Chapter Three: Decision

Anne’s POV

I gradually opened my eyes, only to be greeted by a pounding headache that seemed to strike me directly.

My hands flew to my head in an attempt to stop the pounding.

As I lay there, trying to collect my thoughts, my gaze fell upon the man lying next to me. I gasped, holding my breathe as tight as possible.

'How did I get here?' I asked myself.

I attempted to lift myself and get on my feet, but to my dismay, I realized that I could no longer feel my legs. It was as if they had gone completely numb, making it impossible for me to stand up.

'What?! This can't be happening now!' I thought to myself.

I glanced at the man, He appeared to be in a deep and peaceful sleep, completely unaware of my predicament.

I looked at him closely from his face down to his—Suddenly, a wave of shock washed over me as I took in the startling realization that both he and I were completely naked beneath the covers!

I panicked. What have I done! I am still married to Max.

I immediately started plotting my escape.

Cautiously, I began to lower myself from the bed, determined to avoid waking him up.

As I maneuvered myself, my eyes caught sight of some alarming red stains on the pristine white sheets, a detail that only added to the surreal nature of the situation.

It dawned on me that this was indeed my first night spent intimately with a man.

I covered my face with my palms, 'oh no!'

In the past, Max had always shown reluctance when it came to any form of intimacy between us.

We had engaged in heated arguments and discussions about it, but he never came around to intimacy with me.

He always had excuses, "Anne I am tired from work, Anne I am not in the mood, Anne not today".

In the end, I choose to give up and decided to never bring up the topic again.

I had always wondered why, maybe I was attractive or appealing enough unlike Bella.

Suddenly a painful memory surfaced in my mind: the image of Max kissing Bella with a level of passion that I had never experienced.

It wasn't that he didn't want to be intimate; it was simply that he had no desire for that kind of connection with me.

I felt hurt all over again thinking about it.

I lifted my face and looked at the sleeping man, he found me appealing enough to get intimate with me or did he do it just out of drunkeness?

A sharp pain gripped my heart, weighing heavily on my emotions.

I reminded myself that there was no time to dwell on hurt feelings. I quickly grabbed a pen lying on the bedside table, hastily scribbling down my thoughts on a sticky note paper as quitely as i could and, With a sense of urgency, I made my way to the bathroom to wash up.

I got dressed, and then hurriedly left the room.

*******************

I made my way to grandma's house to pick up the divorce papers. I had to sign it now that i already had an affair.

There was no point in holding back. I entered the room, searched through the drawers for a pen, I found one, then i signed the papers quickly before i had time to think.

Then I headed to the house I used to call home. The space Max and I once shared.

Bella was still there when I arrived. I threw the papers at her and headed for the bedroom to gather my few belongings.

Bella looked amused.

“Anne!” Max called out to me from his study when he heard the ruffles, his voice filled with disbelief. He couldn’t believe I had actually signed the divorce papers.

“Is there anything else that I need to sign?” I inquired, but when I saw that both of them remained silent, I continued my packing.

It was astonishing to think that in just one short year of being married, he had already betrayed me!

I felt a deep and profound pain within me, a hurt that cut through my very being.

However, i was not the kind of person who would ever reveal such vulnerability to a man. Instead, I chose to keep my feelings tightly wrapped inside, like a fragile treasure that I refused to share.

While my surroundings became a mix of muffled voices—two individuals exchanging words—I found myself increasingly disinterested in the conversation.

All I really wanted at that moment was to simply leave, letting the chatter fade away into the background of my mind.

As I moved through the space, dragging my bag toward the living room with a sense of urgency, Max, a man who seemed to be quite concerned, dashed over to me.

What happened next genuinely shocked me: he suddenly dropped down onto his knees. With a sense of desperation in his voice, he pleaded

"Please, Anne, don’t go".

Despite the raw emotion in his tone, I didn’t spare him even a single glance; instead, I continued my course towards the exit, resolutely walking out without turning back.

My mind was made up. I had seen what they were capable of.

Once I settled into the backseat of the taxi, my mind became a whirlpool of thoughts. I stared out of the window, detached from the world around me.

My mind replaying the events of last night, 'who was that man? I didn’t even get his name'.

Afraid I may never find out, I Resigned to fate.

I heaved a sigh, placing my head on the headrest of the cab seat and closed my eyes, hoping that I haven't entangled myself in another mess.