MARK POV
I pulled into the driveway, exhausted. Another long day of both work and fun had left me drained, and all I wanted was to unwind and relax. I stepped out of the car and loosened my tie, eager to get inside and finally relax. When I entered the house, I saw Sydney sitting there, staring at me with her usual blank look. I barely spared her a glance while heading straight for my study.
"I want a divorce," Sydney said before I could even reach the sanctuary of my study.
Divorce? Ridiculous was the first word that came to my mind, and ridiculous it was indeed. The family business of Sydney's parents had been lent to the GT Group, which I owned. This was a contract that benefited both parties in every sense of the word. Sydney was only a woman I'd married, who depended on her parents and me for survival.
Divorce, huh? It was obviously her new way of crying for attention, like she was fond of doing. It used to be the pitiful demeanor she carried around her, which was enough to convince an outsider that she was being treated wrongly, even though that had never been the case. We'd been keeping up the married couple facade for three years already.
Now she was pulling a new stunt, which I wasn't going to fall for.
The next morning, I entered the dining room to have breakfast before leaving, but all I was met with was an empty table. A frown creased my brow as I asked one of the workers I was able to find lingering around.
“Where is she? And where's my food?"
"I've not seen her this morning, sir,” the worker replied. Later on, I got a report from eyes who'd happened to see her leaving with her suitcase last night. Most of her things were also gone from her room.
Oh. This perhaps had to do with the divorce thing she brought up. Did she expect me to fall for it or talk to her about it?
I shrugged off the thought, grabbed my suitcase and jacket, and headed out. She had probably just gone to her parents' house. Where else could she go? They would surely knock some sense into her head about how to be a good wife and send her back.
My eyes darted up from the files in front of me when my assistant entered the office. Without a word, he placed a file on the table in front of me with a curt bow.
"I think you need to see this, sir," he said before stepping back.
I took off my glasses and pulled the file closer, flipping it open to find the emboldened words "Divorce Proceedings." I frowned, continuing to scan the papers. She had already signed them.
“Thank you, you may leave," I said to my assistant, who bowed again before exiting the room.
Sydney had taken the first step in what seemed like a smart game to her, but to me, it was nonsense. Did she think I had the time for all this?
GT Group was not only my pride and joy, but also proof of my years of hard work and dedication. It was a large private equity firm based in Europe that specialized in investing in a variety of sectors like consumer goods, services, fashion, medical, and technology. With over 250 investment projects under our belt, we were a force to be reckoned with in the business world.
It was our third round of fundraising. We needed to secure a staggering $5 billion from investors worldwide. This was a critical moment for my firm, and the next month was going to be a whirlwind of activities. With me having to crisscross the globe and meet with potential investors from New York to Tokyo, London to Hong Kong. The next six months for me were packed with meetings, presentations, and negotiations.
And here someone was, bringing some useless papers to my table.
I angrily gathered up the papers and marched over to the shredder in the corner of my office, feeding them into the shredder and watching the machine devour every single one of them, before settling back down in my seat to resume what was a hundred times more important.
It had been three long months of hectic fundraising for GT Group. I finally returned home to find that Sydney still wasn't there. My nose was hit with a gust of stuffiness when I pushed the door to her bedroom open, and the way everything was completely covered in dust, I could tell that it had been left unoccupied for a long time.
She'd not returned yet?
I angrily stormed out, picked up my phone and dialed her phone number.
“Sorry, the number you're trying to call is no longer in use,” came the automated voice through the speaker.
I dialed again.
“Sorry, the number you're trying to—” I cut the call with a grit to my teeth.
"Find her immediately,” I turned to my assistant. Get in touch with her parents, whatever you need to do."
The man bowed hurriedly and scurried off, while I retreated to my room, both tired and exhausted. She'd successfully added more fuel to my already foul mood. I went into the shower, turned on the tap, let a torrent of cold water rain over my head, and wished all that iciness could take away all the fatigue and frustration I felt.
Eventually, my assistant returned with the news that Sydney's parents were also unaware of her whereabouts and hadn't heard from her for a long time. Despite all, I still felt that Sydney's disappearance was part of her elaborate scheme to get to me, and it did seem to be working because it seriously got on my nerves.
I could only really take care of this after the next 3 months when I returned from my second trip. Before boarding the plane, I gave strict instructions to my assistant, "Find her before I return. If you fail, you'll lose your job."
