“Stop talking nonsense and come home right now.”
Juliet and Amara exchanged a quick look.
Juliet leaned closer immediately, lowering her voice into a whisper, her eyes widening slightly.
“He didn’t change his mind about the divorce… did he?”
Her expression tightened with concern.
Amara’s gaze stayed on the phone, but her jaw tightened subtly. She reached forward again and picked it up, bringing it closer to her lips.
A faint, dangerous curve touched her mouth.
“Mr. Creed,” she said softly, a hint of teasing in her voice. “Are you already regretting the divorce?”
A faint smile tugged at her lips.
“What is it? Did it just hit you that you’re about to be dumped by your very perfect wife?”
On the other end, there was a sudden sound—like a chair scraping harshly against the floor.
“You think I would ever regret anything in my life?”
His tone sharpened further, as if forcing control back into himself.
“I don’t regret anything. Stop imagining things.”
There was a pause—his breathing slightly heavier now, footsteps faintly audible as if he was moving while speaking. Then suddenly, he stopped.
“You want the divorce, don’t you?” he said, voice tightening. “Then come home. We’ll finish everything properly.”
Amara leaned back into the couch, crossing one leg over the other with slow composure. Her fingers lightly tapped the phone as she spoke into the speaker.
“I can finish everything at the courthouse, Elias.”
Her eyes narrowed slightly.
“I don’t need to come to your house for that.”
Her eyes flicked briefly toward Juliet and Jasper, who were both watching her intently now.
“I don’t really see why I should.”
There was a sharp pause on the other end.
Then Elias’s voice cut through again, harsher.
“What are you so busy with that you can’t even come back home?”
Amara exhaled softly, leaning deeper into the couch as if she was settling in for entertainment. A faint smile touched her lips.
“I’m enjoying my freedom now.”
Her fingers lightly tapped against her knee as she continued.
“Now that I’m not tied to a man anymore… I can go out, explore, meet people—taste new things.”
The last words were said with a slight pause, carefully chosen to provoke.
