Al jagen de steenrijke vrienden Russell, Hugh en James elk een ander doel na, ze kiezen voor hetzelfde middel om dat te bereiken: een verstandshuwelijk. Alle drie halen ze een nietsvermoedende jonge vrouw over om met hen te trouwen... James besluit dat trouwen met Megan de ideale manier is om voor een erfgenaam te zorgen. Dat er wat hem betreft geen sprake is van liefde, vindt hij geen probleem. Hij zal zorgen dat het haar als zijn echtgenote aan niets ontbreekt. Bovendien zullen ze samen prachtige kinderen krijgen. Een perfecte deal, lijkt hem. Jammer dat hij haar dat pas ná de bruiloft vertelt!
Maureen Mary was born on 1945 at Port Macquarie, a popular seaside town on the Mid-North Coast of New South Wales, Australia, and is the youngest of four children. Her sister was the novelist Wendy Brennan (Emma Darcy). Her father was a country school teacher and brilliant sportsman. Her mother was a talented dressmaker. When Miranda was ten, her father was transferred to Gosford, another coastal town in the countryside, much closer to Sydney. After leaving her convent school, she briefly studied the cello before moving to Sydney, where she embraced the emerging world of computers. Her career as a programmer ended after she married, had three daughters and bought a small acreage in a semi-rural community. Following this, she attempted greyhound training, as well as horse and goat breeding, but was left dissatisfied.
Miranda yearned to find a creative career from which she could earn money. When her sister suggested writing romances, it seemed like a good idea. She could do it at home, and it might even be fun! It took a decade of trial and error before her first romance, After the Affair, was accepted and published. At that time, Miranda, her husband Tony, and her three daughters had moved back to the Central Coast, where they could enjoy the sun and the surf lifestyle once again. Not long into her writing career, Miranda committed herself to writing a six-book series entitled, The Hearts of Fire, with a deadline of just nine short months. Bravely, her husband left his executive position to stay home and support Miranda’s writing career. He learned to cook and to clean, two invaluable household skills. Numerous successful stories followed, each embodying Miranda’s trademark style: pacy and sexy rhythms; passionate, real-life characters; and enduring, memorable story lines. She has one credo when writing romances: Don’t bore the reader! Millions of fans world-wide agree she never does.
Miranda was the sister of the late author, Emma Darcy.
What James, a handsome 36 year old Australian tycoon, wanted more than anything was to get married and have children. His parents passed away and his only brother died in an accident.
At 30 he fell in love (and lust) with a super model. He was captivated and he married her. He let her know, early on, of his desire to have a family. He found out along the way that she was infertile and that she knew that fact long before she even met him. She didn't really love him, she was after wealth and security. They got a divorce.
Enter Megan, a naive 24 year old artist. She was mousy, demure and sensitive. He met her at a gallery where Megan exhibited a single painting. The painting wasn't to his liking but he bought it knowing that he'd found the ideal girl to marry. Innocent, virgin, reasonably attractive and from a well off family as he did not want to risk marrying a gold digger again. The most important virtue: She wanted children.
Sex with Megan wasn't as exciting as it had been with Jackie. Megan was shy and inhibited. He did experience guilt that he didn't love her as she loved him but that did not stop him from expressing his "love" for her quiet often. He deliberately impregnated her first in order to be sure she was able to reproduce and only then he had proposed.
Megan was madly in love with him and believed he loved her too. At 3 months gestation she'd miscarried and she was devastated. At the Hospital she overheard a conversation between James's two best friends. They were saying that James did not love her, he only married her as she was an innocent young virgin who would give him children. That she was so swept of her feet by him that she wouldn't suspect a thing.
Megan never confronted James after that. She was so devastated that was incapable of taking any action at all. She wanted to leave him but she just didn't have the courage.
