Chapter 2

Gadreel halted mid-step and turned around, eyes narrowing dangerously at her petite form.

“Excuse me?” He said, his voice a dangerous low.

But Ivory had no intention of backing down.

“Let’s get a divorce,” she repeated, her eyes unflinching from his.

At this, Gadreel stared at her for a few seconds before he scoffed lowly. “Is this your attempt to get back at me?”

His eyes gravitated towards the ‘wasted’ food, then back to his wife.

“Because what? I didn’t spend your birthday with you? Or is it the anniversary?"

His voice held little- no, it held zero remorse and the sound of it caused Ivory’s heart to clench all the more, aching painfully in her chest and bringing tears to sting the back of her eyes.

But she blinked them back, keeping herself composure. “Get back at you? I think it's setting you free, isn't it?”

His eyes turned dark in a dangerous way. She swallowed and continued: “Evangeline has returned to Paris, hasn’t she? Now is there really any need to drag out this…farce any longer?”

With a thud, Gadreel slammed his fist onto the wall, his eyes cold as a thousand years of ice, as if to freeze her to death.

Ivory would give in immediately if she hadn't made up her mind. But she had enough of this. Chasing someone who would never turn to love you would consume her whole soul totally one day. She didn't want to go that far.

“So, that is why you want to end this marriage?” Gadreel began, unaware of the storm inner her at all. “Because you’re insecure about your own sister?”

He took one step at a time, coming down from the steps he had climbed with an imposing and intimidating aura.

Ivory so wanted to stand her ground, but his gaze, the way it pierced through her and his posture, his demeanor, all of that was too much and before she knew it, she had flinched and was stepping back.

However, that didn’t stop him. He kept approaching, using the height gap that existed between them as an intimidating advantage.

Soon, Ivory was backed up against the table, and with his palms on both sides, trapping her, he leaned down and met her gaze.

The proximity between them had Ivory’s breath hitching and her heart, against her will, pounding hard, whereas, Gadreel felt nothing.

“I never expected you to be so pathetic, Ivory,” He spat. “Everyone in this city knew that Evangeline and I were bound to be together. You, were also very much aware of this, yet, you jumped at the chance to marry me, now you want to play the insecure card?”

Ivory clenched her jaw, her bitterness was replaced by anger now. She was the biggest victim of the marriage but everyone regarded her as a bitch who took advantage. Her labor, her effort, and her dedication meant nothing in their eyes comparing Evangeline's so-called pain of being ‘forced' to separate from her love.

For a moment, she wondered what would happen if he didn't recover from the vegetative state. Would Evangeline come back so quickly if Gadreel had to stay in the hospital bed for the rest of his life? She scoffed at her thoughts. Why should she care about this now? She could accept the bitter fruit for she naively chose this marriage five years ago. But now, the more important thing was she needed to fix her wrong road.

Ivory looked at him and said with the same cold tone as his, “Right, I'm thinking of quitting the game.”

Gadreel's face turned dark but she was not afraid of it anymore.

“I took it as the ACE to save my life," she smirked heartlessly at him. "But it turned out to be the worst ghost card ever."

Gadreel's brows furrowed deeper. He believed that Ivory filed for divorce only to gain his attention. He spoke again impatiently, "Tell me, what do you want?"

He didn't want to engage in pointless arguments if it was just a boring show of her family drama. Ivory had little education, not as versatile as her stepsister. If it wasn't for the fact that she had taken care of him for five years, Gadreel would never let her retain the title of Mrs. Ødegaar.

Contempt and impatience were written clearly on his face, Ivory suddenly felt her chest tighten to the point of suffocation. He always looked at her like that, never treating her as an equal. How could she have been so blind to love him before?

Luckily, it wasn't too late now. Since he wanted a specific reason, then how could she let him down?

Ivory glanced at his lower body and sneered, “No one wants an impotent husband, Gadreel."

With that, she pushed him away feeling a thrill of revenge. They were the ones who sent the video to disgust her first, so don't blame her for being an evil tongue.

Although Evangeline moaned loudly in the video, from the woman's instinct, Ivory could tell she was faking an orgasm. It was reasonable that she would be skeptical of Gadreel's abilities.

"What?" He gripped her wrist and a dangerous glint flashed in his eyes. "Impotent?"

She tried to get rid of his grip but he increased his force so she could just meet his gaze, “I’m a woman, Gadreel. I’m tired of being in a sexless marriage. Let’s end it once and for all.”

