*CORA*
Even if I tried to look calm on the outside,I just couldn't wrap my head around the fact that me and Tristan were now finally divorced.
It was impossible for it not to hurt.I had loved him for years.
Rubbing my chest,I felt the pain becoming more and more unbearable.
I glanced back at Tristan who had his back to me and seemed to be making a call.
He must be so happy right now.
He can completely be with Phoebe again.
Sighing,I made to leave but he stopped me.
"Don't announce our divorce yet for the meantime."He said to me.
I frowned at that.
"Why?"
"For my Grandmother's sake.I do not know how to face her with the fact that we've gotten divorce me."
My face paled."Still,she has to know.We're divorced so everyone should know that.I do not want anyone that ever knows about us to still think we're married."
"Seriously?What's the big deal in just agreeing to this small request of mine."He snapped.
I glared at him."Well,that request isn't small anymore!I do not want to waste any more of my youth with you."
After saying that,I glanced bitterly at the divorce certificate in my hand.
What was the point of not letting anyone know that I was no longer married?
What was the point of still wearing this wedding ring?
It was as if he was asking me to be both a chaste widow and his bitch.
******
*TRISTAN*
My eyes narrowed at Cora.Although her face was pale, her skin was delicate and smooth.The corners of her eyes,which were slightly raised looked exceeding fascinating even without makeup.
But her most enticing feature was the color of her amber eyes.I could distinctly remember the tenderness in those eyes when we first got married.
I couldn't deny the fact that she had an indescribable charm.
At this moment,I couldn't help but admit that she was much more beautiful than Phoebe,than any woman I've ever met before.
And then I recalled how she really was deep down.I recalled that she was the opposite to good and my fist clenched.
Even after all her lies,I still thought she'd at least have my grandmother's feelings at heart but she still can't do this!
"Your youth?"I scoffed at her."You were the one who did all you could to be with me.You were the one who pulled off every lie and deceit that you could to marry me!I never asked for this and now you're calling it a waste?Did I ever ask you to waste anything on me?!"
At that moment,my thoughts flooded with my memories of Phoebe.
And how Cora had threatened her and made her break up with me!
Why did I even have this stupid soft spot for Cora.She wasn't worth it.
*CORA*
Did he seriously have to mock me for going out of my way?
For trying by all means to marry him.
I didn't think I did anything too bad at that time except stooping so low as hiding my identity.
He had no idea how much I loved him to mock me like this!
I lowered my head,my thick and long lashes hiding the hurt and sadness that I felt.
When I looked up at him again,I felt nothing but detachment.
"My dear ex-husband,you've made your point clear and I believe that there's nothing for us to talk about anymore.But as to regards of our divorce,I am not going to hide it."
"Fine!"He lashed out."What do you want?I'm sure there's something you must want.Tell me,I'll give you anything so you don't announce our divorce to the public.Why am I even stressing this?Do you seriously want to announce our divorce?Does your father even know you got married to me?Afterall,you made me believe that you came from nothing.Now,how would he feel if he knows that you denied him?!"
I scoffed.
Was he threatening me?
He wanted to divorce me for the sake of Phoebe,but the pressure from the media and other factors did not allow him to reveal the news.
And now,I wanted nothing more than to reveal that news.
I didn't care about how my father would feel about it.
"You're doing this all because of Phoebe,aren't you?That woman left you and you let her back into your life just like that?It's as if she's playing with you.Why can't you see that?Do you honestly think she loves you?"
"Now you're trying to paint Phoebe black as if you haven't done enough!"
"I am trying…"
"Your lies and pretense would not work on me anymore and stop feigning ignorance as if you have no idea about why Phoebe left me in the first place?"
"How am I supposed to know why she left you?I do not know but I am sure of one thing,she doesn't love you!"
Tristan's face darkened and the blue veins on his forehead pulsated angrily.
He clenched his fists walking closer to me.
"Take that back."
I retreated step by step until my back was against the wall.
By now,Tristan was merely inches away from me.
"Why should I?Did I hit a nerve?Or have you truly become so blind?You claim to know people so well.You claim to know all about me,yet,you're letting Phoebe manipulate you!"
