Chapter 41: Chapter 41

I swallowed the lump on my throat before I looked at Adam. "I'm already filing for a divorce, Adam."

"What?"

I saw how his lips parted. He looked shocked for a whole minute. Then his face formed a deep frown.

"Why… why are you filing for a divorce, Claire?"

I cleared my throat and bravely met his stare. "Why wouldn't I, Adam? Our baby's already gone. There's no reason for us to be together anymore."

"Claire, the contract says I need to stay married with you for one year," he reminded me. I saw how his jaw clenched as he took a sharp breath. He looked mad for some reason. "You can't file for a divorce yet."

I raised my eyebrow at him. "Have you forgotten, Adam? I only asked you to marry me because I was pregnant. And now, there's no reason for us to stay in this marriage anymore."

"So that's just it? You'll just cut off the contract because you no longer need me?" he asked, looking at me in pure disbelief. "What about me, Claire?"

I frowned. "What about you? Oh, don't worry, Adam. I'll still send you the remaining five million, don't worry."

"Fuck that money!" he shouted and almost flinched in shock. "I wasn't talking about that money. I don't need that."

"Then what are you talking about, Adam?"

"What about the times that we spend together? What about us?" he looked at me. The corner of his eyes were already red with unshed tears. He looked mad… and hurt at the same time.

"What us are you talking about?" I didn't know how I could manage to let out a chuckle despite the breaking of my own heart. "There's no us, Adam. Yes, we're married. But we both know our relationship was not real."

Adam held me in the wrist, while his eyes were never leaving mine. "You're in love with me, Claire," he said in a gentle voice. I felt like I was melting right in front of him. "You're in love with me, right?"

I was stunned for a moment. But then I forced myself to let go of his touch. "What are you talking about, Adam?" I chuckled incredulously. I couldn't believe I could be this good at acting. "Of course, I'm not in love with you. I already made it clear from the start, right? I was physically attracted to you. You're hot, attractive, and great in bed. I was attracted to you just like any other woman out there. But that's just it. I'm not in love with you like you are claiming to be."

"Really, Claire?" he probed, looking at me straight in the eye as if trying to read my soul.

I swallowed the lump in my throat. "I'm not in love with you, Adam. Oh, please." I smirked at him. "You're not even my type. Fine, you're good looking, caring and responsible. But I wanted someone on my level, Adam. And clearly, you and I were clearly not in the same league."

I wanted to take back everything I had said when I saw the pain that crossed his eyes.

I'm sorry, Adam. I'd rather hurt you and lie to you than get hurt myself. I couldn't handle another pain right now. I just lost my baby.

"You're right, Claire…" Adam said, a bitter smile appearing on his lips. "We're both in different leagues, so why could I think that you'd fall in love with someone like me, right?"

"Adam…" I could feel the tears threatening to fall from my eyes.

"I'm sorry for assuming you're in love with me just because I'm in love with you."

My lips parted. "W-what are you talking about, Adam?"

"It's true, Claire. I'm in love with you. That's why I don't want us to end. You know why I prepared for tonight? I was going to ask you to make this relationship real."

I shook my head. "N-no. Stop lying to me, Adam. You can't be in love with me."

Adam couldn't be in love with me. Mary had made that clear to me. He'd told Mary about our setup because he wanted to assure her that nothing was going on between us.

And now, here he's telling me he's in love with me? That's bullshit.

"What? Do you think I'd lie to you about this, Claire?"

"I don't know why you're doing this, but you can't fool me, Adam." My face hardened.

"Why can't you believe me?"

Because you lied to me! You broke my trust! "Because I know you, Adam—"

"You know me, really?" he cut me off sarcastically. "No. It looks like you don't really know me, Claire."

Yeah. Maybe I didn't really know you at all. Because I couldn't believe you'd be able to do that to me. That you'd be capable of lying and betraying me.

"But I don't care if you are lying or not. I don't have feelings for you, anyway. Now that I already made everything clear, I'd be expecting you to move out tomorrow."