She spent the next three months been in a depressed state. She'd lost weight and was spending her time in her studio by the pool, painting. She was even sleeping there. She hadn't slept with James even though she'd glimpse the frustration on his face. James was been patient, he wanted to give her time to heal. Megan, unbeknown to James, went on the pill as she perceived her future with him uncertain.
James arranged for them two to go on a second honeymoon on an island. Not only he was frustrated but knew it was time to try for another baby. Before their getaway Megan underwent a makeover. James was crazy about his wife's new sexier look.
Once on the island they reconnected and the sex was hot and adventurous. They also started to get to know each other better, until he accidentally discovered the contraceptive pills.
That finding brought back memories of his first wife. He was livid and accused her of lying and deceiving him. Megan striked back by telling him she already knew he didn't love her and that he married her to carry his children. He accused her of wanting to use him as she thought he'd used her and make him fall in love with her to get revenge. The sexy new image, the willingness to try new things.
He admitted he didn't love her, at the time he felt incapable of loving any woman, but he liked her very much and wanted to make a family with her. A life full of caring and commitment. From the time he met her he hadn't even looked at another woman. He never meant to hurt her, he said.
He ordered her out of the island and told her to make sure she was out of the house as well by the time he got back home in Sydney. He never wanted to see her again. Megan tried to explain but he walked away. He was wrong about her trying to hurt him but she knew her marriage was over. She had moved back with her parents.
As James had time to calm down and think logical, he regretted his outburst and realised he was in love with his wife. He told her so a few days later but naturally she was sceptical as he had lied to her repeatedly in the past. She wanted him to prove his love with actions not words. He said he'll like to court her, go on dates, enjoy each other's company and talk.
Not long after that they renewed their vows and Megan was pregnant. The ending was beautiful, you have to read it to understand.
James fell in love with Megan after she'd lost weight, had a makeover, started dressing seductively and was willing to have kinky sex.
This was a re-read. A reluctant re-read rather like trying to avert your eyes from a car crash but looking at the last moment.
James, the H, is an arrogant, full of himself Australian tycoon married to meek and squeamish Megan. The story starts out when, after suffering a miscarriage, Megan overhears his two BF's talking about how devastated the H was since he only married Megan to have a child. In fact studly H got Megan pregnant before he proposed to ensure that she could have kids. How romantic! What a guy.
It's a toss up whether the miscarriage, his lack of love, or his cold-blooded deception/seduction devastates Megan more. Three months later, the big J is raring to go back to his baby making plans, but Megan is still very depressed. Very depressed and very bitter. While mourning, she has locked herself away to paint.
James wants to take her on another honeymoon to a secluded island retreat to start the baby making plan all over again. With the help of a more grounded friend, the wife of one of his friends who dislikes James as much as I do, Megan gets a sexy makeover and more importantly birth control pills. Secret birth control pills.
James is verrrrryyyyy attracted to the new made over Megan and decides to step up the vanilla bedroom antics to something a little more alpha, baby BDSM-ish much to both their sexual satisfaction. Sadly for Megan, his rogue headache ends up disclosing the BC pills and all hell breaks loose. She admits she knows he never loved her and only married her as a baby making machine since his first wife refused to have a baby. She never gets to tell him she just needed to wait until she was more sure before she got pregnant again. The H gets horrible nasty, accuses the h of revenge, kicks her off the island literally, and tells her to get out of the house before he gets back. I guess community property is not a thing in Australia, or marital rights?
The h moves back home with her strident, money-grubbing social climbing mother and beaten down Daddy. Mums tells her to get back to the house and grovel to her hubby no matter what. Dad gets a backbone and supports his daughter emotionally, then drops the bombshell that he can support them financially as well since he recently made a load in the market. Well, Mumsie brightens up at that.
The nice friend pops back into the scene, and the two end up taking her grief driven paintings that apparently are masterpieces to a gallery. They are nudes with one being a woman in mourning and one demonstrating desire. Actually a nice touch to the story and elevates Megan from kind of a simple little humdrum to a more interesting, deep character.
