Chapter 44
<Chapter>Chapter Forty-Four: Not Ashamed </Chapter>
Felix frowned. "Grandma, what are you talking about?"
"What am I talking about?!" Natalie Clinton's face was filled with rage as she confronted him. "I know all about you siding with others against Gianna. What good is a husband who only stands up for strangers?"
Felix's expression turned steely as he looked toward Gianna. "Did you tell Grandma this?"
Natalie Clinton stepped in front of Gianna and glared at Felix. "You hurt Gianna, and you think you're in the right?! I'm warning you, keep away from her! Once we get back tomorrow, you will proceed with the divorce. I'll have someone deliver the divorce agreement to your company," she snapped.
"Gran—" Felix protested, visibly upset. He never once contemplated divorcing Gianna.
"Don't call me Grandma. I refuse to acknowledge a grandson like you!" After saying that, Natalie took Gianna by the arm and led her away.
Once they were settled in the new room, Natalie looked at Gianna with a sympathetic gaze. "Gianna, you can count on me—I won't let Felix push you around. Finding out about what happened today, I've started to think that maybe you two just aren't meant to be. You're too good for him!"
Gianna hadn't expected Natalie's support, and her eyes rimmed with redness. "Grandma, thank you!"
"What are you thanking me for? If anyone should be grateful, it's me. Without you, Felix would never have been able to stand on his own. But the fool's blind to your worth. He doesn't know what he's missing."
Gianna shook her head, "Grandma, there's no need for thanks. I did it willingly, and I'm truly grateful for your help!"
Her relationship with Felix hadn't been great, but Natalie had always been kind to her. She saw no point in holding a grudge against Natalie because of Felix.
"Now, now, just a second ago, you said no more thanks, and here you are again. Enough with the thank yous—get some rest; you've had a long day. I'll head back."
"Okay."
After leaving Gianna's room, the warmth in Natalie's eyes gave way to a chilling glare.
If it hadn't been for the impulse to check the monitors—to see what Gianna and Felix were up to—she wouldn't have witnessed Bella and Jasmine attempting to harm Gianna, with Felix forcing Gianna to apologize to them.
Just as she reached her own room, there stood Felix, a cold look on his face, obviously waiting for her.
Facing him, Natalie's gaze was cold. "Do you even realize you're in the wrong?"
Felix's lips were pressed tightly together as he attempted to speak. "Grandma, you shouldn't have agreed to help Gianna with the divo—" He couldn't finish before Natalie's slap cut him off.
"Felix, how did I raise you?! Is this your idea of treating Gianna well?!"
The slap was hard, leaving the imprint of Natalie's hand on Felix's cheek.
His fists clenched involuntarily at his sides, and a cold aura radiated from him.
Anger flashed in Natalie Clinton's eyes as she gazed at him with stark disappointment. "Who was the one that cared for you day and night when you were paralyzed, who sought out treatments for your legs? Do you really think Bella cares about you? If she truly did, why wasn't she by your side during your toughest years?"
Felix fell silent for a few seconds, then spoke softly, "Grandma, Belle was abroad then. She also heard about me marrying Gianna. That’s why she refused to come back."
"If you knew you were married to Gianna, then why are you still entangled with Bella after she came back to the States?" Natalie shot back. Her eyebrows arched in question.
"I wasn't entangled with Belle. It was a misunderstanding on Gianna's part," Felix frowned in response.
A cold laugh escaped Natalie Clinton as she pointed an accusatory finger at Felix. "Oh, look at you. Now you've become a liar, too. If you weren’t involved with her, why did you let her stay in your marital home? Why take her to all those events?"
Before her words could fully sink in, a dull thud was heard from behind.
Natalie and Felix turned to see Gianna standing at a distance with a nonchalant expression, which sent a jolt of tension through Natalie. The possibility that Gianna had overheard their argument lingered in Natalie's mind, knowing it would likely upset Gianna to hear Felix defending Belle.
"Gianna, what brings you here?"
Gianna snapped back to the moment, managing a weak smile as she stooped to pick up a cell phone from the floor and handed it to Natalie Clinton.
"Grandma, you left your phone in my room. I brought it for you."
Taking the phone, Natalie cautiously asked, "How long have you been here?"
"I just arrived. Now that your phone is returned, I’ll head back," Gianna said. Without waiting for Natalie to reply, she turned and walked away promptly.
Observing Gianna's departure, a blend of defiance and loneliness evident in her retreating figure, Natalie cast Felix a chilly look. "Enough, I'm done dealing with you. Do whatever you please with Bella!"
After Natalie retired to her room, Felix didn't hesitate to follow Gianna. He intercepted her at the elevator entrance, standing in her way as he glanced down, searching for any hint of anger on her face.
But to his disappointment, Gianna stood there, indifferent and expressionless, simply meeting his gaze without any visible emotion.
"Gianna," he began, the urgency in his voice clear, "aren't you going to ask anything about what Grandma said just now?"
Gianna stared ahead with a blank expression, her tone indifferent as she said, "This is your own business. It has nothing to do with me, and there's no need to explain it to me."
As her words lingered in the air, the elevator doors opened. Gianna stepped inside and quickly pressed the button to close them. Just as the doors were about to shut, Felix hurriedly entered the elevator.
“You might not want to listen, but I need to explain,” he insisted.
Slightly frustrated, Gianna glanced up at Felix and said, “When I wanted an explanation, you refused to give one. Now that I’m not interested, what’s the point?”
Felix’s gaze turned icy as he locked eyes with her. “Do you really not care anymore?”
After a few seconds of silence, Gianna spoke softly, “The day after I first asked you for a divorce, I went on a solo trip. While I was up in the northernmost part of Iceland, I fell into a lake. It was so cold that I almost froze to death. If it hadn’t been for a passing herdsman, I might not have made it out of Iceland alive.”
Felix's eyes narrowed, his hand clenching involuntarily by his side.
“I didn’t know about that...”
Gianna's expression remained calm as she faced him. “I’m not telling you this to make you feel guilty or to stir up any emotion. I want you to understand that in that frozen lake, as I was about to die, it became clear to me – chasing what’s not yours will only wear you down. So, I truly don’t love you anymore. Whether you and Bella have something or end up together, it makes no difference to me. Do you understand?”
Felix took a deep breath, his words measured and deliberate, “Even so, I won’t divorce you. I promised to take care of you for life, and I’m not one to break my promises.”
“There’s no need. I’ll be better off without you.”
Her words stung, sending a pang through Felix’s heart as he felt something slipping away from him. Stubbornly, he said, “No matter what you say, I won’t agree to a divorce!”
Even if it meant they both would endure hardship, he refused to let go. He pondered why he was so determined. Was it truly because of his promise to Gianna?
He didn’t know, and he didn't want to think about it right now. As soon as the elevator doors opened, he left as if fleeing.
Watching him leave, Gianna let out a sigh before returning to her room. After having lunch and taking a nap, her rest was interrupted by the ringing of her phone.
