Chapter 1
Divorced on my birthday
“Honey, you've not said anything since we got here. You neither compliment my dress nor comment on my food,” Lila said.
Grey kept mute, as though she were talking to a ghost, not even lifting his eyes and looking at her.
“I suppose today should be my happy day. You brought up the idea of us coming here to spend some time alone, and now you're staring at me without a word? Are we doing a retreat?” Lila was losing patience with the serene environment.
“You would have allowed me to party with friends rather than with this attitude you're giving me now.”
“Enough of the talk already, Lila!” Grey yelled at her, dropping his spoon on the table.
“In fact, I'm done! I'm done with you. You and I know that there's no chemistry between us.” Standing up, he ducked his hands into his pocket, brought out a piece of paper, and handed it over to her.
“Ensure you go through those papers and sign the divorce. If there's anything you don't understand, you can contact my lawyer.” With his face devoid of any remorse, he gently moved closer, giving her a kiss on the forehead. He whispered to her, "You should be grateful I endured you bearing the title 'my wife', but now, I have to go for the person I love, someone more deserving.”
Lila was dumbfounded; everything sounded like an audio series of a video clip to her. Her silver jubilee turned into the worst day she could ever imagine.
“Is this really the man I married? Handling me a divorce on my birthday?” Lila questioned herself unstoppably. She tried to control her tears to maintain her make-up so that no one would notice something wrong with her, but she couldn't; the pain was unbearable.
Even though she had never known what it means to be happy and loved in marriage, she was always ready to be patient with Grey, keeping to her promise of “till death do us part” made at the altar, hoping for a better Grey with time. The meal she took four hours to prepare was not half eaten by her soon-to-be ex-husband.
Lila was every man's dream back then, in high school. Over ten men were ready to marry her if only she said yes, but she made her choice of Grey, following the way he presented himself to her as one who could not hurt a fly. Little did she know that all the humility was because of his poor financial condition, which she mistook for being nice.
She had never talked about her miserable marriage to anyone, not even her parents.
“Besides, I was never my parents' favorite; I would rather die with my pains than involve them.” She told herself.
She tried all she could to put on a smile whenever she had visitors.
Her hands became stiff as she held the papers, tears rolling down her succulent cheeks. She lost her appetite immediately.
“Why did he bring me here only to break me into pieces? What have I done to deserve this?” She asked questions, but no one was there to give an answer. She was still weeping when a call rang on her phone. She ducked her hands into her pause and brought out her phone; it was Eucharia calling.
“Oh, my God! Eucharia!” She was astonished. Eucharia was her childhood friend, born with a silver spoon, with whom they did primary and secondary education together. As the only daughter of her family, her wealthy dad sent her to study abroad; hence, they lost contact for over ten years.
She ignored the call because, from the tune of her voice, even a deaf man can deduce that she's miserable. She needs to save herself from being mocked.
Her phone rang consistently, and she finally picked up the call.
“Hello, Charia, sorry I missed your calls.” She said it with an unfriendly tone, which doesn't sound nice for a person one has missed for over a decade.
“Yo girl, Happy birthday! I'm in town already, purposely to celebrate your birthday. Please, when and where are we hanging out?” Eucharia asked with so much joy, as she couldn't wait to set her eyes on her friend.
“I'm sorry, dear; I didn't plan for any celebrations.” Lila said.
“Lila, I know it has been long since we heard each other's voices, but this doesn't sound like you on an ordinary day, not to talk of a special day like this. Don't you miss me at all? Eucharia was bothered because that doesn't sound like her friend.
Lila texted her the address, and Eucharia headed straight to the location.
“Baby girl, I'm here.” Eucharia shouted with joy as she went and exchanged hugs with her friend.
“Oh, my dear, I'm sorry I missed your wedding. That's why I just have to try my best to surprise you on your twenty-fifth birthday.” Charia kept talking without taking a keen look at Lila's face.
