The Stolen Heiress: Claimed by her Father's Ruthless Enemy.-Chapter 58: I want a divorce.

It was 3 a.m., yet I hadn’t slept a wink. I lay stiffly on my side, staring at nothing in particular. I couldn’t get a lot of things out of my head: my mother’s death, the chandelier accident, and now Alexander.

I knew we were never going to achieve anything together because we couldn’t set our differences aside. He was a short-tempered jerk, and I was one emotional bitch who just wanted transparency. It wasn’t a good combo, and if one of us didn’t stop, then we were going nowhere. But the issue was, who was going to stop?

I sighed softly, adjusting myself inside the blanket. Maybe I should go talk to him in a more respectful way... Would he even want to talk? I struck a nerve a few hours ago, and he had looked like he never wanted to speak to me again. That was how much I angered him. It was a miracle that he hadn’t hurt me yet. And to think that he saved me from getting crushed by a chandelier, only for me to thank him with an argument, is really outrageous.

"You need manners, Anna; you definitely do," I scolded myself, then closed my eyes and tried to force myself to sleep, but sleep never came.

The next morning, I managed to sit up in bed when I heard my phone beep. My muscles felt sore, and my eyes felt tired and heavy from not sleeping a wink last night.

I stretched my hand to take my phone from the nightstand, and a frown settled on my face upon seeing the text. It was from Katie. She had been calling and texting me nonstop since the day I found out who she truly was, but I never responded to any of her calls or "apologetic" texts.

Now that I had opened her message, I couldn’t help the flare of anger and disappointment that coursed through my veins. I never wanted to speak to her ever again. But something caught my attention. It was a video she sent along with the text that said, "Are you alright? I’m sorry this happened to you."

What was she talking about? I thought confusedly as I opened the video. And the moment I saw the content, my jaw dropped. It was a video of Alexander and me when he rescued me during the chandelier incident.

The video was all over the internet, and the headline wasn’t doing any justice: "WHO IS SHE? THE CEO’S WIFE? IS ALEXANDER VAUGHN MARRIED? WHY IS HER HAIR SO WHITE? IS SHE WEARING A WIG?" So many more. I swallowed nervously as I scrolled through the tons of headlines and comments from people.

Oh God! This couldn’t be happening. Why? Why would Alexander allow this to happen? He had the power to control the media, and yet he wasn’t doing anything. He knew how hard I had been avoiding this. I didn’t want to be seen with him.

Now the media wouldn’t stop until they got my identity. Did he do this on purpose just to get back at me for getting under his skin last night? What was he hoping to gain from it?

I bit my lower lip as I switched off the phone, unable to look at it anymore. Alexander could do whatever he wanted to me, but having my face plastered everywhere on the internet without blurring it was the height of it all. It wasn’t only bad for me, but also for my father, who would be ridiculed for having a secret illegitimate daughter once my identity was known. Alexander had to do something before it got to that stage.

I quickly did my morning routine of brushing my teeth and bathing, then put on a set of white pajamas and rushed out of the room for breakfast. I prayed he would be at breakfast. It was still very early, though.

As I neared the dining room, my heart began to pound in my chest at the thought of facing him after last night. I still hadn’t forgotten what he said about living in his home, eating his food, and wearing clothes he provided. It made me wonder if I was his prisoner that he had decided to treat well from the goodness of his heart, or his wife.

Didn’t he tell Mr. Vanvik that I was his wife? If I was his wife, then providing for me was his responsibility, not what he thought it was.

I grabbed the doorknob and tried to open the door to the dining room but stopped when I heard his voice coming from the room. He seemed to be ordering someone on the phone.

"I want that video gone, now. Make it disappear from every platform, and I mean every single one. Get the media team to release a virus that will remove it from circulation. I don’t care what it takes, just make sure it’s done within the hour." That was the only thing he said before I heard the line go dead.

He was going to take the video down? My tense shoulders dropped as a euphoric sigh of relief left my throat. I didn’t have to worry about that anymore.

I pushed open the dining room door and stepped inside. Alexander was seated at the head of the table, a cup of coffee in front of him. He didn’t look up when I entered; he just kept reading something on his phone, his expression completely unreadable.

I walked to my usual seat and sat down quietly, my heart still pounding for whatever reason. He had ordered the video taken down. Why would he do that without me asking?

"Good morning," I said quietly, reaching for a glass of water. He didn’t respond. He simply took a sip of his coffee, his eyes still on his phone.

Drinking the water, I dropped the glass and peered at him through my lashes.

Maybe he didn’t hear me greeting him, I thought to myself and decided to say something again. "I... I saw the video... and thankfully, you took care of it..." I carefully said.

Yet, he was quiet. It was as if I were invisible. He always did that, but now his silence was making my stomach twist. Was he going to ignore me forever? If he was still angry at me for yesterday, at least he should hear me out!

"I know I was disrespectful... I shouldn’t have spoken to you that way," I added, my voice small. He still didn’t look at me. He just turned a page on his phone, completely absorbed in whatever was there.

The continuous rejection stung more than I expected. Here I was, genuinely trying to apologize, and he wouldn’t even give me the courtesy of a glance. Why was he always like this? I should be the one angry at him for breaking a promise, yet he was the one flipping it around.

If he hated me so much that he wouldn’t want to deal with me after an argument or even spare me a glance, then why was he still keeping me here? My eyes started to burn, and I had to look away. I wasn’t going to cry, never.

"I want a divorce," I said quietly, the words rushing out before I could stop them.

The silence that followed was deafening. For the first time since I sat down, he looked up from his phone. His eyes met mine, and there was something dark in them. Something that made my breath catch in my throat.

"What did you just say?" he asked, his voice low, but I could hear the edge underneath it. My heart was pounding wildly in my chest. I never planned to say that... it just came out. And now, I couldn’t take it back.

"I said I want a divorce," I repeated, my voice steadier this time, even though my hands were shaking. "We are on a six-month contract anyway. So let’s just... end it. Early."

He set down his phone slowly, deliberately. Then he leaned back in his chair, studying me with an intensity that made me want to shrink away. But I held his gaze, refusing to back down now that I had already crossed this line.