Hope Crawls Through Ruins by Kain Rowan Vale 10

Shepard’s expression remained unchanged, giving nothing away. No one could tell what was going through his mind. 

His net worth had long been estimated by the public to be in the hundreds of billions. Half of it came from his shares in Carter Group. 

The other half was made up of his personal investments and real estate holdings around the world. He owned private estates in many foreign developed cities. 

As Shepard’s legal wife, Briana could easily walk away with billions, even if she couldn’t get half of his fortune. But she only wanted three million. 

Briana said, “I want cash. Just transfer three million directly to my account. And I want the Mini I’m driving now. You bought it for me, and I want to take it with me.” 

In five years of marriage, the only thing Shepard ever gave her was that car, and it wasn’t even a real gift. 

Once, they visited a Rolls–Royce dealership with Evelyn and saw a BMW showroom across the street upon leaving. Evelyn casually remarked, “All your cars are way too businesslike for Briana. I heard girls love Minis. They’re cute and easy to drive. Why don’t you get her one?” 

Since Evelyn had spoken, Shepard, always a dutiful grandson, told James to pay for one on the spot. 

Briana was over the moon about it. She cherished that car. Even now, as they were getting divorced, the one thing she wanted most to take from the Carter Estate was that Mini. 

That was all Briana wanted. It wasn’t even close to what she could’ve asked for. Honestly, it was almost cheap for someone like her. Shepard even wondered if maybe Jerry got the zeros wrong or something, but Briana herself said it was really just three million. 

Seeing that Shepard stayed silent, Briana asked, “Any questions? If not, you can sign.” 

She walked over to Jerry, took the divorce agreement, and as she turned around, she swiftly swapped in another set. The one she handed Shepard had a surgery consent form slipped in. 

Naturally, Briana expected Shepard to sign right away. But when she held the agreement out to him, he didn’t take it. She nudged it closer, but he still didn’t move; his hands stayed at his sides. 

Vivian stood off to the side, her palms slick with sweat. She wanted nothing more than for Shepard and Briana to cut ties for good. Only then would she finally have her shot at being his wife. 

After swallowing her pride for so many years, Vivian could almost taste victory. She thought, ‘I’ve waited forever for Briana to finally give up, and now that it’s happening, why is Shep hesitating?‘ 

“There’s a problem,” Shepard’s deep, magnetic voice echoed through the office. “I’m not giving you three million, Briana.” 

Briana blurted out, “Why not?” 

She didn’t think asking for three million was unreasonable at all. She just wanted it as seed money to get things started. 

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E5 vouchers 

Charles was buried in debt and had nothing to his name. Briana needed the cash, and once her business took off and she started making a profit, she’d pay Shepard back the full three million. 

Briana had everything mapped out, but she never expected Shepard to be so stingy. ‘Five years of marriage, seventeen years of my youth… How could he be so heartless?‘ she thought bitterly. 

“Why? Seriously, you want to know why?” Shepard retorted. “Since the day we got married, I’ve covered everything–your clothes, your meals, your whole lifestyle. 

“You’ve never made a dime yourself, just lounging around at home every day, always expecting me to foot the bill. And now that we’re getting divorced, what makes you think you deserve a share of my wealth?” 

Briana stared at Shepard, feeling like she was looking at a stranger. ‘How could the man I’ve shared a bed with for five years say something so cold and heartless?‘ she thought, her heart sinking. 

Briana had convinced herself she could finally talk to Shepard without letting anything he said get under her skin. She thought she was over it, and nothing he said could touch her anymore. 

But she was wrong. She’d totally underestimated how much words could hurt. Every word of his hit where it hurt most. 

She thought, ‘Yeah, I didn’t have a job and have been a stay–at–home wife. But isn’t it hard work keeping everything together? Isn’t making a house a home a kind of talent? 

‘But to Shepard, all I did was just waste time, and I’m good for nothing in his eyes.’ 

Briana lost all desire to argue. She scoffed, “Yeah, you’re right. So, Shepard, just cut to the chase. What do you want?” 

“I’ll give you 300 thousand. And you can keep the car,” Shepard said. It felt like he was throwing scraps to a dog, with pity mixed with pure disdain. 

Briana closed her eyes for a moment and then opened them again, her voice calm. “I don’t want anything anymore. Is that enough for you? Are you happy now?” 

Jerry stood there, mouth agape in disbelief. He’d handled plenty of divorces and heard all the juicy stories about the rich and powerful getting divorced. Usually, they were talking hundreds of millions, even billions, at stake. 

But watching Shepard and Briana felt like watching a middle–class couple argue over what amounts to spare change. He thought, ‘Three million? Three hundred thousand? That’s nothing but pocket money to people like them.‘ 

Briana withdrew her hand, flipped straight to the asset division section, and drew a bold X right through it. Next to it, she wrote in big letters: [VOID]. 

She handed the divorce agreement to Shepard, her voice steady. “Go ahead and sign. I’m leaving with nothing.” 

Shepard finally took the agreement, sounding absent–minded. “Briana, you could have begged me for it.” 

He thought, ‘She’s just too stubborn, too strong–willed. If she’d shown even a hint of vulnerability, things wouldn’t have ended up like this.’ 

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“Beg you?” Briana scoffed. “Just wait, Shepard. One day, you’ll be the one coming to me, begging.” 

She added in her mind, ‘And when that day comes, I won’t even spare him a glance, let alone give him another chance.‘ 

Shepard let out a mocking laugh. “What nonsense are you spouting?” He flipped through the agreement with a sneer and then scrawled his signature across the page in a bold, careless stroke. 

He couldn’t even remember how many times he’d signed. He frowned, a little puzzled. Usually, two signatures were enough. He’d signed off on countless documents, some of them top–secret business deals, and it was always just two signatures. 

‘Why does this divorce agreement need three or four?‘ he wondered. ‘Is there some kind of supplemental hidden in here?’ 

Briana watched as Shepard finished signing the last page. The moment he looked like he might flip back to check, she didn’t hesitate. She snatched the agreement right out of his hands. 

She mused, ‘No way I’m letting him flip back. He’s already signed everything. It’s set in stone now!’ 

Shepard’s hands were suddenly empty, and he shot Briana a displeased look. “So rude.” 

“Jerry already looked it over. What are you still so nervous about?” Briana retorted. “I’m leaving with nothing. Are you really afraid this agreement could cost you anything?” 

Shepard raised an eyebrow. “Just in case, right?” 

He was right to be suspicious, but there was no way he could’ve guessed what Briana was really up to. Briana had never played such games with him before. 

“There’s no ‘just in case,” Briana replied, carefully tucking the divorce agreement into her handbag and zipping it up. “That’s it, Shepard. We’ll meet at the courthouse in a month.” 

She’d pulled it off. Shepard had signed the surgery consent form without suspecting a thing. Now, she could finally get the surgery she needed. 

Briana breathed a silent sigh of relief. She turned on her heel. “I’m leaving.” 

“Stop right there,” Shepard snapped. 

Briana just ignored him and sped up. Shepard’s voice rose, “Briana, stop!” 

Since she didn’t slow down, Shepard strode after her and stepped right in front of her, cutting off her path. 

“What do you want?” Briana asked warily. She clutched her handbag’s straps tightly, making 

” 

sure he 

couldn’t grab it. “Is there something else?” 

Shepard held out his hand. “Give me the agreement.” 

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