“Thank you for coming, my dear. I'm happy to see you again,” Lila responded.
“Oh my God, Lila! Are you crying? Why are your eyes red and bulky? Besides, today is your birthday; where is your husband? I mean, why are you all alone here putting on a moody face, but I'm seeing two plates here?” Eucharia has a million and one questions she needs answers to.
Lila didn't say a word because she didn't know which of the questions to answer. She quietly handed over the papers to Eucharia.
“I think this can provide all the answers you need.” Her eyes were full of tears, and she carried her white handkerchief and wiped her face off.
“Oh, my gosh! This is unbelievable. You mean your husband served you with a divorce on your birthday? This is heartless!”
“I'm sorry, my dear. Let's get going. You need to rest,” Charia suggested.
“Sorry to say, but that husband of yours must be an ingrate! Lila, all our colleagues in school can attest to the fact that you were the best-behaved girl in our clique. And now this? That man must surely regret it. I hope you're not planning to just sign this divorce and let go of everything.” Charia reacted, feeling bad for her friend.
Chapter 2Signing the divorce Lila sat on the bed, with a towel still tied around her chest. She reached for her handbag on the bedside table and carried the divorce papers.She was still reading the papers when the door flung open."Com'on, girl, how often will you keep staring at those papers? This is a new phase of life you need to face. What you should be doing now is figuring out how to rebrand yourself and move on while you plan on your revenge, not sticking to old pains.” Eucharia said as she dragged the papers from her friend's hands.“I'm not taking any revenge. Even though I'm heartbroken by the way he served me the divorce, it will do more good than harm to me. At least I'm free from bondage.”“Bondage? What do you mean by bondage? I thought you said earlier that you've never suspected him of having an affair.” Eucharia said. “Even though I never suspected him of that, I've never been happy in my marriage.”Lila instantly became mute, recalling the torment she passed thro
Chapter 3Secret exposed!“Why am I not hearing a woman's voice? Could he be talking to himself, or maybe watching a movie? But what a coincidence that his movie will be talking about signing a divorce paper.” Lila's mind was buried in thoughts. Her chest was burning like fury; she felt like pushing the door and pouring acid on whoever was behind the crashing of her marriage. But a sudden thought came to her: that action would only lead her into more trouble, as she would be charged with a case of murder and might be sentenced to life imprisonment.Sounds of kisses and moans continued. She was dazed to hear her husband moan and scream a woman's name, something he had never done while married to her for a whole three years, making promises of giving her heaven on earth. Lila was just imagining how her husband was on top of another woman, banging her like one who had been starved of s*x for decades.“I don't know how dumb she is not to have known that we're in a relationship. Poor girl
Chapter 4. Divorce conditions.“I know you had a long day. Why don't you take a shower and eat first? Then we can talk for all the hours that we like before we catch some sleep.” Lila wants Charia to eat first because she knows that once she narrates what happened to her, Charia will not enjoy the food as she should again.They both sat at the table and ate the delicacy made by Lila.“Oh, thank you so much for this sumptuous meal. Now, it is time to tell me how your day went.” Charia said.“Well, my day was not bad, since I didn't end up taking someone's life,” Lila answered."Like, what do you mean by taking someone's life? Did you have an accident on the road?”“Accidents would have been better. I'm talking about using my bare hands to kill someone.” Lila reiterated.“Please, maybe I'll understand you better if you stop talking in parables,” Charia said.“Okay, the simple explanation is that, finally, I was able to know the reason behind my marriage crash.” “Like seriously! Did h
