Chapter 120: Sameer’s Confrontation
Neuman’s heart hurt.
It was the truth, whether she wanted to admit it or not.
Divorce had never been what she wanted.
When she made that decision, her heart had broken, but there was no other choice. No way back.
"I came to see you. I came to see my daughter."
Sameer’s voice was low.
His gaze passed over Neuman’s shoulder and toward the dining room.
Through the half-open door, he saw Zoe sitting at the table.
The little girl had turned her head to look this way, her eyes exactly like Neuman’s, filled with complicated emotion.
"If you don’t want to die, I suggest you get the hell out."
Neuman ignored his gaze and spoke coldly.
Her threat made Sameer sway, as if her words had slapped him hard across the face.
His Adam’s apple bobbed. His lips trembled a few times before he finally spoke, his voice shaking.
"Neuman, after all these years together... all these years... are you really just going to throw it all away?"
As he said it, a thin sheen of tears gathered in his eyes.
It didn’t look like an act. At least, not completely.
This was nearly ten years of marriage, after all.
Neuman did not answer. She only stared coldly at Sameer.
Zoe kept looking at Sameer with that same complicated expression.
She was still young, but girls matured early, and from everything that had happened these past few days, she had already pieced together a rough idea.
She knew her mom and dad were divorced.
She knew her dad had left their home.
She knew her mom had told her it was all her dad’s fault...
Yes, Neuman had told Zoe that all of this was Sameer’s fault.
She told Zoe that her father had done a lot of bad things, that he had hurt her mother and betrayed their family.
She had even, intentionally or not, revealed some of Sameer’s dirty laundry, shaping him into the image of a father who was not worth respecting or missing.
That had never been what Neuman wanted, but she had to do it.
She needed a reason. A good enough reason to make Zoe stop missing the father she used to know.
To be fair, not everything Neuman said was a lie.
Sameer had cheated. More than once.
The old Neuman had never cared all that much about it. After all, in America, especially in their circle, attitudes toward sex were nowhere near rigid enough for one or two affairs to end in divorce.
Turning a blind eye, maintaining the respectable shell of a marriage, and continuing on while each side got what they needed. That was the most common way things worked in their class.
But now it was different. Everything had changed.
Because Neuman was now Soldier Boy’s woman.
And Soldier Boy cared about things like that. That was the key.
She already belonged to Benjamin. Her status had fundamentally changed.
Cheating had once been a small thing Neuman barely gave a damn about.
Now, it had become the most convenient knife in her hand.
Of course, it still counted as an excuse.
"Feelings... throw it away?"
Neuman finally spoke. The tremor in her voice was gone, replaced by sarcasm.
She let out a cold snort, her eyes fixed on Sameer’s haggard face.
"Don’t make me laugh. I was young and stupid, and somehow I picked you.
Edgar was right. You married me because you wanted my platform. You dated me because you thought you could use me. Dream on.
Now you’ve lost your job, and you’re not even good enough for me anymore. So get the fuck out."
Sameer’s expression changed instantly.
"You... is that why?"
Sameer pressed her, anxiety creeping into his voice.
Neuman did not give him a chance to breathe.
She tilted her head slightly and went on in the same unhurried tone.
"And that’s not all. There’s also the record of you cheating a while back. You want me to pull it up for you?
You want me to fucking remind you of that woman’s name and which hotel room she stayed in?"
Sameer’s face changed again.
He instinctively took half a step back.
He had never imagined Neuman would confront him with something like this.
Cheating?
Did she actually care about that?
Back then, she had clearly always looked the other way. She had never wasted her breath on things like this.
What did that kind of thing even count for in American high society?
Who the hell divorced their husband at light speed just because he slept with another woman?
It was absurd.
No. It definitely was not that simple.
Sameer’s mind cleared a little.
Standing on the porch in the cold wind, he stared at Neuman’s ice-cold face.
There was no way Neuman had divorced him just because he had used her a little. If she had cared about that, she would have said something years ago instead of waiting until now. And there was no way it was just because of some affair, either.
She did not care about any of that. She had never cared.
True, he no longer had his job at Vought, but with his abilities, he could easily find another high-paying position somewhere else. So that probably was not the reason either...
"Why the hell are you still here?"
Neuman’s voice suddenly rose, cutting off his thoughts.
She narrowed her eyes. A trace of white appeared in her pupils, the sign of her Superpowers.
"You want me to pop your head and splatter your blood all over the place?"
Sameer’s face went completely white.
He knew Neuman’s abilities. Honestly, Sameer understood better than anyone how terrifying this woman was.
In front of those big, beautiful eyes, a person’s life or death really did come down to a single thought.
He clenched his molars hard, his face shifting between livid and pale.
In the end, his survival instinct overpowered every other emotion.
He said nothing else, turned sharply, and left.
The door slammed shut.
Neuman leaned against it, her eyes closed.
In the dining room, Zoe sat quietly in her chair, holding the glass of orange juice that had already gone cold. The warm yellow light above the table reflected in her large eyes.
"Mom, don’t be sad. You still have me, Mom."
Zoe called out to her.
Hearing her daughter’s voice, Neuman took a deep breath, steadied herself, and walked back to the dining table.
She picked up her fork and continued eating the piece of grilled salmon that had already gone cold. Her movements were calm and composed, as if nothing had happened.
Outside the door, the night was heavy and dark.
Sameer stumbled out of the upscale residential area. Cold wind poured into his open collar, making him shiver.
But his mind was growing clearer and clearer, clear to an almost cold-blooded degree.
He had to figure it out.
Why had Neuman divorced him? There had to be a real reason behind all of this.
Neuman should have still loved him.
So what exactly had made her harden her heart, turn on him so ruthlessly in such a short time, and rip him out of her life by the roots?
What did she really care about?
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