My assistant nodded at my words and hurried to assist with my suitcase. I paused, turned my head back because something on the table in the corners caught my hand. When I moved closer to see, it was the wedding ring. The ring that was initially meant for Bella but ended up on Sydney's finger.
The ring lost all significance to me since that day three years ago, which was supposed to be one of the happiest days of my life. My bride was not Bella, the woman I loved, but Sydney, her sister. I felt like such a fool back then, standing in front of the congregation like nothing was wrong. I just had to keep the show going on, and I made it very clear to Sydney that I wasn't going to be accepting her as my wife. She could keep the title for all she cared.
As soon as I'd stepped down from the altar and worn the last round of fake smiles at the guests and photographers at every corner, I got into my car and pulled the damned ring off my finger. In fact, I didn't remember where I'd kept it after that day. I probably flung it off in annoyance.
But Sydney had decided to wear hers. Now that I saw that ring lying there in its own full circle of dust, I couldn't help thinking, maybe Sydney was serious about the divorce after all.
My jaw clenched briefly again before I turned from that table, leaving the useless relic there and walking out of the door. I still had a lot more work to do than occupy myself with this drama.
I arrived at the airport, immediately pulling on my sunglasses before stepping out of the car. I was quite popular, and a couple of people would often approach me, stare, or gawk because they recognized me from television or some other outlet.
“I'm sorry, are you so-and-so?” That kind of thing. The glasses were a minimal disguise, but they still did the job to an extent, with me having to add some bizarre mysteriousness to my outfit. While sometimes I'd nod with a smile and try to keep the interactions brief. I was particularly not in the mood today.
I headed towards the boarding gate, through the bustling airport crowd, at the same time checking my wristwatch, when a woman brushed past me. The trail of her perfume danced over my face and slowly into my nose. The citrus and flowery scent were insanely familiar. It almost made me feel nostalgic in a strange kind of way.
I stopped slowly in my tracks. I tried to fight the urge, but I couldn't resist turning my head. Her figure was receding into the distance behind me, and I could not tell if she was someone I knew.
I didn't recall ever seeing that face before.
SYDNEY'S POVAs soon as I returned to the airport, I could already see Grace waving eagerly at me from the other side. Enthusiastic smiles and grins curled up my lips the closer I got to her. My short trip had come to an end, and might I say that those were the happiest three months of my life in a very long time.I wheeled my suitcase faster behind me and rushed, also waving back at Grace and rushing to meet her where she was standing. I hadn't noticed for a second at first, but someone familiar walked quickly past me. I couldn't help stopping to turn; I could swear I knew that back. No one could tell me otherwise, it had to be Mark. It was him.I was right, I confirmed with myself when I actually stopped and turned back to look at the person. It was Mark, I couldn't have missed it, walking with those fast strides of his as usual. He probably didn’t see me? Or if he maybe didn't recognize me again? I'd been gone for just three months, but if that was enough time for him not to know w
SYDNEY'S POVI threw that damn agreement into the shredder," he spat. "I've already canceled an important meeting for you, I can't waste any more time."He hadn't changed one bit. He was still that angry, impatient man I'd left behind who thought the world revolved around him. Rather, “my world”. If he didn't want his time wasted, why the hell did he follow me back there?Whether he threw the documents into the shredder, or burnt them to ashes with a lighter from his study, or kept them somewhere, none of that was my business.I stepped back from the door and stared angrily at his face."My intention to divorce you is serious and solemn. If you don't accept a divorce by agreement, then I will have to file a lawsuit for divorce. That will only waste more of your “precious” time, Mr. Man!" I made that much clear.At a point, my mind would slide back to think about the man who was probably still hiding somewhere in the house. I was also standing in front of the door and making sure to bl
MARK'S POVI groaned as I turned in bed. My head throbbed dully and I held it as I slowly rose from the bed. I looked at my surroundings and wondered why I was at home. I should be at work.I dropped my head in my hands and tried to remember. It didn't even take a second before the memories rushed back.My assistant had been able to locate where Sydney was and I had left every work I was doing to speak some sense into her. I remember that I had ordered her to follow me then…I frowned. Everything had gone black."That witch! How dare she hit me?" I gritted as I got off the bed. I glimpsed some medication on the drawers as I staggered out of my room.What was wrong with her? Why was she taking this far? I thought.The sound of wood banging against walls reverberated through the house as I threw every door open."Where the heck is she?!"The staff of my household just stood there speechless. Some of them flinched each time the door banged.I had asked where she was about a dozen times a