Back on Fantasy Island, James adds a few brain cells and regrets how cruel he was to Megan as well as how duplicitous he was in seducing her in the first place. She was a good little wife and now she's good and sexy little wife so...
James decides he loves her but gets somewhat of a cold shoulder from Megan when he sees her again. She loves him and is willing to give him a chance, but is clear that sex is off the table as a means of coercion. Well, she's clear that night as apparently while sleeping her doormat gene reactivates and she's so sorry she was a bitch. Too bad, as I think James is one of those kind of guys that thrives on challenges. Reminds me of a guy I dated in college that wanted to date other people. That lasted until my roommates had the brilliant idea to plant messages on our suite blackboard (it was the 80s) from other guys whenever he picked me up for a date. I should say thank you to them, but what it actually meant is I dated him that much longer which was a BIG m-i-s-t-a-k-e!
Anyhoo, the is about James and Megan's mistakes, NOT MINE. It ends with buttercups and roses, but I have a feeling that unless Megan keeps that spine of steel in place and gives James a run for his money, he'll be a wandering man.
This is the final story in the series and the ending the author had been working towards. It's a marriage in trouble story after the heroine miscarries and overhears that the hero doesn't love her (likes her - yes, but not love). He wanted a baby maker and family life. That's some quality angst right there.
But the heroine agrees to a second honeymoon complete with a makeover and lots of innovative sex. So there's no angst build up.
Then in an abrupt turn, the hero realizes heroine's been on the pill and he thinks her new interest in sex with out procreating was revenge. Plus, he's in love now and he thinks she hates him.
And we're back to angst with the H/h both hurting.
So the shifts in tone from depressed heroine to the hot second honeymoon to the depressed H/h undermined what could have been a strong betrayal story. Heroine didn't voice her agony to the hero and the heroine didn't let the hero grovel, which was disappointing. Knowing their thoughts as a reader is fine - but it's more powerful when the characters actually *say* these things.
The first wife with
And yes, this hero is a jerk and the heroine is just learning how to stand upright with her new spine, but I believed their HEA. I like that she has her art and an outlet besides the hero.
I should have disliked it more! I am getting inured or something. Help!
**Spoilers Galore** Nothing’s sacred for this guy. He so very single-mindedly wants to become a father. His ex was a career minded model who kept her ‘barren’-ness a secret, leaving him hanging for the brood he so badly craves. The Witch!
So now he’s more wary and carefully picks up the unworldly, virginal h as the broodmare. He ensures she’s preggers before popping the question! He even throws in an ILY or two to keep her sweet and amenable. So with mission accomplished, he’s one self-satisfied sob even though the wifey compares unfavorably with the ex in the bedroom dept. And a miscarriage does not deter this guy. Such a Prince!
‘Mousy Megan’, our h learns the truth and goes through a broken hearted and betrayed phase before embracing sexpot ‘made-over Megan’. Actually she weighs her options - going back home with tail between her legs to an ambitious and fire eating mother.. or maybe go for a second honeymoon/exotic vacation and get some bedroom action from hunky hubs. Choice is so easy- Betrayals are just booboos made better by sex. Smart Lady!
The book can be basically divided into 3 parts, plot wise and mood wise too. The first mostly deals with the backstory and shows the broken hearted h keeping her husband at a distance but not confronting him either. He’s impatient (for sex) but grits and bears it. Second part is when the wiley H takes her for the second honeymoon. Most fertile period is calculated and ‘operation impregnation’ initiated. (I couldn’t not admire this guy for his single-mindedness!) Lots of non-missionary sex (This author has something against the missionary, I tell you) and the second missus finally outshines the first in the bedroom. Hurray! Third is all about groveling and reconciliation. I love Nicole’s (the h from the first book) part here. She hands out few laughs too. The ex-wife makes a character (read benevolent) appearance.
Lessons are learnt, vows renewed and target achieved! So an iffy premise with a light flippant treatment.
