Chapter 7 Divorce Agreement

"Kallie!" Jake's voice was thick with concern as he rushed forward to pick up Kallie, his instructions to the butler cutting through the air sharply. "Bring the doctor, immediately!"

Despite being clad in a raincoat, the relentless downpour had drenched Kallie thoroughly.

Without hesitation, Jake peeled the soaked garments from Kallie's shivering form and grabbed a towel from the maid to swaddle her.

It was only then that Jake truly noticed Kallie's frailty, her waist alarmingly slender, as if it could be encircled by his hands alone.

Just then, Jake's friend's voice broke through his concern, mocking yet filled with worry. "What's this, Jake? Gone bankrupt? Sending your wife to labor to make ends meet? You're wearing her out!"

As a doctor, Steven Hudson arrived shortly after being summoned over, his long-standing friendship with Jake never softening his blunt commentary.

"Enough nonsense. Just tend to her!" Jake barked, a stern expression on his face as he stepped aside from Kallie.

"If she had been exposed any longer, hypothermia might have claimed her, beyond any help. What are you playing at, Jake? Hoping for a tragic accident to cash in on her insurance?" Steven didn't hold back, even as he checked Kallie over, his sarcasm biting. "I'm not covering for you, not for less than ten billion!"

"Shut the fuck up!" Jake snapped, fury overtaking his worry as Steven, recognizing the limit, ceased his remarks with a gruff huff.

Kallie's ordeal in the storm had taken its toll. Her body temperature had plummeted dangerously, only to be followed by a sudden, severe fever.

Steven administered some fever-reducing medicine to her and reassured Jake that there was no cause for alarm.

Standing beside Kallie, Jake observed her flushed face, his brow creased with concern. After a pause, he walked away with a firm command to the butler. "Ensure she's well cared for. I'll hold you responsible if anything goes wrong!"

Kallie remained out of it until morning came around. As she made her way downstairs, she anticipated finding Jake gone. Surprisingly, he was still there, lounging in the living room.

"Feeling better?" Jake asked, catching sight of her descending the staircase.

Kallie halted, her hands anxiously twining together. Was his refusal to open the door last night a sign that he intended to divorce her?

"Don't bother going back to work. I can take care of us," Jake said, surveying the room before fixing his eyes on Kallie, his voice carrying a hint of impatience.

Kallie felt a rush of anxiety and hurried down to confront him, gesturing frantically how much she adored her job.

"Do you really need to work at that bookstore?" Jake pressed on, his sharp gaze piercing her. "I'll set up a bookstore for you. Stay away from that woman. I don't like her." He disliked Linsey's comments the previous day.

Feeling a pang of guilt, Kallie raised her hand to clarify, but Jake had already turned to leave. In desperation, she reached out and clutched at his sleeve.

"Anything else?"

Kallie gestured for Jake to hold on, dashed upstairs, and swiftly returned with a document in hand, which she handed to him.

"A divorce agreement?" Jake let out a laugh at the title, not bothering to read it, and casually tossed it aside. "You want to divorce me over this minor issue? Why are you so upset?"

Kallie retrieved the divorce agreement from the floor and handed it to Jake again, her expression resolute.

"Really, you want a divorce?" Jake's expression hardened. "If that's the case, then leave with nothing. Return all the money I've given you, and then I'll let you go."

Jake thought his words would make Kallie reconsider. However, to his surprise, she immediately pulled out a card. She placed the card and the agreement on the table, explaining she hadn't spent a cent of his money.

Jake's demeanor became even more forbidding, his stare intensifying with rage as he looked at Kallie.

Kallie took a step back, her eyes glistening with unshed tears.

"Well..." After a brief silence, Jake clenched his teeth and declared, "Filing for divorce violates our families' agreement. Besides this, you owe me twenty million as divorce compensation! Without that, don't even think about walking away from me!"