THE DIVORCE GAMBIT From Dumped Wife to CEO's Forever novel Chapter 21

Caitlin glanced back over her shoulder and met Julian's gaze, exasperation written all over her face. "Seriously, Julian, have you lost your mind? What else would I be doing at city hall besides filing for divorce?"

The word "divorce" slipped from Caitlin's lips again, and Julian looked as if he'd just been slapped. He couldn't believe it.

Divorce papers?

No way.

Caitlin was crazy about him. She doted on him, pored over his work proposals, cooked his favorite meals, even knitted him scarves. She always wore the makeup he liked, dressed in those gray outfits just to please him, and acted like a lovesick puppy—sometimes she'd light up just because he glanced her way.

When she'd found out about Sophie, Caitlin had gone ballistic with jealousy, even cornering Sophie and scaring the poor girl out of her wits.

Now, as if to win him back, Caitlin had wiped off her heavy makeup.

Why else would she show up looking so fresh-faced?

She must be trying to seduce him. There was no other explanation. Who else would get all dolled up just to get divorced?

Julian couldn't imagine any other reason. His eyes narrowed with disdain as he spoke again. "Let me make this clear, Caitlin: no matter what little tricks you pull, you'll always be a joke to me. The title of Mrs. Chandler is not something someone like you could ever dream of having."

That honor belonged to Sophie alone.

Sophie was everything Caitlin wasn't: elegant, beautiful, the perfect daughter of a wealthy family. Caitlin was just a country nobody who could never measure up.

Thinking about Sophie, Julian's expression softened a little.

Caitlin, meanwhile, was trying not to gag.

Was Julian always this disgusting? So full of himself? She couldn't imagine what she'd ever seen in him. Her standards must have been at rock bottom.

She needed to get out of this, fast.

"Julian, do us all a favor and wipe the sleep out of your eyes before you talk nonsense, okay? I'm here to divorce you, not to take out the trash." Caitlin's voice was cool and detached. "From this day forward, even if you got down on your knees and begged, I wouldn't so much as glance at that ‘Mrs. Chandler' title. Hope you and Sophie stay shackled together forever—may you never, ever break up!"

Julian stared at her, eyes narrowed, convinced he could see right through her. He thought he could spot the love she still had for him—desperate, hopeless, obsessive love.

She was just pretending not to care, trying to provoke him with her sarcasm.

Julian's lips curled into a sneer. "Don't kid yourself, Caitlin. I know exactly what you're thinking. Sophie's the only woman worthy of me getting down on one knee. You? Keep dreaming."

What was going on? Why wasn't she playing her usual games? Did she actually want this divorce?

He couldn't process it. Caitlin was supposed to be head over heels for him. Wasn't she?

And today, she hadn't cried, hadn't thrown a tantrum, hadn't threatened to do anything dramatic. Julian's feelings twisted into something he couldn't quite name.

The clerk went through the motions. "What's the reason for your divorce?"

"He cheated," Caitlin answered.

The clerk shot Julian a look of contempt. He looked respectable enough, but apparently, he was just another cheating jerk.

A vein throbbed in Julian's forehead. He and Sophie were in love! How was that cheating? In any relationship, the one who isn't loved is the outsider.

If anyone was the other woman, it was Caitlin.

He was sure Caitlin still loved him. Why else would she be so bitter, calling it cheating?