This is a plot I could have liked. I love a good betrayal story and nothing says betrayal like tricking someone who loves you into a marriage of convenience. However, this had some issues that kept me from liking it.
#1 - the hero was a big fat liar! Usually these heroes hedge about loving the heroine when they don't. They treat them well, but never say those 3 words. The heroine just assumes. I'm not saying she doesn't have reason to assume and wasn't manipulated/misled, but the hero doesn't usually go so far as to flat out lie and say he loves her. How could you ever believe someone like that?!?
#2 - the wanting a baby maker thing was kind of disturbing in this instance. I guess it's easier to swallow with some Greek tycoon who must make his dying grandfather happy or some typical B.S. like that. This guy was just OTT obsessed with having kids and picked out a wife for that express purpose, even going so far as to get her pregnant before proposing to make sure she was fertile. Creep-y.
#3 - there was something a bit odd about the flow of the writing. It seemed kind of like, this happened and then that happened and then.... It didn't seem natural.
#4 - okay, dude was all setup to grovel and prove his love at the end, so what happened to that? The heroine decided she was too hard on him and went to him the very next day and fell right into his arms. Where's the proof?
This is the third bk in the author's Three Rich Husbands Trilogy. Not to be confused with the author's earlier Three Rich MEN Trilogy. The trilogy is connected by the three heroes knowing each other from rooming in college.
I think this can be read alone altho in the first bk - The Billionaire's Bride of Vengeance - we attend the wedding of James and a pregnant Megan. Throughout the first two bks, there is a lot of foreshadowing as the first two heroes have reservations about James using Megan as a broodmare. James is shown as to be very bitter about his first wife being barren and in a hurry to marry someone and have kids.
This book opens with Megan having a miscarriage right after the honeymoon and overhearing the truth about her marriage: that James never loved her and he basically chose her b/c she is naive and fertile.
Three months later, Megan is still depressed after the miscarriage but reluctant to leave James because (1) she still loves him and (2) she is reluctant to move back with her parents (jeez!). Megan was way too wishy-washy and weak for me. I prefer my heroines much stronger and more assertive.
I gave James the benefit of the doubt since there are 2 sides to every story. Until Chapter 2 (which is from his POV) and it turns out that everything was as presented and he really is a dirtbag. Among other sterling thoughts, we gets to find out how much more exciting James found his first wife in bed than Megan! Charming.
I have no problem with a dude divorcing a wife who wont give him children but there are plenty of women who are willing to give a rich dude children in many different legal ways. He should have been more open about what he wanted and not snowed Megan telling her he loved her and stuff.
I didnt care for the way the story went and was resolved. It wasnt much of a story. There is a huge sexual interlude in the middle and the ending seemed rushed and had a bit of Deus Ex Machina in the form of the ex-wife.
Of the trilogy, I only liked the second book: BILLIONAIRE'S BRIDE OF CONVENIENCE.
Very much disappointed with both characters. The hero will go in my worst heroes list because I don’t even know where to begin with him. - he married a gorgeous supermodel because she was beautiful and he was so in lust ( and in love with her). He wanted children and she didn’t so they got divorced. This means he was shallow and dumb because at 30 (not 20!) he was not able to see what was beyond the physical appearance. Very bad - he saw the heroine, a naive and quite plain girl, very sensitive, and coldly planned to get her pregnant because he decided she would be a good mother and wife material. Shallow and bastard. -of course he didn’t love her but also find sex with his ex more exciting that sex with his wife because she is naive.! Unromantic and unforgivable. If the hero can’t be in love with heroine at least he must be in lust with her. - after she miscarried he didn’t even asked if she was ready to try again and 3 months later he immediately wants to have another baby. Crude and insensitive. - he sent her packing because she was on the pill and didn’t tell him, he didn’t understand she could be still hurt and need more time. The heroine was not much better. - he heard his friends talking about her and saying that he married only for children but he didn’t love her. Instead of leaving him as any woman with a minimum of self respect should have done she stays with him and has a complete makeover becoming a very sexy woman. - she accepts to go to a second honeymoon even if she knows he only wants to make her pregnant. -she doesn’t tell him she knows the reason why he married until he sends her packing. - she doesn’t ask for divorce and basically accepts his apologies immediately. She’s a woman without a backbone and without self respect. Only two start because they were both irritating and annoying characters and he didn’t suffer or grovel enough. The fact he fell in love with her during their second honeymoon is not very believable. He was only very happy that they could have kinky sex and he was not thinking of his first wife anymore when he had sex with his wife. He found sex with h boring because she was a virgin and completely inexperienced. How yucky is this??? What a poor excuse of a man. Off to my black list you go! Not very well done.
