Chapter 5 - The Return of the King

James King, the most powerful man in Montonia, stood frozen as if he was held at gunpoint by my question.

I just stared at him. Damn....Why did he have to look so damn good? I could just stare at him all day. I could even feel my heartbeat increase....again.

"Excuse me?" He finally managed

I look around us and although we appeared to be alone, James was pap. favorite and they'd learned to hide to avoid lawsuits, he'd happily through their way if he saw them stalking him for a picture "Lets go to your office, so we wont be overheard."

"Why can't we talk right hear?" He argued back.

"We can. But I can't guarentee there won't be any pics or that we won't be overheard, and you know it" I countered.

James looked like he wanted to argue my point but I think he realized that it would make him a bit of a hypocrite, as he's always saying that anything important should always be talked about away from prying eyes and active ears.

We headed towards his office in silence.

He opened the door and headed towards his office chair and sat down. "Now...I'm tired as fuck...Im bloody exhausted, so correct me if I misunderstood anything, yeah? I've just flown 23 hours back to Montonia from the East. I've had back-to-back meetings since touching ground and then I come home to find my wife stating to our maid that we are divorcing. What....exactly....is going on, Josefine?"

Geez...He must be frustrated. No one calls me Josefine, but him and thats only when he's annoyed or angry with me.

I didn't even bother answering him. I just went to the little television on the huge bookcase and powered it on with the remote controller. I started to channelsurf and every channel I hit, his lovely face was smiling down at Carrie's grinning face.

I look back at him. That prominent jaw seemed to be clinched tight as his eyes appeared to be laser-focused on the screen in front of him.

I turned off the television and looked back to him. "This. This right there is why I assumed we would divorce. Although I would have preferred you just told me than having to find out from the media."

James knows I avoid the news like the plague. He appeared to be thinking about something. "Jonathan?" After a couple of minutes of silence, he finally asked as to confirm who had let the cat out of the bag. I just nodded. He sighed and ran a tanned hand through his dark brown blackish wavy locks.

James King, an expert of appearing stoic in any situation no matter what he feels inside, actually looked uncomfortable. "Nothing happened. I want you to know that. She called me and asked for my advice. So...we met up. I was just walking her to her car and suddenly, it started to rain like-" "It doesn't matter." I interrupted him. "It truly doesn't matter. I knew what I signed up for. As you are fond of pointing out to me, our marriage is merely a contract marriage. What I need to know is...are we done? Do you want her back? I need to know what is the next step? Do I call a lawyer? Because I refuse to have the reputation of being a jilted wife where the husband is cheating with a mistress, who is actually her sister. Or something a kin to us having a open relationship. I refuse."

"Of course that will never happen," he claimed.

"Oh? So, I don't need a lawyer?" I asked again, starring him down as though his image would disappear any second and I would never see it again.

James looked up me and his entire body appeared to have gone rigid. “Why would you need a lawyer? Dwyer already explained this to you, when you signed the prenup. In the event of a divorce, you would be taken care of. You know…as a thank-you for all you’ve done concerning my inheritance. A generous alimony. A house anywhere of your choosing. A vacation home and a car with a driver whose salary and benefits I’ll pay for. You don't need a lawyer, when the prenup is ironclad which ours happens to be.“

“You’re an intelligent man, James. Why would you advise anyone not to get a lawyer when dealing with paperwork? Of course, I'd want my own lawyer to look through everything. I like Dwyer, but in the end he's YOUR lawyer, James. He protects your interests, not mine. I signed that prenup five years as a young, naive girl who wanted to help you out in your hour of need. I know your family calls me a gold digger behind my back, but I'll remind you again of what I said even before signing the papers. I truly didn't want anything from you other than your friendship. I would do the same if I had to do it all over again but with one minor difference. I'd want a lawyer to go through the papers for me, because I didn't understand much of that contract and just had to believe what Dwyer was telling me, was true. If we're going to divorce, then I'd want to my lawyer to go through everything with Dwyer so I have someone to protect me." I said to him

"You think I'd hurt you? Leave you with nothing? Do you really think so little of me?" James looked as though I'd burned his favorite dessert that he'd been craving all day.

"Of course not. But I have other people to worry about. People who I am responsible for. People who rely on me not going broke in any divorce hearings because I naively signed a contract in my youth."

"People? I know you're fond of a few of them, having been a Stay-At-Home-Wife during our marriage, but you do know that technically that all the staff at the house; the maids, the cook, the butler, the gardeners, the poolboys, the handymen...everyone of them answers to me because I'm the one paying their salaries. Of course they'd keep their jobs so you're not responsible for them."

"Seriously?" I ask increduously

Stay-At-Home-Wife???

Oh. My. God!

He doesn't know. He truly doesn't know. He didn't listened to me afterall when I started talking about my day and what I'd been doing all day. At my job. And at my other job.

I thought we'd reached that stage where we were friends....or at least friendly with other. The amount of times I'd ask him about how his day had been and what he'd been doing during our dinners together or even during the times we'd run together. He'd briefly tell me about his day and then ask me about mine.

Everytime he did, it truly felt as if he cared about me. Like sun chasing the dark skies away and shining on a clear, blue sky. I'd tell him everything I had going on. What I was doing. Where I was going. And he'd never interrupt me! He'd make listening noises like 'huh', 'ah' 'really?' I thought he'd actully listened to me. Actively listened.

I really thought he'd cared for me just a bit....but...he didn't even know I had been juggling two jobs and had a thriving career. I didn't just sit my ass all day by the pool or at the countryclub.

Because he'd been ignoring me.

You know what. Nevermind. I can take a hint from Mistress Karma! It appears its high time to move on with my life and find somebody who'd at least listen to me and have a conversation every now and then.

"Well, yes. They were there before you even entered their lives. They're my employees."

High Time indeed!

“You’ve met Carrie already? Do you still have any feelings left for her?”

He looked embarrassed but nodded his affirmation.

“Okay….So, since the deadline for the inheritance is up so in that case we should divorce.

Or is it easier just to get it annulled since we’ve never actually consummated our marriage?”