SYDNEY'S POVI couldn't stop the laugh that burst out of me as I took in the fourth special order for the day.Usually, Atelier receives a bunch of orders on a daily basis, and our employees take care of these orders. But if the jewelry order were to be custom made, the orders came directly to me.Right there on my screen was an order for two pieces of jewelry from Mark's assistant. It had been included in the preference space for it to 'stand out' from any of our jewelries, then he ended it with 'just name your price'.Typical. Only Mark would be so egotistic to make a request sound insulting. It was Mark's assistant that placed the order, but I was sure the order was on behalf of Mark. There was no way his assistant would be able to afford Atelier's custom-made designs for himself.I swiveled in my chair, whistling, "Time to make some extra millions."I turned back to my laptop's screen and reread the last phrase. My grin widened, "Oh. I am so going to name my price."Briefly, I won
MARK'S POVA knock came on my door."Come in," I called out without tearing my eyes away from the files before me.I heard the smooth creak of the door as it was opened. My assistant's voice drifted to me, "Luxe Vogue has replied, sir.""Hmm," I hummed, and nodded. "When will the necklaces be ready?""It's not about the necklace, sir. It's about the acquisition offer we sent them."I looked up and pushed my chair back. "Oh, really. When are we meeting to finalize the handover of the website?" I asked.It had been a coincidence that Atelier is partnered with the website I've had my eyes on for the past months. Their response hadn't come for months, but I had been relentless. I kept instructing my assistant to keep sending them emails.After Bella had left, I had searched about Atelier myself and damn! Bella was right. They made stunning jewelry. The quality of their stones was top-notch. It had filled me with pride and reassured me that acquiring the website was a good decision. It wou
I kept struggling, pulling at my hands and cussing out as Mark pulled me to the hallway, right beside the male section restroom. I stumbled after him, unable to keep up with his pace in my heels.Even in my wildest dream, I wouldn't have thought I might run into him here. I mean, in our three years of unfortunate marriage, I could count the number of times on the fingers of one hand I had seen him elsewhere apart from home. I had assumed he was always at work then recently, I concluded that he was either at work or in some fancy hotel fucking my sister."Mark, what is wrong with you?" I hit his fingers wrapped around my wrist with my free hand, "Let go of my hand."He didn't say anything, he just stormed ahead, his back rigid.Ever since I proposed the divorce, he seemed to have become a ghost out to hunt and haunt me, appearing everywhere I was.I let out a low groan as he slammed my back to a wall and pinned me to it. The depth of his deep blue eyes were fathomless and they had turn
I would have loved the rough way in which his lips kneaded mine, and I would have kissed him back with equal fervor if it was someone else. But this wasn't some stranger or lover of mine. It was Mark.I struggled between pulling him to me and pushing him away. I wanted to clamp my teeth on his tongue or lips as I did the first time, but I couldn't bring myself to. This feeling was confusing. I wanted him to stop and go far away from me, but, insanely, I was scared that he would actually stop. It was crazy.But I still struggled, and as I did, my eyes squeezed shut. I tried to speak even with his lips on mine. His tongue, somehow, made its way into my mouth. His body pressed on mine, and I could faintly feel the bulge in his trousers against my thighs.My struggles doubled, and a scream rose in my chest.My scream died in my throat because suddenly, his hands were off me, and I couldn't feel his body heat anymore.I brushed off the tiny tinge of disappointment and looked up to find a w
The cold night air hit my face as we both burst out of the door and the hairs on my arm stood erect. I was still grappling with the information that the bar owner was the one I had seen in my Villa.I had every right to call the police on him right now and maybe get this place searched. I mean, he had a gun that day but I had no evidence. I shivered, shaking the feeling that swept through me as I remembered the feel of the metal behind my back.Still lost in my thoughts, Mark pushed me into the car. He hastily and roughly fixed the seat belt around me as though I was some kid he needed to take home with immediacy."Where are you taking me?!" I clumsily pulled at the belt as I threw the question at his moving figure. He went around the car. The car slightly shook as he climbed in and slammed the door closed.His face was set straight, staring ahead as he blatantly ignored all the questions I threw at him."Where are you taking me, Mark?!" I asked deadpan."I'm taking you home! We're go