In the end, I believe the hero received a more sincere apology from his gorgeous, sexy ex-wife for pretending to love him and marrying him for his money while she knew she could never give him children (and didn't want to) than the heroine got from the hero for pretending to love her and marrying her solely for her baby-making ability.
It really aggravates me that the trajectory of the relationship wasn't "the hero discovers he loves his wife for who she was when he married her and grovels for deceiving her" but instead "the misused heroine has to make herself over into a confident sexpot to attract her husband's love...and still be his broodmare." Bite me, Miranda Lee.
3 stars for the heroine, negative one star for the self-entitled walking sperm bank.
Not terrible, but is just couldn't connect to the love story. Hearing "hero" James' POV just made me go totally cold to him. Got to hear him think about how he: lied to his wife to trick her into marrying him, deliberately got her pregnant without consulting her (that's, like, assault), actually told her he loved her while admitting to himself that he didn't (a sin that I don't think I've ever seen crossed in HP-land before...all those heroes who manipulate women and don't love them at least can say they never lied and said the words "I love you" falsely) and if that wasn't bad enough, thought about how much better his first wife was in bed than his current virginal wife.
for me, comparing heroine sexually to another woman and finding her wanting is probably the least romantic bit of realism I've seen (that I don't need), even if he doesn't love her to begin with, he has to desperately want her to make me want him to fall in love. And heroine giving this man her virginity in that context was gross, not romantic--not a trap this author usually falls into. Beta male, just doesn't work as well...pig of a hero easier to deal with in a Greek alpha male who can cite backwards cultural norms as an excuse for pigeonholing wife into Madonna v whore role. James turned on by wife's makeover, so then he falls in love because she's now got a wax and is open to shower sex? Not believable, and totally sleeved me out. Sex scenes would have been good but hero was so not hot for me.
Megan and James are married but right after she miscarries her baby boy she finds out that her husband married her for the sole purpose of having children and a family but in reality he was never in love with her. A few months later James wants to try for another baby but Megan decides to go on the pill which is something she of course hides from her husband. He finds out, they break up but he realizes he is in love with his wife and wants her back in his life.
This story was interesting because, realistically, both parties have a right to feel hurt. Neither was perfect, in fact they both lied and deceived their other half.
I liked the hero. He was complex and had an awful childhood. He was abused as a child by his father and so did his brother and mother.
He is desperate to become a father because he is almost 40 and he wants to become the man his father failed to be. A good, decent father and family man. He loves Megan for her warmth and innocence but he doesn't realize he is in love since he is so disillusioned and a cynic after his first marriage fell apart.
The ending in my opinion was very rushed and the reconciliation kind of forced but other than that I truly loved this book!