“Sexless, huh?” he chuckled lowly and without warning grabbed her chin in between his hands, pulling her face closer.

“So you mean to tell me,” His eyes remained glued to hers, while his finger made its way to her lower lips, pressing down on it as if to test how soft it was.

“You want a divorce because you’re sexually unsatisfied?”

Her cheeks, against her will, seemed to heat up. Gadreel paid no attention to this, perhaps because he was a bit too focused on the feelings on her lips.

It was the first time he had ever felt or seen them this close and he had to admit, they were soft.

His finger, without much thought, pressed down harder on them, feeling the plump flesh.

It was soft, a bit cold, but definitely kissable.

His eyes darkened as soon as the thought crossed his mind but he discarded them at once, focusing more on the situation at hand.

“I didn’t know it before,” his eyes met her once again, those bright orange ones that carried a suspecting amount of innocence in them. “My wife was so eager to get another man between her legs."

"Tell me, Ivory. Are you so morally lost that you’ll jump into bed with the first man who promises to satisfy you?”

His words fueled her again. How dare he humiliate her like that when he was the cheater? Her hand flew up, striking him hard across the face.

“Before you lecture me, your dick should learn to get hard in the right place.”

She turned around to hold the table and added, “I’m doing us both a favor. You said it yourself, Evangeline is the one you’re meant to marry. So go to her.”

Gadreel angrily grabbed her and turned her to face him again. She dared to turn her back on him after slapping his face? He held her shoulder locking her between the table and him. She could feel the heat from his chest but his words were cold as ice.

"Do you think you call the shots here? Marry me whenever you want, and divorce me whenever you want,” He narrowed his eyes and leaned closer. “What makes you think you have that power? You don’t, you’re nobody.”

Another stab to the heart that Ivory felt her eyes water ever more, but she forced them back.

“No longer pretend to be pathetic, Ivory.” Eventually, Gadreel stepped away.“It’s disgusting."

"But if it’s a divorce you want, be your guest. Just don’t come crying to me later on, because I won’t even look at you.”

With that, he climbed up the stairs and disappeared from Ivory’s view. Only when she heard the door to his study, slam shut, did she move from her spot.

She attempted to seat, but her legs gave way, and she sank to the floor, her hand accidentally knocking over a piece of silverware. It clattered to the ground and shattered, a shard slicing into her palm. The sting of the wound was sharp, but it was nothing compared to the raw ache gripping her heart.

Ivory curled up against the table, finally letting her tears fall. She buried her face against her knees, her quiet sobs filling the empty room.

At that moment, deep within her heart, she made a vow: this would be the last time Gadreel would hurt her like this.

She had suffered enough and tonight, she’d put an end to it!

~•~

The next morning, as Gadreel walked out of his room, ready for work, he realized that the house felt… awfully empty.

Almost as if something had disappeared.

“Good morning, Mr. Ødegaar,” greeted Jennifer, his housekeeper, who Ivory had discreetly sent away for their ‘special occasion.’ She approached with a cup of coffee, interrupting Gadreel’s thoughts.

“Your morning coffee, sir.”

He took the cup and, as he sipped, recognized the familiar taste—it was the same blend Ivory always prepared for him to lift his spirits after a rough day at work.

Was this her way of asking for an apology?

Whether or not it was, he was still annoyed. No one has ever had the guts to raise their hand against him.

If she wanted to apologize, she should at least do it in person.

Returning the cup back to Jennifer, he looked around and asked.

“Where’s Ivory?”

Jennifer flinched at this seemingly harmless question and Gadreel narrowed his eyes.

“I said, where’s Ivory?” He repeated and at this, Jennifer realized if she didn’t talk, she might just as well kiss her job goodbye.

So, in one swift motion, she blurted out.

“I apologize, but earlier this morning, the madam packed her bags and I saw her leaving. She instructed me to heat the coffee up for you when you’re leaving for work!”

Her words were enough to have Gadreel’s always stoic mask, peeling off for once.

He frowned. “What?”

Just before Jennifer could respond, there was a knock at the front door, and Ezekiel, his secretary, made his way in, carrying a brown envelope.

“Mr. Ødegaar,” he greeted with a bow, before carrying on. “The madam sent this to the office for you.”

He presented the brown envelope and Gadreel nearly snatched it out of his hand the moment he heard it was from Ivory.

In it, he expected an apology or explanation for her behavior, however, he didn’t expect that when he opened it, the first two words that would hit him, would be the words, written in bold front;

Divorce Agreement!