Chapter 14 Do Not Bother Me Again
Estella picked up her bag and stood up. “Mr. Hunter, I don’t think we have anything me again.”
Finished
more to discuss. I hope you won’t bother
She paid for her coffee and turned to leave.
Hunter had never been rejected by a woman like this before. Humiliated and furious, he didn’t chase after her.
Isabelle looked at Nathaniel in surprise. “So, this is the kind of work Estella does? Well, I’m not surprised. She’s never had a real job, so how could she find one? And after being pampered by you for three years, there’s no way she could handle a tough life. All she could do was find a rich man to rely on…”
Seeing Nathaniel’s face darken instantly, she stopped, satisfaction flashing in her eyes.
At the entrance of the residential complex, Estella spotted a familiar Maybach.
Nathaniel stood in front of the car.
At his feet, cigarette butts were scattered all over the ground.
Estella acted as if she hadn’t seen him and turned to leave.
“Estella!” The man stepped forward and grabbed her wrist.
Estella tried to shake him off but couldn’t break free.
Nathaniel pushed her into the car.
She reached for the door handle, but he locked the doors.
“What do you think you’re doing?” A trace of anger appeared on Estella’s face.
Nathaniel sneered. “What do I think I’m doing? Estella, you’d rather degrade yourself than stay married to me? Do you really think you’ll have a good life without me?”
Estella laughed in disbelief.
“Mr. Hartwell, don’t flatter yourself. Did I ever have a good life with you?”
Nathaniel thought of his past neglect and coldness toward Estella and felt a twinge of guilt.
But then, he quickly dismissed it. He wasn’t like those other men.
They just wanted to keep Estella as a mistress. But he had given her a title.
“Come back with me. You can still be Mrs. Hartwell.”
He knew Estella loved him. This entire divorce ordeal was just her way of getting his attention.
And she had succeeded.
These past days without her had been unsettling.
Every morning, he woke up to no breakfast made by Estella. The watches and belts he wanted to wear were always missing. Even the humidity in his room felt off.
His life, he realized, depended on Estella’s care.
Isabelle could bring excitement, but she couldn’t provide a comfortable home.
He had never thought about marrying Isabelle. Only Estella was fit to be his wife.
Estella found his words ridiculous.
“Mr. Hartwell, why would I ever crawl back after escaping this hell?”
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Chapter 14 Do Not Bother Me Again
Nathaniel stared at her cold, indifferent eyes, unable to comprehend.
She never looked at me like this before. How long is she going to keep this up?
Finished
“Are you mad because of Isabelle? But she could never threaten your place. If you don’t like her, I can send her abroad.”
At worst, he could just visit Isabelle a few times a month overseas.
Estella clenched her fists, realizing there was no reasoning with him.
“I’m divorcing you for more than just Isabelle.”
“Then what other reason could there be? You love me so much. Can you really bear to leave me? And do you really think you’ll find someone better than me?”
Nathaniel was confident in himself, and he was just as confident in Estella’s love for him.
Seeing him like this, Estella didn’t even know how to explain. She took out her phone and pulled up a document for him to
see.
“Nathaniel, take a look at this.”
Nathaniel was puzzled but still took the phone.
When he saw the contents of the document, he was stunned. “This is…”
Estella told him bluntly, “This is the contract I signed with your mom. Our marriage was a transaction.”
“Nathaniel,” she enunciated each word clearly, “I never loved you.”
Her words struck his chest like a muffled thunderclap.
All his past confidence crumbled like tissue paper, torn to shreds.
“No, that’s impossible.” His palms trembled slightly.
Estella took back the phone and said calmly and indifferently, “You can ask Madam Madeline. She wouldn’t lie to you, would she?”
Nathaniel’s mind was in chaos, and for a moment, he couldn’t respond.
Estella had no patience to explain further. “Let me out of the car.”
Nathaniel unlocked the door, and Estella stepped out.
Watching her back, Nathaniel raked a hand through his hair, then immediately drove back to Hartwell Mansion.
His phone rang.
He glanced at the screen and it was Isabelle calling.
He didn’t answer and kept driving.
Madeline was about to rest when she saw Nathaniel return. Startled, she asked, “Nathaniel, why are you back so suddenly?”
Nathaniel clutched his mother’s hand tightly, his voice frantic. “Mom, was it you who brought Estella to take care of me three years ago?”
Madeline hadn’t expected him to find out about this.
With a sigh, she told him the truth.
That’s right. Three years ago, after your heartbreak and the car accident, you gave up on yourself. You drank at home every day and refused to follow the doctor’s orders for rehabilitation. I was worried about you, so I came up with this plan. I found Estella and signed a contract with her to take care of you. She did an excellent job, so much so that even I was touched by everything she’s done for you over the years. Now that Isabelle is back, you want to be with her, and Estella, being sensible,
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3:20 PM P P.
Chapter 14 Do Not Bother Me Again
has left without causing trouble…”
Nathaniel suddenly erupted in fury. “So you’re saying Estella never loved me?”
She treated me so well. How could she not love me?
He couldn’t accept it. He refused to accept that Estella had never loved him!
“Why are you so angry?” Madeline asked in confusion. “You don’t love Estella. Isn’t it good that she left quietly?”
Finished
Nathaniel clenched his fists, veins bulging on his forehead. “I don’t have to love her, but she is not allowed to not love me!”
Estella belonged to him. He wouldn’t let her escape his grasp.
Madeline was completely baffled. “Nathaniel, what are you even saying?”
For the past three years, he had treated Estella worse than a housekeeper. She couldn’t understand why he was so furious about her not loving him.
He should be happy.
Nathaniel stared at his mother, venting his frustration. “You shouldn’t have signed for just three years. You should have made it a lifetime! She should never be able to leave me! Mom, why didn’t you discuss the contract with me first?”
Madeline was stunned.
Nathaniel actually wants to keep Estella trapped forever? Has he secretly been in love with her all along?
Nathaniel was a businessman. After the initial shock and rage, he quickly regained his composure.
“Estella must be mine. Mom, did you compensate her?”
Madeline nodded. “I gave her a villa and 140,000 dollars.”
A calculating glint flashed in Nathaniel’s eyes. “As long as she runs out of money, she’ll come back to me. Mom, stay out of this. I’ll make sure she comes back to me, obediently…”
Madeline hadn’t expected Nathaniel to resort to schemes to force Estella back.
“What about Isabelle? Don’t you like her?”
Nathaniel frowned. “I like Isabelle. What does that have to do with bringing Estella back as my wife?”
Madeline was speechless.
She had thought Nathaniel’s feelings for Estella were deep.
Turns out, it was nothing more than this.
Forget it, if Nathaniel wants to do things his way, so be it.
As long as Nathaniel didn’t marry Isabelle and bring her into the Hartwell family, Madeline had no objections.
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