The Divorce

Ava stared at the paper Nathan Crawford, her husband, kept in front of her like it was a piece of art she needed to understand.

"Ava, sign the damn document; I don’t have time for this,” Nathan shouted, his brows drawn together as he tapped his feet on the floor impatiently.

“I… I don’t understand Nathan; did I do something wrong? Does grandfather know about this?” Ava stammered as she looked up at the man she had loved for most of her life.

Nathan brushed a hand through his hair in frustration as he sighed deeply, trying to contain his irritation with her.

“We both know this is not going to work, and three years is long enough for us to cut it loose, don’t you think?” Nathan said calmly, trying to get through to her.

“It’s just been three years, Nathan. I know we can make this work after that night…” Ava was saying, but Nathan interrupted her.

“Don’t!” he said, his voice hard as he glared at her before adding, “That was a mistake, one night of drunken mistake on my part, okay.”

“It meant something for me, Nathan; it is proof that we can make this work if only you give us time,” Ava pleaded, tears gathering in her eyes.

Frustrated and more pissed, Nathan stood up, placed a hand on his waist, and said, “Ava, I can’t do this any longer; I don’t want to spend the rest of my life this miserable, okay, and moreover, I...”

“Your grandfather won’t be happy about this, Nathan; let’s think about him too,” Ava said, trying to push some sense into him.

“F*ck, you really are going to make me say this,” Nathan muttered under his breath before adding, “You signed the damn contract, Ava, so quite this pretense and sign the papers.”

Ava’s brow went up in puzzle as she looked clueless at her husband, unsure of what he meant by a contract.

“What do you mean? I married you because I loved you, Nathan. I have for a long time. What are you saying about a contract?” Ava said, standing up to face him.

Looking up at him made her feel less of herself. His eyes looked at her like she meant nothing to him.

Nathan grimaced and said, “Really? Did you really sign that prenup without reading it?”

“The prenup?” Ava asked.

She remembered the morning her father had told her she was to be married to Nathan; it had been a dream come true for her. Everything she had been asked to do to ensure the wedding was done she had done without complaining, including sighing the prenuptial without going through it.

“I know you look stupid sometimes, but I never thought you would be that stupid,” Nathan said in irritation as he looked at her.

At this point, tears were beginning to stream down her face just as the sound of lightening erupted through the house, as if to compliment the chaos within Ava’s heart.

“Why are you doing this to me? Do you hate me that much? Why then did you marry me?” Ava asked, her legs shaking as she fell down to the couch. Her hand went to her belly, as if to hide the baby that was already growing in her belly.

Nathan stood there silent as he looked at her, refusing to let her tears sway him.

He sighed deeply and said, “Ava, the prenuptial contract specifically stated that we are allowed to get divorced after three years, a fact you would have known if you actually read it.”

“That is not reason enough for you to divorce me, Nathan; I know you, and for the last year you have not been the same person I lived with for the first two years of our marriage,” Ava said, forcing herself to walk towards him.

Nathan took a step away from her as he said, “Let’s not make this harder for you than it already is; we should both be glad that there is no child between us; we can have a clean break, and we will both live our lives in peace.”

"Nathan, please, I beg you don’t do this to me; I would do whatever it is you want, please,” Ava pleaded, as a heartbreaking sob poured out of her.

“Don’t do that, Ava, don’t!” Nathan shouted more frustrated than he had been, as he added, “For god sake, can you grow up and act like the adult that you are?”

“No, I don’t want to, please,” Ava replied.

“F*ck, I have a child, okay!” Nathan shouted, adding, “Damn it.”

Ava felt like a hammer had hit her heart at those words. Her sobs seized, but the tears continued to pour down her checks as she stared up at her husband. She had been excited to inform him of her pregnancy, but now her world had just shattered.

“Wha…at did you jus..st say...” She asked, stammering, hoping she had heard wrong.

“I have a child, Ava; someone is pregnant for me,” Nathan replied.

Ava staggered, her legs almost giving out on her as she walked backward, away from Nathan.

“That has got nothing to do with you, Ava; okay, just sign the documents and be on your way,” Nathan said, in response to the emptiness that suddenly filled Ava’s eyes.

“How? Was that why you’ve been different this last year? Was that why you were more pissed that you slept with me that one night after not touching me since we got married?” Ava said, her voice shaking.

Before Nathan could answer, his phone rang, and just before he could pick it from the center table, Ava saw the name displayed on it.

It was her; it had always been her. Like a shadow, she had lucked over their marriage, and now she had succeeded in breaking them apart.

"Hello, dear,” Nathan said, before turning his back to Ava.

Ava could feel herself suffocating; there was only so much she could take. Ava had seen the resolve in his eyes as he picked that call, and she knew there was nothing she could do, not even news about their unborn child that would change the situation.

“No, she hasn’t; I know, I’m not; it won’t,” Nathan was responding into the phone.

Ava stood up, her face devoid of any emotions as she walked upstairs, almost like she was being remote controlled.

After a few minutes, she came back down with her box just as Nathan was ending his call.

“I’ll end this tonight, and I’ll be with you shortly, okay,” Nathan said into the phone.

Ava walked over to the paper on the table as she thought, Should I sign this? Or I should just leave?