Rachel froze for a second before comprehending his meaning.
That divorce agreement... he tore it up?
"Why did you tear it up?"
Didn't he want to give the love of his life a proper status for raising his sister?
He should be eager to finalize the divorce too.
Their eyes locked.
Jared raised one eyebrow, his tone dripping with condescension. "Your handwriting is too ugly. I can't stand looking at ugly things."
This excuse was both absurd and provocative.
Rachel's blood boiled.
"You are seriously sick. Did Sahara cut out your brain along with the umbilical cord when she gave birth to you?"
Instead of getting angry, Jared smacked his lips as he studied her red lips. "You're so good at cursing. Did you smear poisonous honey on your mouth?"
"..."
Rachel refused to engage with him.
He was always like this... a few offhand teasing remarks would turn her anger and hurt into what he saw as unreasonable tantrums.
The Bentley rolled out of the underground garage.
The midsummer sun streamed through the windows, illuminating Jared's deep, knowing gaze.
His fingertips lightly brushed the fabric at Rachel's waist. "Where have you been staying lately?"
Rachel averted her gaze, refusing to look at him or answer.
Jared's hand on her waist pinched slightly, his breath sharpening-a warning, a threat.
"It's fine if you don't want to say. I can find out myself."
Rachel's expression shifted.
Being a captain was merely the respectable front for Jared, the second son of the Holland family. Rachel knew he held controlling stakes in multiple high-end clubs and commanded an intelligence network spanning L.A's elite circles.
She had heard whispers of even darker secrets within certain major conglomerates... things she had never witnessed firsthand, yet feared nonetheless.
If Jared discovered she was staying at Charles's place, his rage might harm Charles and Taylor.
She steadied her voice and spoke truthfully. "I applied for employee housing through the aviation department. While waiting for approval, I'm staying at Charles's apartment."
"Charles?" Jared pondered, recalling the name after a long pause. "Your childhood friend who also works in the cabin crew?"
Rachel gave a soft nod.
Jared's handsome face darkened, his anger nearly boiling over.
"Rachel, you went to another man's home and lived with him?"
His jaw tightened, his voice low and gritted. "Do you think I'm dead-your husband?"
Rachel corrected him. "We weren't living alone."
Jared asked, "And his girlfriend?"
Rachel thought for a moment before nodding. "Sort of. They shared one room, and I stayed in another."
In truth, she had only stayed at Charles's place for one night.
The other two days, Rachel was on duty, flying abroad and staying in company-arranged accommodations.
She paused, then added, "My luggage is still at Charles's place. Plus, I've made plans to meet them for a barbecue tonight. Could you pull over, Donald, so I can get out?"
Jared's expression softened slightly. "Address. I'll go with you and get your luggage."
Rachel shook her head. "The luggage isn't the main thing. The main thing is the barbecue."
She had promised Charles she wouldn't stand anyone up.
Jared scoffed, pulling his phone from his pocket and dialing a number.
"Mrs. Smith, my wife wants a barbecue tonight. Make sure to prepare a feast."
"..."
Rachel was speechless for a moment. "Jared, you're being unreasonable."
Jared lowered his phone, his fingertips tracing the curve of her slender waist, drifting to the hollow of her lower back. He traced slow circles there, his deep brown eyes smoldering.
"Honey, when I'm truly unreasonable, you won't even get the chance to complain."
That look made Rachel involuntarily imagine scenes too explicit to dwell on.
She forced herself to compose her expression, banishing those thoughts from her mind.
"If what I said last time at the estate didn't get your attention, then I'll repeat it again-this time seriously."
She locked eyes with him, enunciating each word. "Jared, I want a divorce."
His lowered lashes concealed the shadow in his eyes.
"For real?"
"Yeah."
"Reason."
Rachel thought for a moment before offering a mutually respectable answer. "Irreconcilable differences."
Jared snorted derisively, finding her words utterly laughable.
After a long silence, his gaze grew increasingly menacing. "Got a dog on the side?"
Rachel's anger flared instantly.
"You're the one with the dog."
And that thousand-year-old green tea bitch you keep by your side-burying your head in the sand.
Jared scoffed lightly. "Talking requires evidence. Have you found a dog hair on me? Smelled another dog's scent on me?"
Rachel fell silent.
She could guess that Jared was still mindful of their nominal relationship and hadn't engaged in anything substantial with Olivia.
Olivia's current frail condition wouldn't allow anything improper anyway.
Precisely because of this, all the grievances, sorrows, and pain Rachel had endured over the years had been twisted into "unreasonable tantrums."
She knew full well how much Jared cared for his foster sister... everyone did.
On their wedding anniversary, she had personally cooked dinner-yet Jared spent the entire day at the hospital by Olivia's side, even preparing an anniversary gift for her.
On New Year's Eve, after a huge fight, he stayed out all night instead of coming home, choosing to accompany Olivia to watch fireworks on the mountaintop.
Over the past three years, countless similar incidents had unfolded.
Every time Rachel was driven to emotional collapse, everyone blamed her.
They claimed Jared and Olivia were merely foster siblings.
They called her petty and jealous-even jealous of his sister.
In the end, she was trapped.
This twisted love triangle was driving her to the brink of a mental breakdown.
With nowhere to vent her pent-up rage, only helplessness remained.
She lowered her lashes, hiding the fragile glimmer in her eyes, forcing her voice steady.
"Jared, I truly don't want to live with you anymore."
Jared's eyes grew dark.
Silence hung in the car for several long seconds, the air turning icy around him.
"Don't forget why we married in the first place. The Holland family isn't somewhere you can just walk in and out of as you please."
Rachel's face paled.
"Back then, I had my reasons, and..." She faltered, guilt flickering in her chest. "It was an accident."
Those final words made Jared's pupils darken further, clouded with gloom. The car filled with the oppressive weight of his presence.
His long fingers gripped Rachel's chin, forcing her to meet his gaze.
"I don't care what your reasons were. You provoked me first back then. Don't even think about escaping me until you've paid the full price."
Rachel did feel guilty about that incident.
But she had never pressured Jared to marry her because of it.
She would have preferred him to treat her the way his elder brother treated women-banishing them from the city.
Rather than this... indulging in reckless passion with her one moment, while secretly harboring deep, unrequited love for Olivia the next.
Rachel was furious.
The humiliation she had endured before Sahara these past few days, the indignities at Mrs. Smith's hands, and Olivia-that thorn lodged in her throat-had been suppressed for far too long.
Swallowing that thorn hurt too much.
She refused to swallow it anymore.
She wanted to pull it out-and return it to Jared.
She looked at his handsome yet icy face, her red lips curling in scorn.
"I only slept with you once. Over three years, how many times have you demanded it? Isn't that enough to pay the interest?"
"You hold her on the tip of your tongue, yet revel in passion with me night after night. Have you ever considered how that betrays her?"
"Jared... how despicable are you?"
Jared tightened his grip on her jaw.
After the initial shock, his eyes darkened with a terrifying crimson, like a storm brewing.
"Say that again."
