Chapter 3Married for Three Years, Now I Want a Divorce: Suddenly, a Pop-Up Message Appears—"Don’t Leave! Mr. White Is About to Break!

“What did you just say?”

Nathan White’s cold voice echoed above me, sharp and unforgiving.

“You heard me,” I retorted, forcing myself to sound calm. “I called over a male model last night. Who knows? Maybe I’ll actually cheat one of these days.”

I took a deep breath, summoning every ounce of courage I had.

“If we divorce now, at least we’ll save our reputations.”

I looked up at Nathan, meeting his intense gaze.

Fresh from his shower, he stood in front of me in a loose robe, the fabric barely clinging to his shoulders. The open collar revealed his toned chest, water droplets trickling down towards the edge of the robe.

I couldn’t help but stare. Did he have abs? My mouth went dry as I unconsciously bit my lip, watching the water trail disappear into the folds of his robe.

Sure, Nathan had been insufferable growing up, but I couldn’t deny that adulthood had done wonders for his physique.

[Heroine, you nearly turned the screen into a mosaic last night with your wandering hands, and now you seriously can’t remember if Mr. White has abs?]

[Poor Mr. White! He almost got “used” last night, and yet he didn’t even make it into the heroine’s memory.]

[Mr. White’s too restrained. If he’d gone all in, there wouldn’t even be a divorce discussion right now.]

The barrage of floating comments made my face burn. My hands turned clammy. Oh God, what exactly had I done last night? Did Nathan think I was using reverse psychology with this divorce talk?

“Claire,” he said, his voice lower than usual, “are you divorcing me because of some male model?”

His tone was flat, but the intensity in his eyes made my heart race.

“What does that even mean?” I shot back, trying to regain control of the situation. “We’ve never been in love. This marriage was just a business deal. What, are we supposed to stay tied to each other forever?”

Nathan and I had been fighting since we were kids, and that dynamic hadn’t changed. Sure, I was technically in the wrong about the male model thing, but that didn’t mean I’d back down.

If anything, the comments floating in the air suggested I’d done something truly embarrassing. So what? Let Nathan think I was the villain here—the cold-hearted wife who used him and tossed him aside.

After all, $5 million was calling my name. I couldn’t afford to get distracted by whatever nonsense this so-called “system” was throwing at me. Nathan didn’t love me, no matter what the comments claimed. They were just trying to mess with my head.

Nathan stared at me for a long moment, his jaw tightening. Finally, he turned his face away, his voice rough.

“Are you sure you want a divorce?”

I opened my mouth to respond, but the floating comments exploded in front of me:

[Heroine, don’t be so cruel! Please!]

[I’m sobbing. Mr. White loves you so much. Don’t leave him!]

[Forget $5 million—if you stay, he’d give you $1 billion and his life if he had to!]

[Mr. White’s on the verge of tears. Stop breaking his heart, heroine!]

Wait, $1 billion? Sure, I knew the White family was richer than mine, but I didn’t know it was that much.

Not that it mattered. Nathan wasn’t going to hand over a fortune just because I stayed married to him.

I glanced at his profile. His expression was unreadable, but… were his eyes a little red?

No. That couldn’t be right.

Nathan and I had always been at each other’s throats. When we were younger, he always managed to rile me up until I cried. After we got married, things had cooled into a sort of distant politeness. We didn’t fight anymore, but we didn’t joke around either.

So why did he look so… fragile now?

Impulsively, I reached out and turned his face to look at me.

The moment my fingers brushed his skin, I felt him stiffen. His cheeks turned an unmistakable shade of red.

“What are you doing?” he asked, his voice unsteady. His eyes darted away, refusing to meet mine.

I cupped his face, forcing him to look at me.

“Did you know Ivy’s back?”

“What does that have to do with anything?”

“She’s your first love. If we get divorced, you can pick things up where you left off.”

The words had barely left my mouth when Nathan grabbed my wrists and pulled my hands away from his face.

“Who said I want to get back together with her?” he snapped, glaring at me. “Claire, is your brain full of garbage?”

There it was—that familiar, infuriating tone. My hackles immediately rose.

“Oh, so now you’re insulting me?” I shot back. “Well, news flash, Nathan White: my brain is full of you!”

The words flew out before I could stop them.

We both froze. Nathan stared at me, stunned, while I stood there, mortified.

What the hell was wrong with me? Every time we argued, I somehow managed to fall into the traps he set. It was like he had a sixth sense for making me say the dumbest possible things.

Before I could recover, a glint of amusement appeared in his eyes. He leaned in close, his voice low and teasing.

“If I’m all you can think about,” he murmured, “then stop asking for a divorce.”

I stared at him, completely thrown off balance.

How had this conversation gone so off the rails? Wasn’t I supposed to be the one pushing for divorce?

The floating comments weren’t helping.

[OMG, Nathan’s killing it! That comeback was perfect!]

[I’m swooning. This is peak romance.]

[Keep going, Nathan! You’re finally getting through to her!]

I swallowed hard as Nathan’s face hovered dangerously close to mine.

No. I couldn’t let this happen.

“If we’re not getting divorced,” I said, forcing myself to sound calm, “then we’ll have to open the marriage.”

Nathan’s expression darkened immediately.

“Open the marriage?”

“Yeah,” I said, my voice gaining strength. “You can go be with Ivy, and I’ll find myself a male model. Win-win, right?”