*CORA*"Stop acting as if I owe you anything!I owe you nothing.You knew it from the start!You knew that there was never going to be anything real between us."He shot at me."But you promised…""I promised nothing!"He snapped.Now,I was starting to regret everything I had blurted out.It was all a spur of the moment and I wasn't thinking before I spoke.And now it dawned on me that he never felt even the slightest bit of love for me.Taking a deep breath,I looked at him straight in the eye with the same vigor I had before."I get it now.But you still have no right to tell me to hide our divorce and I'm not going to hide it."I said,firmly.He rubbed my temple while holding my gaze.************TRISTAN*I didn't know what to say to her at the point.So I just stared at her and it was only then,standing inches away from her did I realize that I had not closely looked at her before.I noticed that her eyes were slightly red and swollen,and there were pink blood streaks around her eyes.He
*CORA*Tristan walked up to me and glanced at me.Without saying anything,he suddenly drank the wine in his glass in one gulp.Confused,I asked."Are you showing me how good you can drink?"I was still mad at him for forcing me here.I was going to have so much fun with Dylan.Tristan didn't show any other expression on his face as if he was used to my cold attitude now."My wife, do you know how important your image is?This is the image of the Godoy group."After that,he slung me a look of disgust.I rolled my eyes."I am not your wife anymore so you and your company can go to hell."His jaw dropped."You…"And then he glared at me."You never show me how mouth of badmouthed you were when we were married.You words are so infuriating."Suddenly,Zayn's voice sounded from behind them."Look at Tristan and his wife.Even after three years of marriage,they seemed to be so much in love,you guys are going to torture us singles to death."I glanced back at him.As usual,he was in the midst of some b
*TRISTAN*Seeing Marcus' eyes widened,I knew he was trying to make sense of what Cora had just said.He was trying to figure out if we had gotten divorced.Damn this woman!I knew clearly that nothing really happened between Marcus and Cora few minutes ago.Cora should know that I'm fully aware of the kind of person Marcus was.I had planned to follow his truck and see what he wanted to do but I didn't expect that this woman would be so stupid that she didn't see through my intentions and even said such harsh words to me.I was pissed off by her provocative tone and I lost control of my temper."You make me sick!I wish I was never entangled with you!"She glared at me."I make you sick?Well,you make me feel comatose, in fact,I cursed the day I met you."I blinked,stunned by her words.She crossed her arms and continued."You're not one to talk to me about regret at all,I wish I can turn back the hands of time.I wish I can erase you from my life!You have another woman and…"I glanced at
*TRISTAN*I eyed Cora and stared at Alvin.I knew he was a good guy but the thought of other men being around Cora bothered me so much.No matter how angry I was,I still forced a smile out of me."Alvin,I have to take my wife away now,we need to go meet some people."He stared at Cora and seemed to noticed how unwilling she was.He reached out and held Cora's arm."She doesn't seem to want to meet anyone else."I really didn't expect Alvin to say that.He had always been someone who minded his own business.I stared at him with a trace of inquiry and he just shrugged.I scoffed and took his hand away from Cora's then I dragged her away."What the hell do you think you're thinking?!"I thundered as I dragged Cora into the guest room.I let go of her and continued."I asked you to attend the dinner as my wife,not to embarrass me!When did you suddenly become a social butterfly?!You had an ambiguous relationship with Marcus just now and then you went drinking with Alvin.Is this some sort of
*CORA*In the meeting room was the vice president,Mr Smith not Tristan."Ma'am,I'm sorry for keeping you waiting.Let's talk about the specific cooperation plan first.Our president is very busy right now but he said he might drop by later."Mr Smith was very hospital.Afterall,no one knew that Tristan and I had gotten divorced.Without saying anything else,I went straight to the point and sent the plan to everyone present."The following plan is a project that our company wants to cooperate with the Godoy Group.I'll introduce the specific content to you now."Since I was willing to work hard,the people around me looked at me with admiration.They must have thought I was playing tricks but I had to prove to everyone that I was more than capable of taking over my father's company.After introducing the project,I got so tired."Mrs..I…"Seeing that everyone had gone out,Mr Smith walked up to me.He looked a bit concerned by the tired look on my face.I waved at him."I'm fine.And you can just
*CORA*I stormed out of his company and got into my car.Resting my head on the steering wheel,I felt like screaming,I felt like hitting someone or something but I wasn't a violent person so I tried to calm my nerves.I was startled when a knock sounded on my window.Raising my head,I saw Alvin,he waved and smiled at me.Sighing,I let down the glass on the window."Hi.""Hey,I just got here and I saw you getting into your car,are you okay?"I nodded."I'm fine.Don't mind me,I'm sure you have business to do here.""Not really,I called in on Watsons Group and I was told you were at Godoy company so I came here."I frowned."You came to see me."He nodded.Taking a deep breath,I got out of the car."What can I do for you,Alvin?""Let's have dinner together."I stared at him from his head to his toe.He was dressed formally today,wearing a dark green suit and a tie,and his hair was meticulously combed.In this way,he looked more steady and unruly than usual."I'm really not in the mood to ea