Chapter 5I LOVE HIM“No! This is absolute bull shit! She must be stupid to think that I'll agree to all these conditions!” Grey yelled, throwing the paper on the bedside table and hitting the walls with his hands over and over again.The sound of his scream was so loud that it scared Cynthia who was in the kitchen with his mother. They ran upstairs to ask what was all the shouting for.“She is trying my patience and pushing me to the wall. Just take a look at what she's demanding before she'll sign the papers. Her plan is to render me bankrupt, but that will never happen.” He handed the pieces of papers to Cynthia which they both read with his mother.“Impossible! She wants to take over the company as well? I thought the company was in your name?” His mother asked.“That's why I said it must be unreasonable to think that I'll just give her what she demands on a platter of gold. The company is mine and will forever be mine” Grey added, hitting the table with his hands.Cynthia became
Chapter 6 moving on“Why do you have to run after that witch and beg her? Don't tell me you're afraid of her already.” Grey questioned Cynthia as she came back, looking sorry.“Believe me, she's just an empty talking drum. She can do nothing.” He added. After a long gaze, Cynthia nodded her head in agreement with his statements.“I know, but you can never underestimate the words of an angry woman, especially when it has to do with her marriage.” Cynthia's mind was overpowered by fear.Grey drew her closer, placing one hand on her belly and the other around her waist. He gave her a passionate kiss on the forehead.“You're my world, honey, and I'll always be there for you and our children. Don't mind that ugly sister of yours; I know how to handle her.” He concluded, and Cynthia heaved a sigh of relief, but deep down in her mind, she's afraid for her unborn child.She went into the ward to meet her mother, who was seated beside her dying father.“I'm sorry, Daddy. I'm sorry that you h
Chapter 7Flashback Ten years ago, driven with excitement and joy at securing admission to the university and running to share the good news with her father, poor Lila saw herself on the ground, lying helpless, as she got hit by a speeding vehicle.“Hey, are you okay? I'm sorry, my dear.” She heard the consoling voice of a man from behind, trying to lift her.“Thank you so much, sir. I'm fine. I'll just walk carefully down the street, Lila replied.“Com'on, I can walk you home if you want. Besides, I'm Grey Shun, also a newly admitted student.” He extended his hands for a handshake with Lila.Lila became nervous, feeling too shy to look at his face. How lucky was she to have attracted the compassion of such a handsome man? Yes, Grey is the pure definition of handsomeness. It is hard for a group of four girls to see him, and three will not have an instant desire for him.Since the death of her mother, a great gap has been created between Lila and love. Her father was so affected by th
Chapter 8Lila, being a good and considerate daughter-in-law, heeds her soon-to-be mother-in-law's plight and strategizes a way to balance family life and work.In her traditionally white and long train wedding dress, the most handsome man stood in front of her, rallying his hands over her waist. He locked his tongue into hers, giving her a passionate kiss.“Thank you for officially accepting the call into Shun's family. My love for you knows no bounds.” Grey confessed, and their tongues were locked into each other again. Gently landing her on the new sofa, specially bought and dressed with new bed sheets for their wedding night, he unhooked the wedding dress and all her inners, revealing the captivating figure eight that has been getting all men's attention in skirts. That was the sweetest and the only best day Lila could talk of when it came to her marriage with Grey.As the good wife that she is, Lila woke up as early as five o’clock and made her first breakfast for Shun's family b
Chapter 9Little Witch Grey was confused at how things were just turning around within seconds. “Did I do wrong by marrying Lila?” He questioned himself.“And if at all you're interested in the explanation, do well by calling that little witch of a wife to come down as well.” The voice was added.“Mum, I never knew you were awake. I thought you were still sleeping. Sorry, mom, how're you feeling now?” Grey asked, stepping forward to hold his mother's hands as she struggled to bring herself to the living room.“I'm sorry, I was in a business meeting with our foreign clients when Ann informed me. of your predicament, so I had to tell my wife to rush down to the hospital immediately to check on you.”“Grey, you know why I'm out here. I'm not here to answer your greetings or tell you how I feel now. I heard you demanding an explanation from Ann, so I think it would be best if you could get the attention of the subject in question. Mrs. Shun replied.“Mum, where is all this coming from?