Goodbye My Love Ch 3

Chapter 3 Utterly Exhausting
Rosalie let out a cold laugh, sitting up with all traces of allure wiped from her face. Her tone was sharp, ice-cold.
“If you can’t satisfy me in bed, let’s try another way. I want to be Grigow Airlines’ Executive Director. Make it happen. Otherwise, this charade is over. And by the way, I’ll stop covering for your infertility. Your call.”
Nathaniel stared at her as if she were out of her mind. “Are you delusional?”
Even though she’d prepared herself for such a response, the words still hit her like a sledgehammer.
After a pause, Rosalie let out a soft, almost imperceptible chuckle.
“When Leonor came back, you handed her the position of Senior Engineer without a second thought. Yet I ask for a measly Executive Director title, and you can’t make that happen? Tell me, Nathaniel, who’s really your woman here?”
Before she could finish, Nathaniel’s hand gripped her chin with startling force.
“Is this what this is about?” His voice was cold, dripping with disdain. “Do you have any self-awareness? Leonor earned her position with her skills. And you? What do you bring to the table, wriggling around in bed?”
Her heart felt torn apart by countless invisible thorns.
Nathaniel, visibly annoyed, couldn’t bear to stay in the room any longer. He climbed out of bed, throwing a sharp retort over his shoulder.
“I’ll sleep in the guest room tonight. Stop making a fuss over nonsense. It’s exhausting.”
The door slammed shut behind him, the sound like a slap to Rosalie’s face.
She had known how this would end, yet she’d still walked straight into it, humiliating herself in the process.
A bitter smile tugged at her lips, but her tears were beyond her control. She curled into herself, trembling from the cold that seeped into her very bones.
Three years ago, Rosalie was unable to care for her terminally ill mother while dealing with the financial ruin her father had left behind. Nathaniel’s Grandpa, Eldon, had stepped in, offering six billion dollars and an old, yellowed marriage certificate to bring her into the Drake family as Nathaniel’s wife.
To outsiders, Rosalie was the luckiest woman alive—a penniless girl turned Mrs. Drake. Her father’s debts were wiped clean. But no one knew about the diary she kept hidden, its pages filled with Nathaniel’s name, from her teenage dreams to the scars of her present reality.
She had thought that if she worked hard enough, she could earn a sliver of his affection.
But she learned the truth eventually. Nathaniel had always loved someone else. He had only agreed to marry Rosalie to shield that other woman from the Drake family’s wrath.
None of that mattered to Rosalie.
What mattered was the identity of the woman in Nathaniel’s heart—Leonor.
Leonor was one of the very people who had ruined Rosalie and her mother’s lives.
But how could I explain that? Nathaniel would never believe me.
So, she fought in silence, playing petty games with him, hoping only for one thing: that he would stay away from that woman.
It was all futile.
The events of the previous day replayed in her mind.
This ridiculous, one-sided love she had nurtured in the dirt was finally over.
Rosalie tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep until dawn, her mind sorting through what needed to be done.
*****
By noon, the housekeeper’s voice sounded from outside her door.
“Mrs. Drake, the food preparations are ready.”
Rosalie sat up abruptly, suddenly remembering that today marked their third wedding anniversary. She had started planning for it weeks ago.
Now, all her anticipation felt laughable, pointless.
She forced herself to move, tidying up and heading out of the room.
She had planned to call off the preparations, but as she glanced at the dining table, her eyes caught on a familiar designer bag, and her face turned ashen.
It was the same bag Leonor had flaunted on Twitter not long ago. So he has bought it for her this quickly and even brazenly brought it home.
A wave of indescribable emotion surged through Rosalie, threatening to drive her mad.
Her gaze shifted to the meticulously prepared dishes. Fine. The man was trash, but at least the food shouldn’t go to waste.
Instead of cooking herself, Rosalie instructed the staff to prepare every ingredient in the house and turn it into as many dishes as possible. She then had them packed into disposable containers, which she handed to several delivery riders.
“Take these to IronSpell Machines,” she told them calmly. “Tell them it’s a gift from Nathaniel Drake’s wife to celebrate our divorce and my escape from an impotent man.”
The riders froze, staring at her in disbelief, almost dropping the food boxes.
Without batting an eye, Rosalie handed them a wad of cash.
“Make sure to use a loudspeaker,” Rosalie added.
IronSpell Machines was Nathaniel’s company, separate from the Drake family empire.
She didn’t know its exact valuation.
But she knew one thing. IronSpell Machines was founded by Nathaniel, Leonor, and a few of their close friends.