*CORA*"I'm Zoe.I'm Cora's good friend.You don't need to introduce yourself to me.I already know that you're the great Alvin Powell.I've seen you a lot on TV but I must admit that you're more handsome in real life."I stared at Zoe in disbelief as she rattled on and on.I felt embarrassed for her sake.Alvin stared at me and smiled."Your friend is quite interesting."Not knowing what he meant,I smiled back,awkwardly."Now that you've called your friend here.I have also called my friend,you won't mind,will you?"Alvin suddenly let out.There was a flash of malice in his eyes.Hearing that,I was stunned.What friend did he call?But seeing that Zoe was indeed here,I had no right to stop him from calling his friend as well."Of course.I don't mind."He smiled at me again."I'm just kidding.I called no one.Let's have some drinks.I'm very happy to spend time with you beautiful ladies,it's an honor."He said slowly and drank up his wine,gracefully.I saw Zoe also gulping down her wine while st
*CORA*Seeing that Phoebe was about to cry,Tristan didn't say anything to Alvin or Zoe,instead,he shot at me."It seems you're recruiting people to hate Phoebe.You should come at me since I was the one involved with you.Stop attacking her."I tightened my grip on the glass,my fingertips turned white and the corners of my mouth wrinkled slightly.I snorted at him."You are the one who should stop attacking me."*********************Zoe felt speechless by the exchange.She instantly hated Phoebe.One could easily see that Phoebe was a bad person.Tristan on the other hand wasn't annoyed by how eloquent Cora had become.One could say that he was still finding it hard to adjust to this side of her.Afterall,for the three years that they were married, she had acted like a calm and submissive wife.The atmosphere was tensed,like a prelude to a storm.Phoebe tugged at Tristan's sleeve.She could see that Alvin had Cora's back and if this got more heated,she didn't want the two men to fight.Moreo
*CORA*When I walked into the dining table with Lily.I saw the crabs and crayfish on the table.The meal was mouthwatering."Winnie,come eat with me.It'll be such a waste if I can't finish everything."I invited Winnie to dine with me."Thank you,Cora but I've had breakfast already."She rejected.I smiled and didn't push her.After washing my hands,I picked up a crayfish and began to eat.My appetite became better,and it seemed that my emaciated condition did not not continue to deteriorate.This was a good sign.I thought that I would starve to death because i couldn't eat all the time.Afterall,man was iron and rice was steel.Fortunately,I had appetite to eat now.Lily crouched down and looked at me with her big watery eyes.Taking a look at Lily,I couldn't help asking."Winnie, has Lily eaten yet?"Winnie raised her head and replied."Yes.Don't let it have any more,Cora."Nodding,I said in a playful tone."Lily,Winnie said that you can have any more because you already had breakfast,
As soon as Tristan saw Alvin and Cora conversing in the hall,he frowned deeply and walked up to her,grabbing her by the arm.He gave Alvin a warning look and then tugged Cora away."How many times will I tell you to stop fooling around with other men?"Cora glared at him."You came here with Phoebe but I'm the one fooling around?"Tristan looked embarrassed. This was not the Cora he knew."Cora." It had been a long time since Tristan called her that calmly.Cora's heart was throbbing. This dangerous man was so terrible that she could be moved by his one word.Raising her head,she had a charming face. She wasn't expecting what Tristan would say next."As long as you behave well and don't cause me any trouble, I will give you a large sum of compensation after our divorce is announced." He looked gentle, but his words were chilling.Compensation! It turned out that no matter what, their relation was a deal. There was no need to pretend."Okay, I understand." The stubborn look on her face
*CORA*After returning to the company,I went to my father's office to report the recent progress of my cooperation with Dylan.It turned out that my dad was already seeing Dylan in another light."My dear,I know you and Dylan has been friends for years,but be honest,what do you think of him?"I frowned and curled my lips."What should I think of him?"I feigned ignorance as if I didn't know what he was talking about.My dad sat upright and said."I think he'll make a good partner for you.He is so much better than that Tristan.""Dad,I'm not in the mood of think about that now.Dylan is just one of my friends and a business partner now.That's all I see him as."I said, firmly."Go ahead with your work then."He said with a smile.I went back to my office and revised the profit allocation of the previous contract.I thought that I would sign the contract soon.Finally, the first step to get a better standing in my company was to get rid of Tristan.But why couldn't I feel happy?I was still e
