The Don Tore Up Our Divorce (Gemma and Cassian) novel Chapter 465

Chapter 465
Gemma's POV 

Vicky’s accusatory finger is aimed squarely at Linda, who stands just inside the doorway looking like a startled, fragile bird, her eyes already red-rimmed. Clearly, Vicky said something vicious out in the hall. I stay seated in the visitor’s chair, a silent spectator. I’m morbidly curious. How will Mikhail, a man of blunt action and few words, navigate this minefield with his ex-fiancée and his proclaimed “first love” in the same room? It’s a drama I didn’t buy a ticket for, but I’ll watch.

Mikhail had mustered some energy for our conversation, a stubborn front against the pain and drugs. But with the influx of people—Vicky’s volcanic anger, Liam’s tense presence, Linda’s silent distress—I see the weariness crash over him. His shoulders sag slightly against the pillows.

Then, in a tone of utter exhaustion, he says, “Do I really need to explain who she is?”

It’s a dismissal, a refusal to play. Liam, standing behind his cousin, scowls. “Mikhail, she’s my cousin. Can’t you show me some respect?” He’s trying to leverage their friendship, to force some civility.

Vicky, clearly used to being placated, is incensed. “If you’re so worried about her, then take her away,” Mikhail replies, his voice gaining a sliver of steel. “Don’t make a scene and disturb my rest.” He won’t bend for Liam, and he certainly won’t for Vicky. I know he tolerated her antics at the company only because of Liam. That patronage has clearly run out here.

“Mikhail!” Vicky spits, her voice trembling with rage. “She claims she’s your first love! That you still have feelings for her! That she’ll be your wife in the future! Is any of that true?”

Linda flinches, wrapping her arms around herself, but says nothing. She’s waiting for his verdict.

Mikhail’s gaze flicks to Vicky, cold and impersonal. “Whether she’s my first love or whether I marry her is none of your business, Ms. Cooper.” He emphasizes her title, drawing a stark professional line. “You’re just an employee of my company. I don’t see why I should explain my personal life to you.”

It’s the final straw. Vicky snatches a plastic cup from the bedside table and hurls it at him. It bounces harmlessly off the blanket, but the intent is clear. “Mikhail, you’re a jerk!” She believes she’s the better match, and his dismissal is a public humiliation.

Her wild gaze then swivels to me, her finger following. “And who’s she? What’s her connection to you?”

I open my mouth, ready to give a bland, professional explanation. “Ms. Cooper, I’m—”

Mikhail’s voice cuts through, clear and deliberate, dropping a bomb into the already volatile room. “She’s the mother of my child.”

The reaction is instantaneous.

“What?!” from Vicky.

“Wait, what?!” from Liam and Linda in unison.

But the chorus of shock doesn’t end there. I turn toward the new voices and see two more unexpected figures in the doorway: Harry and Nancy. My brain stutters. What are they doing here?

Harry opens his mouth, probably to explain, but Vicky drowns him out. She zeroes in on me, her face a mask of vindicated fury. “Gemma! How dare you! You’re having Mikhail’s child!” It confirms every jealous suspicion she’s ever nursed.

She rallies, trying to reclaim some ground. “Don’t think having a child will change anything! Mikhail isn’t going to marry you!” She knows, or thinks she knows, about his deep-seated aversion to marriage. It’s her last card.

That’s when Harry slams his hand down on a nearby tray table, the sound sharp in the crowded room. He looks genuinely furious. “Why shouldn’t you have a wedding? Is Gemma not worthy of one? You have to have a proper wedding!” He’s defending family honor I didn’t know he felt.

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