Urging Him to Get a Divorce novel Chapter 22

Xavier gestured for Helena to come inside. She set the trash bag by the door and followed him.

He shrugged off his jacket and tossed it over the back of the couch. “What brings you here tonight? My mother didn’t send you, did she?”

Helena shook her head. “It was Mrs. Beltran. She asked me to come over and tidy up since Ms. Sutton moved out.”

Xavier’s brow furrowed. It didn’t take much to figure out Leona had told Lauren that Aveline was gone.

“Everything alright over at Parkview Estates?” Xavier asked.

Helena offered a smile. “I’ve been busy going back and forth, but I can handle it. Mrs. Beltran brought in another maid to help out.”

Xavier had intended to ask Helena about how Aveline was doing at Parkview Estates, but she never caught his mean- ing.

Not that it mattered. He was only asking out of passing curiosity, not genuine concern. With a nod, he dismissed her.

Helena had just reached the door and pulled it open when his voice stopped her. “Don’t let mother know that Ms. Josephine lives across the hall.”

Both Lauren and Rupert despised Courtney, and by extension, Josephine as well. If they found Josephine lived on the same floor as him, there would be no end to their outrage.

No one could change Xavier’s decisions, but he had no interest in dealing with avoidable drama.

Helena froze for a moment, then gave a quick nod.

“And from now on,” Xavier added, “when you come here to clean, stop by Ms. Josephine’s place too.”

“Of course,” Helena agreed at once.

After she left, Xavier picked up his phone and dialed Leona. “The property agreement needs to be fair to Aveline. Cutting her off completely is too much. We need to revise it.”

Leona was stunned. “You already know what’s in it?”

“I just know it gives everything to me and nothing to her.” His voice was cool, detached.

Leona let out a sharp, dismissive snort.

Since Gerald had been Xavier’s closest friend since boyhood, most of his legal affairs went through Beacon Law Firm.

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Chapter 22

But because Fiona, one of Beacon’s partners, was close to Aveline, Leona had deliberately gone elsewhere for the di- vorce agreement. She hadn’t wanted Fiona tipping Aveline off.

Even so, the lawyer Leona hired knew Xavier. Odds were, the lawyer had leaked the contents.

“You can’t be serious about giving her half,” Leona snapped. “That villa in Parkview Estates alone is worth tens of thousands. If she gets even a fraction, she should count herself lucky.”

But Xavier wasn’t swayed. Aveline had been by his side for years, engaged for one, and caring for him at Winslow Heights for another. If divorce was inevitable, he refused to make the split needlessly cruel.

“Forget it,” Xavier said flatly. “I’ll have Gerald handle the agreement. You stay away from it.”

Leona’s voice sharpened. “Xavier, if I don’t step in, Aveline will skin you alive.”

He couldn’t be bothered to argue. “Enough. That’s final. I’m hanging up.”

And with that, he ended the call.

Bitterness churned in Leona’s chest. She was convinced Aveline had somehow found out about the agreement. That had to be why Xavier suddenly wanted to amend it.

Without hesitation, she called Aveline.

Aveline had just stepped into her house. The moment she saw Leona’s name flashing on the screen, she didn’t need to guess. It would be nothing but curses.

She tossed the phone onto the bed and headed for the shower.

When she came out, Leona had already called several more times. Aveline ignored them, so the calls turned into a barrage of vicious texts.

“Aveline Sutton, why won’t you answer? Feeling guilty?”

“I’m warning you. Don’t get greedy. You won’t get a single dime from the Beltrans.”

“You may share the same father, but you’ll never measure up to Josie.”

“That’s why Xavier has always loved her, and why he feels nothing but disgust toward you.”

“Consider this a warning.”

Being told she wasn’t even as good as the illegitimate child made Aveline’s chest burn with fury. Her face tightened, her hand clenching hard around the phone.

But after a long moment, she set it aside without replying.

Cutting ties with Xavier meant cutting ties with the Beltran family as a whole. Soon enough, none of them would have any power over her life.

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