The Divorce Papers

Chapter 3 The Divorce Papers

THE TAYLOR’S HOME, NEW YORK.

Nina's heartbeat raced as he dropped the bombshell on her. Immediately, she went down on her knees and tried to touch his legs, but he kicked her off. “Asher—“

“I am going to get a divorce from you!” Asher repeated himself, this time with more finality in his tone.

Nina felt the ground spin under her. She hoped this was a nightmare and she would wake up from it. The tears kept pushing their way out of her eyes, burning her cheeks. She slapped herself to be sure she wasn’t having a bad dream, and it hurt badly.

It seemed she had finally crossed the thin line between life and its unforeseen circumstances. She never thought something like this would tear her world to pieces today. Probably, if she knew, she would have remained in bed.

Even though Asher had been acting strange for a while, they were refined and cordial with each other. He still makes love to her and kisses her goodbye whenever they arrive at the company. Even if she did cheat and he is genuinely sterile, he shouldn’t throw a divorce in her face like that. Nobody does that.

Nina gulped hard, struggling to get up. Her legs wobbled, but she maintained her stance. “A—Asher, baby, I get it that you are angry. You probably don’t even know what you are saying right now. Divorce is too expensive of a joke, baby. Come on, please.” She said. Nina moved towards him, caressing his arm while finding it difficult to breathe.

Without sparing her a glance, Asher pushed her, and she fell to the cold floor. “I just warned you not to touch me with those filthy hands of yours. What do you think of me? A weak man? Do you think I will get smitten by your lies and let you get away with it? I have had enough of your treacherous self. I want all of this to end. I should have known better marrying a nobody like yourself!” He ranted, walking away.

Despite the pain that pulled at her waist, Nina crawled to Asher’s parents, crying. With a shaky voice, she pleaded.  “Please, Darren. Help me talk to him. Leila, I will never cheat on him. I didn’t. This baby is his.” When they didn’t respond, she crawled back to Andrea. “Andrea, what are you doing? Why aren’t you saying anything? You know the many things Asher has done to me and how much you despise his behavior towards me. Why aren’t you defending me this time? He is lying against me, Andrea, and you know it.”

Andrea scoffed, refilling her glass of wine. “Please, girl. I am too shocked at the moment to hear you.”

Nina stared in utmost disbelief, and her body retreated backward in shock. Asher returned at the same time and flung a document at her.

“That is the divorce papers; sign it and leave my house right this minute,” Asher said, glowering at her.

“You—You can’t mean this, Asher. I beg you. You can't just throw over five years of our lives away. Please, baby, let's talk this out. We can do a DNA test. I am not lying to you. I will never cheat on you. I love you more than life itself.”

“Shut up!” Asher yelled. “DNA? You are seeking a way to manipulate that again. You are such a fraud, Nina! Have some fucking shame! I regret every minute of my life with you. And I don’t want ever to see you again!”

Nina’s head ached, and her body seemed to be tearing apart. Nothing made sense to her. Things don’t just happen for no reason. Her eyes felt heavy from the tears. She sniffed, struggling to stand up.

“What did I ever do to you, Asher? Why are you so determined to make my life miserable? What offense did I commit that you despise me to do much to the extent of lying against me? Baby, I have been with you through the hardest times you have had since you became CEO. You know my schedule like the back of your palm. I don’t even need to visit anyone because Andrea is the only person I am close to, and she practically lives here. I entrusted you with my life. What more can I give for you to believe me?” The tears choked her.

She wiped it off quickly to get her words out, even though shaky. “What changed, baby? Is there someone else? Is this why you no longer want me? I thought you said—I meant the world to you. You couldn’t go a single day without talking to me. Why? Why? Why now? Why are you doing this to me, Asher?!” She wailed, falling to the ground again. Her voice seems to be fading off.

“You—“ Asher wanted to say something, but Andrea stood up just in time.

“Of course, there is someone else,” Andrea said, approaching Asher.

Nina sniffled. “You—You know who it is? Why didn’t you tell me?”

She flipped her hair, caressing Asher’s jaw before kissing his lips. “I didn’t say anything because there was no need to tell. You were going to be disposed either way.”

Nina’s brows furrowed as she tried to process what just happened. She glanced up at her husband and friend. This time, Asher had his arm wrapped around Andrea protectively with his lips to her forehead, and she had her head on his chest. A shrilled noise rang in Nina’s ears. For a second, it felt like she went deaf. Looking towards Asher’s parents, they look very relaxed.

“Perhaps—did—“ Her voice trailed off, tears streaming down her cheeks. “Did…did you know about this?” She stuttered, asking both parents.

Leila snorted. “So? Our son's happiness is what matters.”

Nina turned back to Andrea. “Why would you do this to me?! I trusted you! You are my sister, Andrea!”

Andrea approached her. “Sister? The last I checked, my mom is aware of the number of kids she gave birth to.” She bent before Nina, holding her gaze; hatred burned in them. She looked like an entirely different person from the one Nina knows. “Sorry, but not sorry, Nina. You don’t deserve him. People like you shouldn’t ache for people like us. I have been dying for the day you will finally move out. But you did everything too well, making it hard to get you to leave. Asher loves only me. And I think we have done enough harboring your homeless self. I hope you won’t try to act stubbornly. Now that you know the truth, you should sign the papers and leave. No one wants you here. Hand me a pen and divorce paper, baby.” She called out to Asher, and he did as told. “Sign the damn papers, bitch!”

“You were planning this all along?” Nina found herself asking Asher.

“Don’t make me hit you! You are ruining our dinner. I need you out of here as soon as possible!” Andrea bellowed in her face.

With shaky hands and a sad soul, Nina collected the pen. As she signed on it, tears dropped onto the papers, soaking it. Her life crumbled before her, and Nina could not do anything about it. She is finding it hard to process.

“There, it wasn’t so hard, right?” Leila hissed after Nina finished signing the paper.

“You have five minutes to pack whatever it is you might need. For the sake of our friendship, that is why I am giving you this much time. You have done enough.” Andrea said, eyeballing her with contempt.

Like a zombie, Nina got up and headed towards the room. As instructed, she picked up the few things her hands could carry. Andrea didn’t wait for the five minutes to be up before pushing her out into the deserted night, knowing she had nowhere to go.