Page 180 of Divine Obsession

I watched her stare at the screen’s ID caller for two whole seconds before hanging up.

“Dick.” She muttered, and I didn’t need to ask to know who it was. She only made it two steps walking away before my phone rang again. She only glanced back at it this time. “What the fuck is his problem?”

Rounding the marble island, I put my hand on her shoulder. “Sit down.” Then I moved to get my phone, Zach’s name written in big letters over the screen. I picked up, receiving a betrayed gasp from Maria. “Zach, hi… So sweet of you to call.”

“How is Maria?”

“She’s good.” That earned me a silent groan and roll of her eyes.

“Been trying her phone for hours. She blocked my number, Nat.”

My phone may not have been on speaker, but the volume was high enough for Maria to hear his voice come through.

“I. Don’t. Want. To. See. Him.” She spoke clearly enough for Zach to hear her crystal on the other end. “Ever. Again.” She added for effect with a sardonic smile that he couldn’t see, but I was sure could hear in her tone.

Turning around, I walked away to put some distance between them. In my head, this went very differently.

“Sorry,” I whispered back to him.

“Tell her I’m sorry. And that I’m not going to stop.”

“Zach, I don’t know if–”

“I love her, Nat. I’m not giving this up.”

I sighed deeply. “Good luck.” Then hung up.

When I tried telling Maria what he said, she stopped me, her answer definitive.I don’t care.

The next morning, I walked into the open kitchen-living room space to see Maria busy at the marble island, her back to me.

“Morning,” She grumbled.

“Good morning,” I chirped, before my eyes fell on an opened jewelry velvet box and the gorgeous earrings inside. “Oh, my God.”

“He thinks throwing money at the problem is going to fix it. Typical…”

And Zach must’ve thrownsomemoney.

I immediately picked them up.

The earrings were breathtaking – a pair of dazzling diamonds that screamed extravagance. Each one featured a sparkling oval diamond at the top, with a larger pear-shaped diamond suspended below, catching every glimmer from the room’s sunlight.

They were the kind of gift you’d see on a red carpet or in a glass case at a high-end jewelry store.

“Apologies don’t sparkle this much, do they? Too bad they don’t fix anything, either.”

“Maria… These arebeautiful.”

“They’re as fake as his promises,” She muttered, her tone dripping with bitterness.

I picked up the card inside,Appraisal Certificate. “Actually, they’re forty carats. Eight million.”

She scoffed. “Not enough to make me stay.”

Not only would a gift like that have made me stay, but it would’ve made me forgiveandforget.

I finally managed to drag my eyes away from the beautiful stones, and turned to see what Maria was doing. My eyebrows shot up.

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