A SON IN LAW TURNS BILLIONAIRE AFTER DIVORCE

Chapter 31

Was Leonard surprised to see her standing there?

Not in the slightest.

If anything, he was actually surprised his ex-wife had taken this long to show up on his threshold.

“Leonard, you’re finally back.” Susan deliberately softened her voice as much as she could, taking a fragile step forward. She clasped her hands in front of her chest, her eyes glistening with rehearsed sadness. “Do you have any idea how long I’ve been standing out here waiting for you? Please... there’s something important I need to tell you.”

Leonard stood by the door frame, his hand resting casually in his jacket pocket, feeling the cold weight of the handgun concealed inside his holster. He could already guess the exact script she had spent all afternoon practicing in her head:

I know I was wrong, Leonard. Please forgive me.

From now on, you’ll be the only man in my life.

Please... take me back.

And what was all this dramatic performance really about?

His money, of course.

If Susan knew that his stock market portfolio had already ballooned his fortune to well over a billion dollars, she would probably be ten times more enthusiastic right now. Hell, for that kind of astronomical money, she would cut ties with her entire toxic family without a second thought.

Fine, Leonard thought, a dark, wicked amusement flaring in his heart. I’ll play along for a bit.

The global apocalypse hadn’t arrived yet, so there were legal limits to what he could do to her on a Tuesday night in an apartment hallway. But that certainly didn’t mean he couldn’t have a little fun at her expense.

“If you have something to say to me, Susan, say it right here,” Leonard replied flatly, leaning against the door frame.

Susan’s eyes immediately brightened with a flash of triumph.

Ever since that disastrous afternoon at the restaurant, this was the absolute first time Leonard had even been willing to stand in front of her and have a proper, calm conversation. The fact that he was standing there listening to her instead of slamming the door in her face meant she was finally making real progress!

“Leonard, I know I made terrible, awful mistakes,” she began, pulling out her most sincere, heartbroken expression. She forced a quiver into her bottom lip. “And I know nothing I say right now can ever undo the deep pain I caused you over the years. But... but there’s something you desperately need to know, Leonard. Something I never had the courage to tell you.”

She paused dramatically, taking a deep, ragged breath as a single tear escaped her eye.

“You’re the only man I’ve ever truly loved.”

Then her eyes reddened further, her voice dropping into a raspy, dramatic whisper. “The reason I got pregnant with Jonathan’s child back then... it was because... he forced himself on me! I didn't want it, Leonard! I was a helpless victim too!”

Her voice broke completely as she began to sob into her hands.

Leonard nearly stared at her in utter, speech-paralyzing disbelief.

She could actually open her mouth and say something that utterly shameless with a straight face?! Did she honestly think he was still the same brainless, gullible fool who used to scrub her floors nine years ago?!

Suppressing a violent burst of laughter, Leonard deliberately put on a doubtful, conflicted expression, leaning in slightly.

“Seriously? Jonathan actually did that to you?”

“Yes! Oh God, yes!” Susan nodded furiously, dabbing her eyes with the sleeve of her coat.

Inside her mind, she was already practically floating with smug satisfaction. He really is as pathetic and gullible as ever! All it takes is a few tears and a sad story, and he’s already falling apart and starting to believe me again!

Then Leonard looked her straight in the eye and said, “Well... if he raped you, go to the police.”

Susan froze mid-sob.

“What?”

“Report him for rape,” Leonard repeated smoothly, crossing his arms. “If he forced himself on you and ruined our life together, let’s go down to the precinct right now and put him behind bars for ten years.”

Her mind went completely, terrifyingly blank for a solid three seconds.

Report Jonathan to the police?!

How could she possibly do something that stupid?! The second the detectives opened an investigation and interrogated Jonathan, he would pull out every single romantic text, every hotel receipt, and every proof of their nine-year affair just to save his own neck! And once Leonard learned the hard, indisputable truth, there would be absolutely zero chance of ever winning him back!

