Chapter 3

Florence POV:

Standing outside the sunroom door, hearing Francesco say the word "divorce" didn't bring the sharp pain I had once feared. Instead, a heavy weight seemed to drop from my chest.

Inside, Victoria Cannon slammed her teacup down onto its bone china saucer with a sharp crack. As the iron-fisted matriarch of this Old Money family, she never tolerated defiance.

"Absurd!" Victoria snapped. "Francesco, do you think a Cannon marriage is like your hockey gear, something you can just swap out whenever you please?"

Francesco braced both hands on the back of a wicker chair, his shoulders rigid.

"She doesn't belong in my world. Candace is the partner I need by my side."

"Candace Rich? That spoiled girl from Rich Holdings?" His grandfather, Arthur Cannon, let out a cold snort from the corner sofa.

I took a slow breath, pushed the glass door open, and stepped inside. My heels clicked crisply against the hardwood floor, cutting off their argument.

All three heads turned toward me. The instant Francesco saw me, his ice-blue eyes darkened with fury.

"What are you doing here? Who told you to come?" He strode over, stepping right in front of me to block his grandparents' view.

Looking past his broad shoulder, I nodded calmly to the elders.

"Good afternoon, Grandmother. Grandfather."

Victoria's sharp gaze swept over my tailored suit before pausing on my stomach. Her stern expression softened by a fraction.

"Sit down, Florence."

Francesco grabbed my wrist, his fingers squeezing hard enough to bruise.

"I asked you a question. Are you following me now?"

I yanked my arm out of his grip and met his glare evenly.

"This is the Cannon estate, Francesco, not your private locker room. Why shouldn't I be here?"

His jaw tightened. He clearly hadn't expected his usually submissive wife to talk back in front of his family.

Victoria tapped her silver-headed cane against the floor.

"Enough! Francesco, sit down."

Swallowing his anger, he shot me a warning glare and dropped onto the leather sofa.

Victoria turned her commanding gaze on me.

"Florence, I assume you heard what Francesco just said."

"I did," I replied evenly, sitting in the armchair across from him. "Since he wants a divorce, I agree."

Francesco's head snapped up, his eyes wide with disbelief. Even Victoria narrowed her eyes slightly.

"You agree?" Francesco sneered. "You're willing to give up the limitless credit cards and the Upper East Side penthouse?"

"Francesco, shut your mouth!" Arthur barked, before turning to me. "Florence, the Cannon family will not tolerate a scandal right now."

Victoria leaned forward, resting both hands on her cane.

"You are carrying Cannon blood. Until that child is born and Francesco finishes this NHL season, not a single word of divorce will reach the press."

I frowned slightly.

"You want us to keep pretending to be a happy couple?"

"It is not a request. It is an order." Victoria slipped a heavy emerald bracelet off her wrist and pushed it across the glass table toward me. "Consider this your compensation."

Francesco shot to his feet.

"Grandmother! I can't live under the same roof with her anymore. The media will eventually catch me and Candace—"

"Then tell Candace to behave herself!" Victoria cut him off sharply. "If your contract's Morality Clause is triggered and tanks our team's stock value, I will personally strip you of your captaincy!"

Francesco's hands balled into tight fists, the veins bulging on the backs of his hands. Breathing hard, he forced his rage down, glaring daggers at me.

I looked at the priceless emerald bracelet on the table without reaching for it. Lifting my chin, I looked straight at Victoria.

"I can cooperate with the family's PR, Grandmother. But I have two conditions."

"Speak," Victoria said, a flicker of surprise in her eyes.

"First, during this period, Francesco cannot interfere with my personal schedule or my work. Second, the day the baby is born, I want ten million dollars in settlement, and we sign the divorce papers immediately."

With a furious roar, Francesco kicked the glass coffee table over.

"Florence, you're finally showing your true, greedy colors!"