Desperate for redemption

Eduardo’s POV

“Eduardo, you are yet to send the money,” Sofia nagged after me, as I made my way to the car. “I need to go shopping. Have you forgotten that tonight is the party I told you about?”

“And I told you that I'd only give you the money if you can account for all the money you spent last week.” I retorted as calmly as I could.

Huffing, Sofia crossed her arms over her chest. “Don’t tell me that you're being like this over the three million I spent last week. You are bigger than that small amount, so why are you being grumpy?”

The tiny bit of patience that I thought I had dissipated at her careless response and I scoffed.

“Small amount? You spent a whole three million in a day on some stupid clothes and bags that you'll never use again and you expect me to still give you my hard-earned money,” I spat. “You are nothing more than a wasteful person. In fact, I want you to leave my house immediately.”

Sofia's eyes welled up with what I was certain was crocodile tears as she grabbed my arm. “Please, I will be miserly with this one. I won't spend recklessly anymore.”

Enraged, I pulled myself away from her. “My no means no, Sofia!” I spat. “And you'd better be out of my house before I come back from work or el-”

“You can't do this to me, Eduardo,” Sofia shook her head. “We are getting married soon, remember? What will your mum say when she finds out-?”

“No, that will never happen,” I spat. “And I don't care about her. Last time I checked, I own this house, not you or her.”

With that, I entered my car and drove out of my estate.

Just then, my phone rang with a notification and I connected it to my car's bluetooth monitor.

My lips twitched with a sad smile when I saw the subject of the notification; Jocelyn and Eduardo's fourth marriage anniversary.

“Time really does fly by, huh?” I chuckled mirthlessly before exhaling heavily and turning the monitor off.

Three months had passed since I divorced Jocelyn and to say I was miserable was a complete understatement.

Although I knew I didn't deserve to feel saddened by the fact that Jocelyn and I were no longer together, I just couldn't help it.

I had done everything but abide by my wedding vows–protecting her and taking care of her like the delicate pearl that she was and would always be.

Not only had I blamed the miscarriage on her, I had also turned a blind eye to the series of maltreatment that my mother meted out on her.

I had made my dutiful wife a love-starved maid in her own house. I had made her feel like she was worth less than trash in the dustbin.

I had repeatedly scorned her by making fun of her partially blind eye, and had even called her ugly.

My phone chose that moment to vibrate with a call. On seeing the caller ID, my lips flashed with a smile before I answered the phone.

“Hey, man,” My best friend, Bryan, spoke from the other end. “How are things going?”

We had been best friends since college. I had never had a close friend in my life, and somehow, the both of us had really connected and had become best of friends.

“Good. How about you? How's business and family? Any plans to settle down soon?”

“Business is alright, same with family,” Bryan replied then scoffed. “We both know the answer to that last question, Eddie. At this point, I may really take up my mum's offer and start going on blind dates.”

“Is it that bad?” I chuckled.

“It is,” He sighed. “No woman really interests me like that anymore, so how can I possibly get married at this rate?”

“You will, I mean, I managed to get married, didn't I?”

“Yeah, but it fell through, didn't it?” He retorted, and an uncomfortable silence ensued.

“Shit, man, I didn't mean it like that,” Bryan began. “It was a slip of tongue. An annoying one.”

“It's fine,” I reassured him. “You are not entirely wrong. I mean, I managed to fumble a perfect woman like Jocelyn with my useless character.”

“You truly did, that I have no words for,” Bryan said. “But that's all in the past. What you have to think of now is how to move on-”

“No, I can't. I want her to come back to me,” I blurted out. “I know it sounds crazy but I will make sure it happens no matter what.”

“I'm not trying to be negative but I doubt that'll ever happen,” Bryan said, which aggravated my guilt because I knew that was the truth.

I mean, only the heavens knew whether I'd ever meet Jocelyn again. I had been looking everywhere for the past four months now but up till now, I hadn't found a single thing.

No evidence of her existence whatsoever, literally nothing.

“I know,” I retorted. “Anyway, I have to go now. I have a meeting in fifteen minutes. My regards to your family.”

“Alright then.” He said, and I ended the call.

When I got home later that day, both Sofia and her belongings were nowhere to be found, and in all honesty, I simply couldn't bring myself to care about her.

All that mattered to me was that she was finally gone and out of my life for good.

+

Days later, I was in my office going through some documents and inscribing my signature where needed, when a knock came on the door.

“Come in,” I said, already knowing who it was.

My secretary, Rafael Howard, walked in, holding an iPad. “I have something for you, sir.”

“What?” I gazed up from the mountain of documents in front of me. “Is it that important?”

“It's related to your ex-wife, sir.”

I instantly abandoned my work without thinking and beckoned him to proceed. Jocelyn was and would always be more important than work.

“Go on.”

“According to a reputable source, Miss Jocelyn was involved in a fatal accident three months ago,” He revealed.

Three months ago? That was around the time we divorced.

“So? Did she survive?” I asked, my entire body tense.

“Yes, she did, but that's all there is to it,’’ Rafael responded. “There are neither records of her admission to any hospital in the country nor are there records of her leaving the country. But I'm still looking into it and hopefully, this search will yield a positive result.”

“Okay, thanks for your work. You may leave.”

I had initially thought I could live without Jocelyn, that she was nothing more than a leech.

Barely a month after our divorce, I had finally realized that I was still very much in love with her. But being the stubborn person I was, I didn't want to accept it and continued my relationship with Sofia, making myself even more miserable in the process.

Later when I eventually decided to acknowledge my feelings for Jocelyn, the first thing I did was to send my mother back to her house.

Sending Sofia away however proved to be a herculean task but thankfully, she was gone now.

“I hope you are safe wherever you are, baby,” I whispered to the framed picture of Jocelyn on our wedding day on my desk. “I’m sorry for everything that I put you through. Please forgive me.”