Thinking at lightspeed, Susan frantically shook her head, pulling out a look of deep, bitter tragedy.

“It... it happened too long ago, Leonard! I didn't save any physical evidence back then out of shame! There’s no way the police could ever prove it now!”

She reached for an even gentler, more affectionate tone, taking half a step closer to him. “Leonard, please... let’s just forget about the past. What’s done is done.”

She looked up at him, her eyes glistening softly under the hallway lights. “Mark is gone now, Leonard. The child is gone. There’s nothing standing between the two of us anymore.”

She reached out, trying to gently touch his sleeve. “Can’t we just start over? I know how much you’ve always wanted a real family. I know how much you wanted a child of your own. I can give you one, Leonard! A child that’s really ours this time!”

Leonard’s expression became utterly strange.

Inside his head, he was practically roaring with laughter. Forget the fact that he was worth well over a billion dollars in cash right now—even when he had “only” four hundred million, if he put out an announcement that he was looking for a wife, there would be an endless line of stunning, high-society women stretching down the block.

And if he genuinely wanted to settle down with a partner, why on earth would he ever pick a manipulative viper like Susan over a brilliant, gorgeous woman like Sophia Dean?

Still, if he wanted to torment his vicious ex-wife properly, he had to stay in character just a little bit longer.

“I already have a girlfriend, Susan,” Leonard said flatly.

Susan’s heart skipped a violent beat. Her breath caught in her throat.

“Who?!”

A specific face immediately flashed inside her mind—a woman so drop-dead gorgeous that even Susan had felt small, plain, and hopelessly insecure just standing anywhere near her at the restaurant.

“Is it... is it that female lawyer?!” Susan demanded, her voice rising in pitch.

“Yeah,” Leonard nodded, keeping his tone light. “Sophia.”

Technically speaking, there wasn't anything official between him and Sophia just yet. There was undeniably electric chemistry between them, sure, but neither of them had made a formal romantic move. But for the sake of this grand performance tonight, invoking Sophia’s name was absolute perfection.

Susan almost choked on her own rage, her face turning red.

That bitch!

She had known something was wrong from the very beginning! Why had a high-powered, glamorous attorney like Sophia been so eager to rush over to Leonard’s table whenever he called?! That woman had been plotting to steal him all along!

“Leonard, you can’t seriously be this blind!” Susan blurted out, her voice sharp with desperation. “A woman like that is obviously only after your lottery money! Think about it logically! Before you got rich, women like her would have never given a loser... I mean, a regular guy like you... a second look! Then suddenly, the second you hit the jackpot, this gorgeous lawyer starts throwing herself at you?!”

She pressed a frantic hand against her chest, stepping closer. “She doesn’t love you, Leonard! She loves your bank account!”

“But I’m different,” Susan pleaded, tears spilling over her cheeks. “I was with you when you had absolutely nothing! I chose you back when you were broke! I married you!”

“Leonard, the only person in this cruel world who can truly stay by your side for the rest of your life is someone who genuinely loved you before the money came along!”

Leonard was completely, utterly speechless.

How thick-skinned did a human being have to be to say something like that with a straight face?!

She married him because she loved him?! Bullshit!

She had married him to hide the humiliating fact that she was already pregnant with another man’s bastard before the wedding, and to protect Jonathan’s precious reputation and government career! She had picked Leonard because he was the perfect, hard-working sucker to slave away and raise another man’s child!

And now she was presenting nine years of psychological fraud as proof of her eternal, unselfish love?!

Incredible. Absolutely breathtaking.

Leonard deliberately fell dead silent, dropping his gaze as if he were seriously, deeply considering her impassioned words.

Susan immediately noticed the change. She grabbed the edge of his jacket, hurriedly pressing her advantage before he could pull away.

“If you don’t believe me, call that lawyer right now, Leonard!” Susan urged, her voice buzzing with excitement. “Call her up and tell her your stock market investments collapsed! Tell her you lost every single penny of the lottery winnings! See if she doesn’t dump your ass on the spot!”

