Marina's voice was cold, threatening. "Without me, you can't survive in this industry. You'll be nothing. You'll end up sweeping streets."
She'd forgotten. I was the one who pulled her family back from bankruptcy.
I was the reason she didn't have to marry some man in his fifties.
When she said those words, I saw raw fear flash through my parents' eyes.
Derek spoke up. "Come on, bro, don't do anything stupid..."
"She just made a little mistake. You should forgive her."
Nathan piped up in his tiny voice. "Daddy, I want you and Mommy to stay together!"
Under the weight of my family's pressure, I fell silent for a long moment.
Then I looked at Marina.
"Fine. No divorce. But you have to agree to three things."
"Get rid of the baby."
"Fire Tristan Lawrence. Cut all contact."
"Give me the fifty percent stake in the company that's rightfully mine."
Back when I'd poured millions into her family's business, she'd promised to convert my investment into half the company's shares.
But because we were together, and I still had dividends from the company, I never asked for it back.
"Godfrey, do you really have to be this cruel to me?"
"Every single one of those three conditions is cruel to me."