Preparing A Divorce

POV: Nathan  

I leaned my back against my high-backed swivel seat and made a steeple with the tip of my finger as I listened to the man seated across from me. To a stranger, it would seem as though my mind was a million miles away, but in truth, every nerve in my body is alert. I’m taking in every word he is saying and processing every detail. 

The man seated across from me is Ethan Hawke, my lawyer, and best friend. He just brought me the divorce papers I requested for, but as usual, he felt the need to advise me against it, claiming that I was making a wrong decision. He thinks I’m an asshole for using her family's wealth to revive our company and bring my family’s business back on track.  

I can’t really say that I blame him for thinking that I’m the bad guy. He’s not the one who has to live with that boring housewife of mine. She carries herself like a dutiful housewife, acting like a perfect housewife. She spends every fucking minute in that house, brooding and regretting her decision to marry me. She spares no time to hang out and have fun with her friends, or even me. I can’t spend time with her because she is so timid and so fucking boring. I have no idea how we stayed together for three years. 

Gosh, she sucks! 

The annoying part of this is that I never loved her. When Dad proposed this marriage union between me and his best friend's daughter, I fought so hard to stop it because I had a girl I was dating at that time. I know why he had agreed to it, I know we needed the loan from them to sort out our debts and bring our business back on track. 

But I just don’t subscribe to the idea of an arranged marriage, and I would have let the company collapse than agree to this marriage. But the day I set my eyes on her, I knew there was something about her that was simply appealing. I was pulled in by her beauty, I couldn’t get my eyes off her. She has the kind of beauty that men go to war for. I find her attractive and intriguing. Although I know it would hurt my girlfriend, Hailey if I accepted this union, I still agreed to it, and I signed the damn documents, hitching me to this sham of a marriage. 

For the first few months, I tried to see if I could love her, and I tried to make her love me too. But it seemed like she hated being around me, and no matter how hard I tried, the silence between us just kept growing, and before you knew it, we grew apart and just lived together as housemates.  

The only time I’d enjoyed sex with my wife had been our first month together. She had been so lively and active, making me come back for more. I rushed back home every fucking day just to see her looking so radiant and hot for me. It only lasted for a month, and after that, she went back to acting like a freaking old hag. She doesn’t spend time in front of the dresser anymore, she doesn’t care about her looks. All she does is sit in front of the television watching her favorite shows, or going over to the family house to hang out with her mom and her best friend.

So fucking annoying! 

I stopped coming home early just to avoid setting my eyes on her. It’s like a fucking prison to be married to Laura. We signed a contract that prevents us from having affairs else we lose everything. I stopped seeing Hailey because of her, I could only hang out with my friends occasionally. I’m forced to work hard to please a woman who doesn’t give two shits about me, it’s like living in freaking bondage. I can’t do this anymore! 

“This is not good, man. I have to tell you that. I’m not just your lawyer, Nate, I’m your friend too. And I’m telling you that it’s not a good idea to do this to her, man. She has done nothing wrong to deserve this treatment from you. She has been a good wife to you for three years, why would you want to hurt her this way?” Ethan asked me furiously, making it clear that he was not in support of my plan to divorce my wife. 

“Just give me the damn papers and get the hell out of my office. I can handle it from here, I’ll get her to sign the damn papers. You have no idea how hard it is to stay married to her. I’m sure I’ll be doing her a favor with this divorce. She is as miserable as I am, it’s time we go our separate ways.” I responded, snatching the papers from him and putting it in my briefcase.  

“And how do you intend to split the company, are you going to resign and hand back everything to her family, or do you intend to dupe her of her inheritance? 

How do you even plan to break the news to your families, Nate?  

Can’t you see how complicated this divorce will be?” he argues, still trying to change my mind. I pull my hand through my hair as he reminds me of the things I don’t want to think about right now.  

Yes, I know it’ll be a bit difficult to break the news to our family. My father would be so disappointed with me, and so will her father too. She’s an only child, her father already takes me as his son. This news would shatter his dreams of securing his only daughter's future with a man he trusts. He had confided in me that he didn’t want to let her choose a guy because she could end up with a gold digger that would love her only for her money.  

He trusts me because of the friendship he shares with my father. They decided to unite both families by letting us get married. Now I’m going to shatter their dreams and break her heart too. I guess her father was wrong to trust me, I’m no different from the gold diggers he was trying to avoid. I took advantage of his trust in me, and I used his daughter to get what I wanted.  

I’ll have to wait a while before breaking the news to him. I’ll convince her to pretend that we are still together for a while. We would have to wait for the right time to break the news to our families. I’ll find the right time when everyone is happy, then I’ll break the news to them.  

And as for the company, I don’t think that would be a problem. Initially, her family owned the construction company, while mine owned the advertising company. After our marriage, her father resigned and handed the company over to me. We signed a merger, with me being the chairman of the company.  

After our divorce, I’m going to compensate her handsomely, as long as she signs the damn papers and gives me my freedom. We have a couple of estates, hotels, and other properties. I’m willing to split every damn asset we have with her. I just want to be free again, I want to be free to date and mingle with my friends like I used to. I want to have fun with Hailey and go on tours like we used to I’m so fucking tired of this boring marriage. 

“I need to talk to you, it’s very important. I’ll be home in a few minutes.” I text her. As usual, she responded immediately to my message, telling me she’ll be waiting for me at home.  

So boring! Of course, I know she’ll be waiting for me at home, she has nowhere to go to and no fucking friends to hang out with. She is such a recluse, always staying at home with Vinnie her stupid, boring friend, or going to the damn book club with her. I just hope she doesn’t make a fuss about this divorce. I’ve had enough of her! 

“Come on, Ethan, drop it already. On getting a divorce from her, and that’s final. You can sit here cursing and hating me, or you can follow me out of this damn office. The choice is yours.” I told him firmly as I gathered my phones and laptop together, getting ready to leave the office and head home. He kept whining about my divorce as we both left my office, but I ignored him completely. 

I left a few instructions with my secretary before stepping into the elevator with Ethan walking beside me. To annoy him further, I picked up my phone and dialed Hailey, fixing a date for tomorrow. He threw his hand in the air, giving up on me completely. If only he knew what I’ve been going through in this marriage, then he would side with me on this, instead of nagging and whining like a child. 

I spoke to Hailey for the first time in many years today and we agreed to hook up tomorrow night. I was so excited to have fun again. I called a few friends to come hang out with me at the club. It’s time to regain my freedom and let her live her quiet boring life as she desires. I drove back home with the thought of her in my head, thinking of ways to break the news to her, and wondering what her reaction would be.  

I watched her as I drove into the house, she stood by the door, waiting for me with a smile on her face like she always does. I stepped out of the house and walked into the beautiful aroma of food that she had the maids prepare for me while awaiting my return. It took everything in me to stay strong and carry out my plan without backing down. I couldn’t look at her face as I walked into the house. I walked straight to the sitting room and sat down on the couch before opening my briefcase to pull out the letter.  

She kept asking me if I’ll bathe before eating or eat first before I bathe. But I ignored her and handed the envelope to her, looking at her for the first time. 

“This is for the best,” I told her as she curiously tried to open the envelope. I knew the moment she opened it because her expression changed immediately. She looked so shocked that I thought she was going to faint. She sank on the couch, her eyes fixed on the papers as if she was dreaming.