends on how much Mr. Templeton wants the divorce. You can still file, but if Mr. Templeton disagrees, it could drag on for a long time. Without evidence of abuse or irreconcilable differences, judges tend to advocate for reconciliation, and if they don’t grant the divorce the first time, you have to wait three months to appeal

Rosemary figured that the main reason Maxwell was clinging to her that she had brought up divorce first, bruising his ego, and the timing made it easy for people to assume Victoria was the other woman.

But they were secretly married. If this went to court, everyone would find out, and Victoria would never shake off the homewrecker label. For Victoria’s sake, Maxwell would surely agree to the divorce.

Rosemary pressed her lips, “Louis, draft a lawyer’s letter and send it to him for me.”

After hanging up, she let out a long sigh.

Louis was quick. The next morning, Maxwell received the lawyer’s letter. Christ, who always checked Maxwell’s mail first, had a bad feeling the moment he saw it.

Sure enough, the atmosphere in the office plummeted a few degrees as he saw Mr. Templeton’s frosty expression and tentatively said, “Mr. Templeton, Ms. Chambers might just be playing hardball with you.”

Maxwell looked up, sweeping Christ w

an icy glare, “Find out what Rosemary’s been up to lately.”

What kind of lucrative job had she landed or who had she hooked up with to be so bold as to send him a lawyer’s letter!

It wasn’t hard to track Rosemary’s movements, and by noon Christ had exact news, “Ms. Chambers is currently working at Heritage Revive Studio.”

“Heritage Revive Studio?”

“A restoration studio that’s big news in the antiquities game, they only handle the tough gigs, the big league stuff. Only the cream of the crop gets in there, real national treasures.”

Maxwell frowned, he couldn’t recall Rosemary ever messing with that sort of thing, though she did graduate from some fancy art college.

“She can fix up antiques?”

“

, Ms. Chambers is in there as a janitor.”

Christ had to check it out himself, and saw Rosemary sweeping the floor with his own eyes. Just to make sure he barking up the wrong tree, he even asked around to confirm she was indeed a janitor.

“A janitor?” Maxwell snorted, tossing the lawyer’s letter . “Seems the lady of leisure got bored of her

pampered life, itching for a taste of the real world. I’ve been spoiling her rotten these past couple of years; should’ve hustling for a living, that would’ve kept her too busy to stir up trouble”

Truth be told, Christ felt kind of sorry for Ms. Chambers. As the wife of the president of the Templeton Group, it was bad enough nobody knew it, but she was also slumming it serving tea and running errands, even her takeout up in the .

Anyone else would’ve probably flipped their lid and stuck the takeout box right on Mr. Templeton’s forehead!

“Get out,” he dismissed Christ, and then called .

Right then, Rosemary was in the middle of a delicate job, and the buzz from her phone nearly her slip up.

Already in a foul mood, seeing that name on the screen cranked up her irritation. She knew why Maxwell was calling, he must have gotten the lawyer’s letter by now.

Before she could get a word out, the man’s mocking voice came through, “Rosemary, do you have any idea how much property goes for in Greenwood these days ”

“What?

“With that pitiful janitor’s paycheck of yours, bet you can’t even make rent, huh?”

Chapter 13