Chapter 140: Unwanted Sacrifice.

"Just play your part. Remember, I have his mother wrapped around my finger."

Amie frowned.

In her state of panic, she had completely forgotten about Elena.

There was no way Elena would allow Rauf to divorce her.

She only needed to hold on to him until she got the inheritance. After that, she couldn’t care less about what the Vassari tradition said.

Who held that kind of tradition in this century?

Clinging to that little ray of hope, Amie found herself picking up the divorce papers.

"What do you mean by ’you have her wrapped around your finger’?" she asked her father.

There was silence on Samir’s end of the line. Then suddenly, he let out a rough chuckle.

"I mean Elena is on our side. There’s no way she would agree to the divorce."

Amie knew.

She had a feeling her father was keeping something from her.

Amie frowned into the phone. Even though her father wasn’t there, she clenched her hand until her knuckles turned white.

Her father was supposed to be the one person she trusted most, but it seemed he didn’t trust her enough to tell her something as important as whatever was going on between him and Elena.

Before Amie could ask more questions, her father said, "Remember, no matter how much pressure they put on you, never, ever sign any form or paper."

Then he hung up.

For several seconds after the call ended, Amie stared at the phone with deep resentment.

How could he?

She was doing all of this for his sake, so how could he keep something this important from her?

Without thinking, she threw the phone away with a frustrated scream.

Somehow, she knew at that moment that she had nobody but herself to rely on.

If she wanted to prevent Rauf from going through with the divorce, then she had to take action herself.

She needed to know exactly what her father had over Elena.

And if it could help her stop the divorce, she would use it.

Rauf hadn’t felt this kind of peace in a long time.

He could still remember the taste of June’s lips against his, and his fingers slowly trailed over his own lips.

He had forgotten about the numerous files scattered across his desk. His attention was completely consumed by the memory.

Suddenly, the ringing of his phone broke through his thoughts.

He picked it up.

Serena.

This was the first time she had initiated a call with him.

Rauf answered.

"Hello, son-in-law," her vibrant voice came through the phone.

For a moment, Rauf thought he was speaking to the wrong person.

He checked the caller again, but when he confirmed it was Serena’s number, he returned the phone to his ear.

"Ma’am. Is everything alright?"

It was very unusual for Serena to call him, not especially since he recently gave her information on Amie and Dante.

Serena chuckled, a deep, rich sound.

"Of course. I think with things cooling down, I’d like to pay you a visit."

Rauf swallowed.

He had expected this from the moment he invited June to stay at his house.

He knew Serena would want to visit her sooner or later.

"It’s no problem, ma’am. I’m certain June would be very excited to see you."

He was still amused by the fact that June hadn’t once said she wanted to go to the mansion. He had a feeling she wanted to, even if she never said it aloud.

"I’m excited to see her too. But I want you to do me a favor. Don’t tell her I’m coming over. I’d like it to be a surprise."

Rauf didn’t mind.

If it was a surprise that would put a smile on June’s face, he was all for it.

"Also, there’s one more thing I want you to know..." Serena began.

Then she told him everything about Amie and the lie she had invented about the Vassari inheritance.

Rauf listened carefully, not interrupting until she was finished.

He pinched the bridge of his nose.

"You could have found another way, ma’am!"

Serena sighed. "I had five seconds to come up with something."

Rauf thought about it for a moment before shaking his head.

"Well, I don’t care about your plan, Serena. I refuse to be stuck with Amie. I’m divorcing her."

The door to his office opened just as he said those words, and June walked in.

From Rauf’s tone, she could tell something new was going on.

She dragged her feet toward his desk while randomly tossing snacks into her mouth.

These days, she felt hungry almost all the time and was rarely seen without something to eat.

As she settled into the chair, her gaze landed on Rauf’s lips.

Immediately, the memory of their kiss came rushing back.

June quickly looked away, wanting to think about anything other than that kiss.

Instead, she focused on his phone.

Rauf ended the call and placed the phone on his desk.

"What’s wrong?" June asked.

There was no reason to hide it from her.

They were supposed to be working together now, and keeping her in the dark would defeat the purpose of that.

So he told her everything.

June listened, crunching on her snacks between his explanations and nodding occasionally.

"If Mother thinks Dante is approaching Amie because she’s supposed to be me, then she’s probably scared of what might happen if Amie gets too close to him," June said, trying to understand Serena’s reasoning.

Rauf understood.

He really did.

But why did he have to be the one to endure Amie?

"That doesn’t mean she gets to use my marriage to control her."

"She still needs something to control Amie with."

Rauf frowned. "Why does that something have to be me?"

June shrugged and popped another snack into her mouth.

"Maybe because you’re useful."

Rauf stared at her.

June fought back a smile.

"Don’t look at me like that. It was Mother’s plan, not mine."

"And you’re enjoying this."

"A little."