Chapter 3 When Are You Planning To Divorce Isabella

Inside the VIP room, the crowd erupted into laughter at Elaine's not-so-subtle confession of love.

"Ooh, Elaine, are you still hung up on Adrian?"

"Of course. He's the only man I've ever loved. Naturally, I can't move on."

"Don't worry, Adrian can't move on from you, either!"

"Adrian, why so quiet? Our great artist is waiting. Hurry up and say yes!"

Adrian just smiled. Instead of answering, he picked up his wine glass and tapped it against Elaine's.

The gesture sent Kieran into a frenzy. He hopped up onto the sofa and hollered, "What's with the glass clinking? Are we practicing for the wedding toast already? Tsk, tsk... Adrian, is that your way of saying yes?"

The others quickly chimed in, one of them exclaiming, "Elaine, what are you waiting for? Make a move!"

Blushing, Elaine stood, leaned down coyly, and planted a kiss on Adrian's cheek.

Adrian still didn't say a word, but he didn't push her away, either.

The atmosphere in the room hit a fever pitch, dissolving into endless laughter and teasing banter.

None of them knew Isabella was standing right outside the door. Inside, some tactless voice suddenly cut through the noise. "Then what about the one Adrian has at home?"

The words landed like a dropped glass. As if a massive taboo had just been breached, the room instantly fell dead silent.

Kieran shot a glance at Elaine and was the first to break the tension. "What else is he gonna do? Divorce Isabella, obviously! Adrian never liked her in the first place. The marriage with the Hudson family was just forced by circumstance. He only went through with it to repay a favor to her father, Edward. Adrian had to clear the debt, didn't he? But Edward has been dead for years, and Adrian's paid his dues. Over the last few years, he's funneled hundreds of millions into the Hudson family. They should be more than satisfied by now, right?"

With that, Kieran hopped off the sofa, plopped down next to Adrian, and slung an arm around his shoulders. "Adrian, give it to us straight. When are you planning to divorce Isabella?"

At the mention of divorce, a flicker of inexplicable discomfort crossed Adrian's face, as if the word itself left a bad taste in his mouth.

But it was just banter among friends, so he brushed the feeling aside.

Shoving Kieran's arm off, he gave a low chuckle. "I'm considering it."

Considering it...

Hearing those words loud and clear, Isabella felt as though a needle had pierced her heart. A sharp, icy pain radiated through her entire body.

While she was desperately trying to hold their marriage together, he was already planning his exit.

Truthfully, she had always wondered why Adrian had insisted on marrying her after the Hudson family pulled that substitute bride trick.

Now, she finally had her answer.

Years ago, the Knights and the Hudsons were both prominent families in Cathjeport. To consolidate their power, the two families had agreed on a marriage arrangement early on.

Then, the Knight family was thrown into turmoil. Adrian's father died in a sudden accident. Not only did the company's stock plummet, but the other factions of the Knight family tried to oust Adrian so they could swallow up the family assets.

Desperate to avoid the fallout, Belinda wanted to cancel the marriage arrangement.

But Isabella's father, Edward Hudson, refused.

Not only did he refuse to break the pact, but he also stepped up, doing everything in his power to back his future son-in-law.

Not long after, however, her father passed away, and the Hudson family began a slow, steady decline.

Unwilling to let Maggie suffer alongside a struggling Adrian, Belinda had married Isabella off to him instead.

Eventually, Adrian managed to stabilize the Knight family and staged a massive comeback.

Over the years, he had funneled a fortune into the Hudson family, both openly and in secret. It was his way of repaying Edward's kindness.

And now that the debt was paid, it was time to cut ties.

...

Back inside the VIP room, after Kieran finished laughing with the others, he glanced over and caught sight of a shadow lingering by the crack in the door.

He knew exactly who it was, but he feigned surprise. "Huh? Looks like someone's out there."

Isabella turned to flee, but Kieran was faster. With a swift yank, he threw the door wide open.

He practically shouted her name. "Oh, if it isn't Isabella!"

The room, which had been roaring with noise just a second ago, instantly flatlined at the sound of her name.

Everyone turned to stare at her in unison, their expressions shifting into varying degrees of awkwardness. After all, getting caught red-handed trashing someone behind their back was bound to kill the mood.

Trapped, Isabella had no choice but to look toward the man sitting in the center of the room.

Adrian had been wearing a faint, careless smirk, but the moment his eyes locked onto hers, the amusement vanished, replaced by frost. "Why are you here?"

Elaine, still leaning against him, didn't look surprised in the slightest. Instead, she covered her mouth in mock shock. "How long has she been standing there? Has she been eavesdropping this whole time? Adrian, your wife has absolutely no class. She's making you look terrible!"

It clicked for Isabella in an instant. Adrian wasn't drunk. Kieran had lured her here on purpose.

As for why Kieran was targeting her? It undoubtedly had everything to do with the artist sitting beside her husband.

Taking a deep breath, Isabella looked at Adrian. "Kieran texted me. He said you were drunk and asked me to come take you home."

Adrian caught the glaring holes in her story, his expression turning downright glacial. "Leaving aside the fact that I can hold my liquor, even if I were drunk, I have a driver to take me home. Why would you need to concern yourself with it?"

The moment the words left his mouth, a few sneers echoed through the room, heavy with open disdain.

In that moment, Isabella felt a crushing wave of humiliation.

Kieran chuckled, leaning in to drop his voice. "You've seen it for yourself. Adrian is getting back together with Elaine. If you know what's good for you, step aside."

Isabella stared at the sheer malice in his eyes. Her lips trembled before she finally managed a single word. "Why?"

She had always assumed that since he was Adrian's friend, Kieran would at least maintain a baseline of respect and decency, even if they rarely interacted.

She couldn't fathom why he was going out of his way to make her leave Adrian.

As if reading her mind, Kieran tilted his head with a wicked smirk. "Take a guess."