This was really lame. The hero was a shallow asswipe. The heroine was a boring martyr doormat. The tone of the book was off putting with the hero “putting up with” the heroines virginity… and never finds her attractive until she grieves her way into weight loss and starts wearing sexy clothes. They lost their unborn baby, but at least she has cheekbones now, amIright?!! 🤷🏼♀️
I kept hoping it would get better but it just kept getting worse. The hero having to be convinced by his friends to try to save his marriage, the heroine shouldering all the blame, and the OW being redeemed… meh.
als je wil weten hoe dit boek was moet je imaginen dat je de verschrikkelijkste smut fanfics mixt met het meest cliche drama onderwerp, een happy ending en een verschrikkelijke schrijfstijl
When we start off the book the heroine is in the hospital after losing her baby. From the fact that they know the baby was a boy, I'd say she was about four months along. She was destroyed by the loss but even more so when she overheard a conversation about the real reason her husband married her. He married her to have babies and did not love her at all. After that the heroine decided to go on the Pill and didn't tell our hero the husband. When the hero found out about the Pill he kicked the heroine out, only to know that he had fallen in love with his wife. Now he will do anything to get her back.
It was a really sad but cute story when it all evened out. It was a pleasure to read!
Güzel bir seriydi.Okurken zevk aldığımı söylemem gerekiyor ;) bu rich husbandlardan biri de bana tesadüf etseydi hiç şikayetçi olmazdım yani :D :D Russel,Hugh,James üçü de harikaydı ama özellikle Jamesi çok sevdiğimi belirtmeliyim <3
No idea how to rate this thing, overall this book is mediocre at best; the prose and dialogue is embarrassingly dated (the term ‘Dolly-bird’ was used—unironically), and it has many of the m&b tropes that eventually made me give up on modern mills & boon. But having said that, I always ate up the first few chapters. I’m a sucker for the older, sophisticated hero who seduces unworldly heroine for his own unknown, nefarious reasons plot, and the angst of the miscarriage and H’s betrayal are so good that I often used to just read the first few chapters and leave them to it after they decide to go on their Second Honeymoon.
Did anyone else find inconsistencies in the book? Or maybe I started imagining things that weren't there cause I got so bored and distracted while reading it. Oh and the wholly rushed reconciliation and the self-pitying heroine (I mean what else should I have expected, right?) did not make it any more interesting. Sigh~ the things I read to achieve my reading goals.
This was an ok book. I wouldn't say I enjoyed reading this, but I didn't like the progression of the characters and their growth. Good for passing time or just a lazy-day read. Written well, good characters, plenty of emotions and a good ending.
This will be a multi re-read for sure. It was cute and charming, no OW/OM drama, no pseudo cheating. Just two people finding each other. This was one of the steamiest HQN’s I have ever read…that’s not a bad thing!
3.75 stars The premise of this book is that the heroine discovers shortly after she miscarries that her husband doesn't love her and that he only married her to have children. Absolutely gutted, she has to cope with the pain of the loss of her baby and her false belief that her marriage was based on love. Her husband, unaware she has learned the truth, tries to give her time to heal but is eager to conceive another child. Post-miscarriage, the heroine undergoes a makeover of sorts and has her husband looking at her in a different way. She's hiding that she knows their marriage is based on a lie and that she's scared to be pregnant again. He just wants in her pants.
The hero of this book thinks, says and acts in ways that are completely off putting. What I can't get over is that he He only starts to fall in love with her post-makeover. Superficial, shallow turd.
As for the heroine, I liked her but I wish she was stronger. There is one scene in particular near the end of the book where I wanted to applaud her because she finally stood her ground but then she completely crumbles and apologizes the next day. le sigh.
i enjoyed it very much ! i wish megan had been stronger, coming out wid the truth n leaving james !but dat wud have been out of character, instead she deprived james of sex 4 3 months n then cud not get enough of him. she loved him way too much n cud 4give him anythg. james got off too easily, der was no grovelling. infact, megan passed 4 the vilain in this piece bcoz she took contraceptive pills without informing james. she did this wid no intent, i mean she had not yet decided where this marriage was heading after losing her baby n learning the appalling truth abt james. she was just going wid the flow. in dat frame of mind, ofc a baby was not desirable. u cannot have a baby when u dunno where ur future lay ! the book was really gud, i only wish james had got his just deserts !