*CORA*When I opened the door, I looked up at the living room and saw that Phoebe was sitting on the leather sofa as if she was waiting for me.There was no sign of Winnie.Maybe she had gone to bed.Afterall,it was so late.Raising my eyebrows, I thought something bad was going to happen.I didn't want to talk to Phoebe so I went straight to the second floor.As soon as I was about to take the first step upstairs.I heard Phoebe's voice."Cora,thank you so much for your understanding,today.You didn't say anything to hurt Tristan and I."I rolled my eyes and turned around."Even if I'm in dire straits.I won't do anything unscrupulous like you."Phoebe frowned and let out in an angry voice."Stop pretending.You're so downcast yet you're acting so proud.Do you even know what's going on with you?Don't you understand ‘find shelter under other's roof'?"Hearing that,I was stunned.There was an indescribable indifference in my eyes."Well, we're the same.Don't you live under other people's roof
Without saying anything,Cora started the engine. The restaurant was not far away from his supermarket, so they arrive there soon.Dylan got off the car and stood at the roadside. "Drive slowly when you go back, Sara."Cora nodded.She had always knew that Dylan was so considerate.He watched Cora drive away until she was out of sight. Then he went to the supermarket which was being decorated.Dylan took the packaged food to the construction workers hadn't eaten yet, so after handing it to them,He left. Several workers exclaimed that the food was delicious.He was in a good mood today. Unexpectedly, when he came to the supermarket, he met Cora. The two had stayed together for a long time. Dylan could not help recalling the blush on Cora's face. Her side face, Her beautiful curve., She was so beautiful.Cora had to go to the company. She hadn't been there the whole morning, and there were a lot of documents waiting for her to review.As soon as she arrived at the company, her assistant t
*TRISTAN*My heart sank.Cora's response made me feel an headache.She had just accepted my arrangement without arguing as if everything that happened today meant nothing to her.I had thought she would reject it but she accepted so smoothly,it was beyond my expectation.As expected,she really wanted nothing to do with me.*******************CORA*As soon as I left the company,my suppressed feelings erupted.I didn't want to talk to anyone.Although I had pretended to be nonchalant and cold in front of him but I was very broken.I drove my car between the traffic,tears streaming down my eyes,uncontrollably.Why was I crying?Because I felt wronged,tired and sad.The car was only a few hundred meters away,and I could no longer see the road in front of me.I had to pull over by the roadside.Unfortunately,a traffic policeman came up to me.The policeman knocked on the window but I didn't want to open the door.He then used a loud speaker to shout outside."Hello,Miss.You can't park her
*TRISTAN*I raised my head during the meal.The atmosphere was so weird.It was like a showdown.I had decided to keep Phoebe around.Afterall,because of the nature of my family,I would need a wife and an heir someday and Phoebe was like the best candidate for me right now.She was someone who wouldn't give me much trouble.I caught a glimpse of Cora's face which looked much haggard than I had seen yesterday.My heart twitched.Obviously,I didn't love her but I still felt sad to see her like this.Even if I didn't say anything,I could feel her grievance.But she didn't say anything to show how aggrieved she was.In the past three years,Cora had been so obedient to me.She was a good wife.But then she had found the divorce papers in my room,papers I had prepared years ago and forgotten and she stated she wanted a divorce.When did it go wrong?Was it when she got involved with Alvin?When did she even start seeing him?How long had they been seeing each other?I was so fucking curious.And
*CORA*The sense of failure was magnified infinitely,as if it was about to explode in my mind.I had no choice but to continue sorting out my contract with Dylan.I tried to numb my nerves by working hard.Before I decided to cooperate with Dylan,I had some scruples before.After all,I knew that Dylan would occasionally show affection to me,but he was just a friend to me.A very good friend.He didn't make things awkward at all though.I could only hope that I had misunderstood my friend's kindness by thinking too much.I was going to accept the offer of being a manager of the newly opened supermarket of Dylan's company.On one hand,I could improve my ability to,on the other hand,I had wanted to expand new market for my company and evade Tristan's control as soon as possible.Now,I loved and hated Tristan,but at the same time,I missed and was afraid of him.But I didn't dare to express my feelings.What was the use of telling him?It was just that my self-esteem would continue to be trampl
*TRISTAN*"She did that purposely."Phoebe let out."Did what?""Pretended as if she was about to vomit.She definitely implied that you and I are disgusting."I sighed."Let's just eat and go to work."I didn't want to deal with Cora right now.Even if I felt her behavior was very exaggerated,I didn't find it enough to argue with him.Part of the reason why Phoebe was in this house was because I wanted to get a reaction from Cora.I wanted to see if she never ever considered me as her husband and so far,it seemed she didn't.She was okay with Phoebe's presence in this house.When Cora walked into the dining room,I noticed how pale she was.She might not be pretending afterall."Are you okay?"Yeah.I didn't mean to interrupt you two's breakfast.You can go on without me."With that,she walked off.Was she sick?**************CORA*The more I smelled oil,the worse I felt.I didn't want to have greasy food.I came to a conclusion to go to the hospital to get checked up once I was chanced.Befor