School had begun and to start the year off it was announced that the top two students would receive a shot at becoming a paralegal at a top law firm and the next year paid via scholarship. Ella had to get that scholarship. She was determined to work hard to achieve it. Her second year of school proved to be harder than her first, but she was determined to make it.
Just as he'd said, Daniel came to her apartment to hang out while she studied and he came ready with snacks. “I got oreos and milk, chips and chocolate. I'll change it up next time. Does that work for you?”“Aboslutely,” she said with a smile. “I appreciate you so much.”
She flipped open her books and took out her notes.
“Wow... that's a lot of reading.” Daniel was peaking at the table.
Ella woke with a start, sweating and her heart beating so fast it hurt. She threw the blankets off and tried to get her pajamas off. “Ella, what are you doing?” Daniel asked groggily from beside her. He sat up and tried to touch her. “Ella!” he said firmly. She kept ripping at her clothes, but she was too weak. “Too... hot...” she said through gasps. Daniel flipped the light on and surveyed the situation. He quickly walked around the bed and pressed his hand to Ella's forehead. His eyes widened in alarm. “You have a high fever, you're burning up.”Ella layed back, exhuasted. The room began to spin. Daniel ran out of the room and could be heard going through her bathroom cabinets. “Do you have a thermometer?” he called. She could barely comprehend what he was saying, much less respond. “Found one!” he said as he ran back in the room. He shoved it in her mouth and held it there. “Under you tongue, just do it.” Before a full minute passed the thermometer beeped rapidly. He looked a
Ella stood looking at herself in the mirror. She'd put on a long black, glittering dress. Her hair done up in an elaborate updo. She wore her wedding jewelry, the rings of course, but also a necklace studded with diamonds and emeralds with a bracelet to match. Spoils of her arranged marriage. Nathaniel Woods had needed a wife to access his trust fund. A rule set in stone by his grandfather when the will was written up. Nathaniel had been in no hurry to settle down, but he wanted to start his architecture firm. He needed money to do that. He didn't want to follow in his father's footsteps by starting another retail franchise. Ella and Nathaniel's families had been friends since before they were born, so when their parents suggested an arranged marriage for the sake of the trust fund they didn't need to think it over for long. Ella had always liked Nathaniel, even nursed a high school crush on him. Nathaniel didn't think Ella was his type, but she was pleasant, smart and pretty enough.
Ella had put the phone call out of her mind in the following weeks. She put her focus into her work. Nathaniel didn't want her to actually have a job, which is one reason she stopped pursuing law school. But she could volunteer all she wanted. She threw herself into volunteer work whenever she wasn't busy helping her husband advance his career. Today, she'd signed up to cook and serve at a local shelter. She was infuriated by all the elites that volunteered, but never showed up, or only showed long enough for a photo op. "You've been here for almost 8 hours. You only signed up for the lunch rush," the head kitchen manager said. "I know, but you're under staffed so I wanted to see you through dinner as well.""You're a godsend. We've had more people than usual and less hands to keep things moving efficiently." "Is there anything I an do to help?" Ella asked as she took off her apron and began to gather her things. "Keep volunteering, but if you can get a fundraiser underway that wo
Ella had fully dove into the fundraiser, working long hours getting it going on short notice. She already had over 200 people commit to going with donation pledges. She'd booked a venue, hired caterers and live music performances. It would be held in a historic building with a fantastic ballroom and outdoor courtyard. There would be dancing. She was especially excited for that. It had been so long since she'd danced with Nathaniel. When the day arrived, she put on an off the shoulder, corset top dress with a flowing, glitteirng skirt. She chose deep red, a color that seemed to compliment her dark hair and vivid blue eyes. She kept her hair down, but pulled back one side above her ear with a diamond studded hair comb. She went downstairs in search of Nathaniel. "Honey?" she called. "Are you ready?" She entered his home office just in time to see him slap his laptop shut and stand up. "Why are you in here?" he asked sharply. "Just looking for you. I'm sorry if I startled you. We need
Nathaniel hadn't come home the next day either. Ella was going mad with her racing thoughts. Where had he slept? Had it been with Vera? Did he even care about what he was doing to her heart? She wandered through the house aimlessly, mad at herself for how much this bothered her. She found herself in his office. It smelled of his cologne... She looked around the room until her eyes stopped on the laptop. Without hesitating, she crossed to the chair and sat down. She opened it with shaking hands. Of course it was password protected. She tried her birth date, their wedding date, his mother's birth date. Nothing worked. She pulled out her phone and found Vera on social media. The beautiful, bombshell blonde was everything Ella wasn't. Tall, thin, clearly worked out religiously and had an angelic face. Full lips, shocking green eyes framed with lush, dark lashes, high cheek bones and perfect eyebrows. Ella sighed. No wonder her husband was tempted by her. It wasn't like he'd picked Ella. S
Ella went straight home and called a lock smith. She asked to have all the locks on her house changed as quickly as possible. They promised to have a man out within the hour. She locked his security code out permanently. He would have to call her to be let in. She didn't expect him to come back for awhile anyway, but just in case. She wanted to know when he was coming and going. She set to work finishing up things from the fundraiser for the next few hours. When she needed to get up and move, and get away from her computer, she decided to pay her family's lawyer a visit. She would not be using his lawyers. She called from the car to make sure at least one of them would be at the firm. When she arrived, she suddenly felt sick. Was her marriage actually over? It was hard to process. Divorce had never crossed her mind. In fact, she'd vowed to stay loyal, in it for the long haul, to make a real loving marriage out of this. She'd kept her vows, he had not. The thought of him being with Ve
Feeling groggy and confused, she woke up slowly. What had woken her up? A pounding at the door made her sit up straight. Pounding and now yelling. Nathaniel. He was at her door, he'd obviously found out he couldn't get in. She picked up her phone and called him. "Lay off, will you? I was sleeping," she said once he answered. "This is my house! Let me in, now!" He was beyond angry. "Not until you calm down.""Open this damn door before I kick it in," he growled. "That would make good press," she said sarcastically. She'd gotten out of bed and was getting dressed. A pretty sundress, matching flats and a headband. Look like the sweet woman you are, she repeated in her head. "Calm down and I'll let you in, okay?"He breathed out harshly. "Fine. I'm calm.""Good boy," she smirked and went down the stairs. She opened the door and Nathaniel pushed in, almost knocking her down. He marched straight to the kitchen and slammed a pack of papers onto the counter. "You already know about Vera,
Ella was proud of herself for not crying when she'd been served the divorce papers. She was shattered. All her visions for the future had been shattered. But she wouldn't show Nathaniel her pain. He wouldn't get the satisfaction.In the days following sending the papers off she had found an apartment and begun looking into law school again. She had enough of a nest egg set up to pay for the first year of her basic needs, but she'd need the alimony her prenup would award her to go to school and continue living until she could get a job after passing the bar. She packed up her things, careful to leave any expensive gifts Nathaniel had given her behind. Jewelry, fancy dresses, perfume bottles costing hundreds of dollars each. She knew she could sell it all off, but she didn't want anything to do with it. It felt dirty. Vera could have it. She kept the wedding ring though, that was hers fair and square and she'd keep it as insurance in case she ever needed some cash. A wedding ring seale