Cheesy writing structure, oddly constructed sentences and random weird plot points, like her parents' relationship. Her mother was as childish as she was.. in fact, all the characters seemed about 5 years old.
Just strange. I like a good angst, but this was just crap
Heads up! There are loads of spoilers below. Please don't read unless you are okay with the story being completely spoiled for you!
I loathed this story. I adore asshole Hero stories, so I was sad that I hated this story and I hate the Hero James. He was wooden, uncaring, ridiculously condescending, arrogant and such an asshole. James was a lying prick who only wanted a broodmare for a wife. A woman to pump out kids. He didn't love her at all, and he never planned to. And why should he? He only wanted kids from her. And poor Megan loved her husband completely. She had no idea he didn't love her back, until she lost her baby. While she was devastated and heartbroken in the hospital, she overheard James' best friends talking about how James had never loved Megan, and he was still hung up on his ex wife. Megan wasn't sure what to believe, so she slowly goes into her shell, refusing to have sex with her husband, and shutting down completely. She can't eat, she's so depressed, She loses weight and becomes the shell of the person she once was. James pats himself on the back for patiently waiting for his wife to get over her baby loss drama, so he can instantly get her preggers again. I mean, he could have been banging hot chicks on the side since he has access to them with his job, but he didn't. See? That makes him a really good guy. 🙄 James hounds his wife for a second honeymoon, with the intent on immediately getting her knocked up again, so Megan puts herself back on birth control again. She doesn't want a baby with a man who doesn't love her. Heck, she can't even decide if she really wants to stay with the louse. Things on the second honeymoon go pretty well. Megan had a makeover to feel better about herself on the honeymoon, and these two end up banging a LOT. James notices his wife's smoking body now. Megan no longer looks homely and frumpy now that she's not fat, and she has had a makeover. So not only can he screw her to get her pregnant, he doesn't have to be revolted by her in the process. Then James (looking for headache medication) finds Megan's birth control pills, and he's furious. He shreds her with condemnation, and when she admits she started taking them because she had discovered his secret that he's never been on love with her, he admits that it's true. He never has loved her. But he thinks it's okay, because she signed on to be the broodmare he wanted her to be, when she said she'd like to have a big family too. She admits that's originally what she wanted, but that was BECAUSE she believed he loved her back. Then James kicked Megan's ass out of the hotel they are staying in. He tells her to get her shit from their house, and get gone before he gets home in a few days. He'll have his lawyer contact her for divorce proceedings. Megan grabs her belongings and heads to her parents' house. She's an artist, and she's been painting before and during her marriage, but James never took it seriously, and thought she was just a subpar painter with zero potential. Turns out, Megan is an awesome artist, and she's being offered literally tens of thousands of dollars per painting. Suck on that James. James has time to stew on things, and you know, now that his wife no longer looks dumpy, and she's smoking hot, maybe he should give this "feelings" thing a try now. He tell her he wants to stay married, because he DOES love her now, and she agrees. The end.
Words cannot express how repugnant I find this MMC. After years of tomcatting around, he married a supermodel when he was thirty-two, but was horrified to find that she was infertile and divorced her after she refused to try IVF. He immediately looked around and settled on a shy, quiet artist ten years his junior, assuming that she could have her "little hobby" after they married. He told her he loved her, seduced her and got her pregnant so she'd have to marry him. Then she miscarried (late enough that they already knew gender). Three months later, he's upset because she won't have sex with him and he wants to get her pregnant ASAP - he's thirty-six and he doesn't want to be too old when he has kids, after all. This isn't rumor or gossip or a misunderstanding - we're placed in the hero's perspective while he thinks all these things.
Meanwhile, she's learned that he doesn't love her and he married her to be a brood mare - right when she had the miscarriage. She's secretly gone on birth control but she can't bring herself to leave him. There is no redeeming this guy. None.