Leonard almost burst out laughing right in her face.

And if I really had no money left, Susan, would your greedy ass even be standing in this hallway talking to me right now?

Naturally, he had zero intention of making any such ridiculous call.

Instead, he casually detached her hand from his jacket, stepped back, and gave a careless shrug.

“So what if she’s after my money?”

Susan blinked, stunned. “What?”

Leonard continued casually, looking at the ceiling. “She’s drop-dead gorgeous, she has an incredible, mind-blowing body, and I like looking at her.”

Then, he slowly lowered his gaze, scanning Susan up and down with an unbothered, critical eye—lingering on her plain clothes, her tired face, and her mediocre figure—before looking back up at her eyes.

“So stop bothering me, Susan.”

That should be more than enough of a clear hint.

Pretty face. Great body. He had practically spelled it out for her in plain English.

With that, Leonard had zero interest in continuing the theater performance. He stepped back into his apartment, gripped the handle of his front door, and prepared to shut it.

Susan tried to push her way inside right behind him, but Leonard blocked the doorway with his solid frame without a second of hesitation.

“Get out,” he said cold.

SLAM!

The heavy door shut firmly in her face, and the lock clicked into place.

A few minutes later, Leonard was already sprawled out comfortably on his plush living room couch, grabbing the remote to find an action movie to watch.

Out in the hallway, Susan stood staring at the locked metal door, her chest heaving with furious, humiliation-laced rage. In the past, if Leonard had ever dared to treat her with such cold disrespect, she would have screamed at him, thrown his clothes out, and made him sleep on the living room floor for a week.

But now?

She didn’t dare complain out loud. She couldn't afford to alienate him completely.

Instead, she leaned close to the door frame and called out in her sweetest, most lingering voice through the crack: “Leonard... time will prove everything. One day soon, you’ll realize that I’m the only woman on earth who truly loves you!”

Afraid he might not have heard her through the thick wood, she pulled out her phone, typed the exact same dramatic sentence into a text message, hit send, and finally turned to walk down the hall.

As her heels clicked against the concrete floor, however, only one agonizing, obsessive question occupied her mind.

How on earth was she supposed to compete with Sophia Dean?

Sophia was a high-powered attorney. Even the professional title sounded insanely impressive. Worse, the woman really was breathtakingly gorgeous. Perfect skin, a stunning face, and a hourglass figure with curves that Susan simply couldn’t compete with in her current state.

Men are so shallow! Susan thought bitterly, clutching her purse. Give them a pretty face and a hot body, and suddenly they forget everything else!

But Leonard was sitting on four hundred million dollars. How could she possibly give up on a fortune like that?! As far as Susan was concerned, that money rightfully belonged to her family in the first place!

Standing out in the cool night air outside the apartment building, a sudden, wild thought crossed her mind for the very first time.

Cosmetic surgery.

Maybe she could get work done on her face. A nose lift, skin tightening... maybe breast implants and body sculpting.

The idea was wildly tempting. If she looked like a supermodel, Leonard would definitely fall back into her arms!

But as she checked her bank balance on her phone, she hesitated. It would cost a small fortune—tens of thousands of dollars out of her remaining settlement cash. And the recovery process would be painful and miserable.

...

Back inside the warm apartment, Leonard let out a dark, quiet chuckle as his phone buzzed with Susan’s romantic text message.

He had given Susan the exact "hint" he wanted her greedy little brain to process tonight. If he knew her well enough, she was probably already obsessing over plastic surgery, lip fillers, and implants right now.

And none of those high-end cosmetic procedures came cheap.

Good, Leonard thought, taking a sip of cold water. Let her burn through her blood-money settlement and suffer through the needles.

Still, knowing her timid nature when it came to spending her own cash, she was probably hesitating right now, not quite ready to commit to the surgeon's knife.

In that case...

Leonard smiled faintly into the dark room. He would just have to give his dear ex-wife one final, glorious push.