The Wife He Underestimated

Part 3: The Boardroom Revelation

The emergency shareholder meeting began at ten o’clock on Wednesday morning.

I arrived five minutes early, wearing a tailored ivory suit, understated diamond earrings, and the watch my grandfather had given me when I graduated from law school.

Nathan walked beside me, carrying a slim leather folder.

The receptionist stood immediately.

“Good morning, Ms. Prescott.”

Several executives turned toward us.

One of them whispered, “Is that really her?”

I didn’t slow down.

When I entered the boardroom, Aaron was standing beside his mother. Jasmine sat in a chair behind him, wearing the same expression she had worn at our charity dinners: confident, polished, and slightly bored.

That confidence vanished when she saw me take a seat at the head of the table reserved for Blackwood Capital’s representative.

Aaron stared.

“What are you doing here?”

I placed my folder on the table.

“Attending a meeting I’ve been invited to.”

His mother let out a sharp laugh.

“This is a shareholder meeting, Claire. It’s not the place for your marital drama.”

The chairman, Robert Hayes, adjusted his glasses.

“Mrs. Prescott is here in her official capacity as managing trustee of Blackwood Capital Partners.”

Eleanor’s smile disappeared.

Aaron looked from the chairman to me.

“Managing trustee?”

“Yes,” I answered calmly.

“You told me you managed a small charitable foundation!”

“I do manage charitable projects. I never said that was the only thing I did.”

His face reddened.

“How much does Blackwood own?”

Robert opened the meeting packet.

“Blackwood Capital holds eighteen percent of Prescott Global’s voting shares, making it one of our largest institutional shareholders.”

Aaron gripped the back of his chair.

“Eighteen percent?”

“Correct.”

He looked at me as if I had personally betrayed him.

“You hid this from me!”

I met his furious gaze.

“You never asked about my work. You never asked about my grandfather’s company. You never asked what mattered to me unless it affected your schedule.”

“That doesn’t give you the right to interfere with my business!”

“I’m not interfering with your business, Aaron. I’m exercising my responsibilities as a shareholder.”

Robert cleared his throat and moved to the next item on the agenda.

“Before we proceed, Blackwood Capital has requested an independent review of several executive expenses and related-party transactions.”

Aaron’s expression changed.

“What transactions?”

The chairman glanced at his notes.

“Payments to a consulting company registered under the name of Jasmine Cole, along with expenses charged to the corporate account for personal travel and accommodations.”

Jasmine abruptly stood.

“Those were legitimate business expenses!”

“Then the review should establish that,” I replied.

Aaron turned toward me.

“You’re doing this because of our marriage.”

“No. I’m doing this because shareholders deserve accurate records. The review will be conducted independently, and neither my personal feelings nor yours will determine its findings.”

For once, he had no immediate answer.

Then Eleanor leaned forward.

“You ungrateful little girl. My son gave you his name, his home, and a life most women would envy. And this is how you repay him?”

I slowly closed my folder.

“Your son gave me his last name. I gave him three years of loyalty, even when he treated that loyalty as permission to humiliate me.”

I stood.

“And since we’re discussing repayment, Eleanor, I believe you’ll find that every asset I brought into this marriage is documented in the divorce proposal.”

Aaron’s face darkened.

“You’re really going to leave me with nothing?”

“No. I’m leaving you with your own choices.”

I turned toward the chairman.

“Blackwood Capital will support a fair and transparent review. We will not use this process to settle personal disputes, and we will not protect anyone from legitimate scrutiny.”

Robert nodded.

“Understood.”

I gathered my things and walked toward the door.

Behind me, Aaron called my name.

“Claire!”

I stopped but didn’t turn around.

“Was any of it real?” he demanded. “Did you ever actually love me?”

For a moment, I remembered the man who had once waited outside my law-school graduation with flowers. The man who had promised that I would never have to beg for his attention.

“Yes,” I said quietly. “That’s why I stayed so long.”

Then I looked back at him.

“But loving you was never supposed to mean abandoning myself.”

I left the boardroom without another word.

Outside, Nathan fell into step beside me.

“You realize you’ve just changed the entire balance of power at Prescott Global?”

“No,” I replied. “I’ve simply stopped pretending I had none.”

My phone vibrated.

A message from Aaron appeared on the screen.

We need to talk privately. There’s something about our marriage you don’t know.

I stared at it for several seconds.

Then another message arrived.

It concerns the night we got married—and what my mother told me about you.

My smile faded.

Whatever Aaron was about to reveal, I knew one thing with absolute certainty.

The divorce was no longer the only secret waiting to come out.

And for the first time, I wondered whether the betrayal that destroyed my marriage had begun long before Jasmine Cole ever entered our lives.