Papers

Chapter 2

Alex Xander Jr, heir of Allure Art and CEO of several companies of his own. At thirty two, he had achieved so much more than his father did in his lifetime, and he was still doing more. Even his brother, Larry Xander Snr who had raised and nurtured him in the family business could not deny that his younger brother was now almost doing far better than him.

He was a father, though he couldn't really say he was a proud one but he made sure he did his best. Married to a famous actress, hell, she might even be the most famous and sought after actress in Hollywood at the moment, one would think Alex had it all.

Was it the looks? He shook his head, if he was not being a narcissist, which he hated to admit he was, then he could definitely say he was one of the hottest men on the planet. He had often had ladies swoon about him at conferences, press gatherings and even in his office! It was one of the reasons why Ursula had been particularly uncomfortable with him having female secretaries and personal assistants during the early years of their marriage.

His striking looks had been the first thing that attracted her to him. Ursula never failed to point out how much she loved his golden brown eyes, and he could remember vividly how she would die to remain on his chest even for days on end. How she would not fail to post and flaunt him all over her social media handles and how the ladies, even her fellow actresses would try to make advances at him each time she looked the other way.

Back then, she cared and she loved him. But now, Alex doubted that. He didn't know where he had gone wrong or how things had gotten so bad, but he knew there was no salvation for his marriage. He had tried like hell to make things work, even going as far as following her about each set just to see and talk to her, but Ursula just kept distancing herself from him. And now, he felt like his whole world was coming down on him, he felt like everything he tried so hard to build had collapsed right before his eyes.

Alex steered his car around and drove into the big hotel. The minute he parked, his eyes caught the tail of Ursula's car. It was the Maybach he had gotten for her thirty-fifth birthday last year. He took a minute to take a deep breath then he scanned the place for any signs of his wife.

Much to his disappointment but true to his expectations, Ursula was there. She was standing beside a dazzling young man, a man he recognized too well. They were both dressed in casual beach wear, and from where he sat in his car, Alex could see water dripping down her wet hair and from the way the small scarf she tied loosely around her waist hugged tightly to her skin, he could tell that they just got out of a swimming pool.

The man had his hand around her waist and together, they were going through what he supposed was a script which Ursula was holding with one hand and a cup of juice in the other. Occasionally, they would laugh loudly and his hold on her waist would tighten. If he had had any doubts about what he came here to do before, then this was all the reason he needed.

Having seen enough, Alex snatched the file he had picked from the lawyer's office that afternoon and stepped out of the car, he walked briskly towards them and didn't let his smile falter when Ursula sighted him. Surprise darkened her features, then alarm, while her partner quickly took his hand away from her waist.

"Hello, Wife." He greeted. To the man, he simply nodded, "Smith Rogers, I didn't think we would meet again like this, it's been a while."

Smith recovered first, then he stretched and offered Alex his hand for a handshake, which Alex ignored. "Hello Alex. It's a small world." He said with a nervous laugh, "I have a job with your wife so we were just rehearsing the script."

Alex nodded, "I see." He turned to Ursula, "Forgive me if I'm wrong, but aren't you supposed to be in Denmark for a shoot you could not imagine yourself canceling?"

Smith looked lost for a while, then he looked to Ursula, who looked rather uncomfortable as well. Seeing the tension, he nodded in the direction of the hotel and made a quick gesture to Ursula indicating she should call him when she finished. Alex watched him go and felt his anger rising, but he held it in check, and he was glad he still had his hand behind his back.

"How did you find me?" Was the first thing Ursula asked.

"I asked a question first, Ursula." Alex said coldly.

Ursula recognized that tone and swallowed whatever she had to say then, she took two steps away from her husband before she answered with a shrug, "The shoot was canceled and…" she looked thoughtful for a minute and then answered grimly, "Since the role is a challenging one, we decided to rehearse it for a few more days before the actual shoot."

Alex chuckled softly and bit on his lower lip to keep himself from exploding with the anger that threatened to take over him completely. Instead, he moved closer to her, leaned in and asked in a very soft voice, "So you would rather stay in a hotel with a man than come home to your family?"

"He is my co-star! What are you insinuating?" Her voice was raised now but he didn't miss the way her cheeks flushed red.

Alex's voice still remained calm as he watched her, "I didn't insinuate anything, you did. And if you do not want to make a scene, I would advise you to bring your voice down."

"What? So I should just stand here while you accuse me of cheating on you? Hello? I'm not you!"

"Why Smith Rogers though?" Alex asked, ignoring her tone, "Hmm? Why him?"

She frowned, "What do you mean?"

"Why the fuck are you here with your ex?"

She scoffed and made to turn from him but he held her back and maintained his grip on her hand, "You are not running from this, Ursula."

She tried to yank her hand from him but his grip tightened, "You are insane! I thought we were over this? It's work! I mean, it's been ten years! We have both moved on and we are comfortable working with each other now. You know, maybe you should move on too!"

He let out a nervous laugh and released his hold on her hand, "So comfortable that you would choose him over your family, right?"

"I told you, it's work!"

"I made reservations! Reservations for us! For our family! I have tried to give us a chance, God knows I have tried. And I've been doing that for the past five years! When was the last time you saw your son? When was the last time you reminded that boy that you love him? Do you even know what his favorite food is?" He racked his hand through his hair and turned his back to her so she would not see the tears that were threatening to fall.

"Alex… just this last job and I will come back, I promise. We will make all the fun memories."

"That was the same thing you said the last time." He reminded her

"You know what? Don't you dare blame this on me! You cheated on me first! With that low class slutty…"

He laughed, she had unknowingly admitted that his suspicions were true. "I'm done, Ursula. Hell, I'm so done trying to fix us." He stretched the file he was holding to her.

"What are you talking about?" When he did not reply, she collected it from him and hastily opened it. Her eyes widened in shock, "What is this?"

"That's our divorce papers. You don't have to sneak around with your ex anymore."

"Alex!"

"Just sign the damned papers!" He took a deep breath to cool his blazing temper and said in a more calm voice, "My lawyers will tell you whatever else you need to know."

Without waiting for her to say anything more, he turned and stalked away.