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 to leave in about ten minutes."
"Oh. Right. I'll change and be right down."
Honestly, he could go as is. He looked devine. His hair slightly disheveled, white button down with the top button undone, dress slacks that fit just right and a suit jacket slung over his arm. It was a little too casual, but oh did he look handsome.
"What are you thinking about?" he asked as he paused at the bottom of the stairs.
"You look so good, that's all. You're just such a handsome man."
He looked down, almost uncomfortably. "Thank you." He disappeared up the grand staircase.
He reappeared in record time. "Somehow, you look even better," she said.
"Thank you," he said and opened the door.
They got into his car and drove to the fundraiser venue. It looked amazing set up for the event. Ella's eyes glowed with delight. She grabbed Nathaniel's hand. "Look at it," she said. "Isn't it beautiful?"
"Hmmm," he grunted in response. He seemed to be scanning the crowd. Many guests had already arrived.
They moved through the crowd greeting people and thanking them for being there. Nathaniel seemed distracted, it bothered Ella, but she didn't let it get to her.
Suddenly, it seemed he had found what he'd been scanning the crowd for. Or rather, who he had been looking for. Vera had arrived. He left Ella's side like she had burned him, yanking his hand from hers. He weaved through the crowd toward Vera. She put her hands up, like she was about to embrace him, but stopped herself. Ella saw it all. Her suspicions about them came roaring back. She had to push it down for now, she had an event to run. She turned on her heel, ignoring them, and set off to give orders to the band and catering.
Dinner went smoothly. She didn't see Nathaniel the entire meal. She was aware that people were looking at her with questions. The lovely billionaire couple that people envied, that always looked so in love, sitting separate? But she had no answers for them, nor would she give them any if she did. She just made pleasant talk and kept the event running smoothly.
As the evening wound down and she was seeing people out the door, thanking them again, she finally saw Nathaniel. He came out from some side room. Had he been hiding away the entire time? Then Vera came out after... Ella steeled herself and continued her work. She knew she wasn't the only one who saw. Looks of pity began to come her way. She ignored it.
Finally, the social aspect was over. She made sure everything was squared away with the various hired groups and set the cleaning crew to work. Once done, she looked for Nathaniel. After half an hour she became irritated. She wanted to go home. She shouldn't have to search for her own husband. She went outside to see if his car was still there. White hot anger grew in her when she saw it was gone. He'd left her there? "That son of a..." she muttered under her breath. She whipped her phone out and called him. No answer. "Fine, have it your way," she said out loud. She wouldn't beg him to come get her. Instead, she called a cab and saw herself home.
She burst in the door and quickly realized he wasn't home. She went straight to the security system and armed it. She locked out every code but hers. She'd know when he got home and he'd have to explain himself before she let him in. She changed and went to bed.
In the early hours of the morning she woke to poundingat the door. At first, she was afraid of a break in, but then remembered her husband's actions. She put a robe on and went down to greet him.
"Ella, open this damn door now! You can't keep me out of my own house!"
She looked through the window in the door, fully aware that he could see her. "Tell me why you left me at the fundraiser and I'll consider it."
"What do you mean?"
"You know what I mean."
"I went for drinks. We decided that was okay. You had your own ride home."
"We never decided that," she said. Shocked that he would just lie like that.
"No, we did. You must've been drinking."
"I barely saw you all night. How could we have decided anything?"
"Vera was out of her element. I had to keep her company."
"That's probably why she wasn't invited, Nathaniel."
"I invited her. She deserved to be there. She's worked so hard for my business."
Ella scoffed. Vera was a secretary, and not the best one at that. She didn't do anything for the company that couldn't be done by someone else. That aside, she wasn't going to let him lie to her like this. "Look, you can come clean and apologize or find somewhere else to sleep."
He gave the door one more solid kick before cussing her out and walking away.
Ella sat on the floor and let the tears flow down her face.
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
The next morning she woke to blessed silence. She put on her robe and went down to the kitchen. With how drunk he'd been she hoped he'd be nursing a hangover in his room for the rest of the day. As far as she was concerned, she'd have a big breakfast and then head over to her apartment to begin making it a home. She would live here for now, but the second she could leave she wanted a home to go to. Not just a house, but a home. A place to heal her heart and start over. Her hope for solitude was shattered the moment she sat down and began eating. Nathaniel walked slowly down the stairs. “Why is it so bright in here?” he asked. “You designed the house with windows bigger than the average apartment,” she said flatly. He rolled his eyes. “This house is a masterpiece. It's not my fault you never learned to appreciate it.”“I can appreciate it. It's just not my style.”He sat down heavily in a chair at the table. “Get me some water, will you?”She ignored him and continued eating. “Ell
When she arrived back at the mansion that night the house was empty. Good, she thought to herself. She made herself a Caesar salad with grilled chicken to eat. She pulled out her laptop and began applying for law school. She selected her preferred schools and applied at them first. She hoped her name would help her get in. She hadn't dropped her married name, Woods, yet. She'd handle that after everything settled. The front door closed and Nathaniel walked into the living room where Ella sat. “What are you doing?” he asked. “Applying for school,” she said simply. “What? Why?”She looked up, shocked at the rise of volume in his voice. “What does it matter to you?”“I won't have my wife going to school like I can't support the family. None of the other wives in our circles go to school or have full careers.”“Ummm... have you forgotten that I'm not your wife anymore? What I do doesn't affect you.”“You still hold the role until the divorce is final. You don't need to do any stupid s
She arrived home, unsettled, but trying to tell herself she was being paranoid. It was probably someone who had every right to be there and she was just spooked. She walked up the steps to her house and put the key in the lock. Her hands shook a little as she opened the door and let herself in. The house was cold and empty, something she'd gotten used to. But tonight she would've liked something a little more comforting. She walked to the kitchen and sighed. She didn't have the energy to cook anything. “Where have you been all day?”She screamed and turned around. Nathaniel stood in the doorway. “You scared me.”“I see that...” He crossed the room and sat on a barstool in the kitchen. So, where were you?”“Volunteering.”“Why?”“Because I needed to get out.”A hurt look crossed his face for a moment before he replaced it with his usual stone cold look. “I don't see why you need to get out so much and why volunteering is your choice of outing.” He practically mumbled his words. “Le
Ella accepted the law school offer and was set to begin her first semester in a week's time. They wanted her to start with the next school year, but she insisted on getting started as soon as possible. So she would be taking certain classes slightly out of order, but she didn't care. She knew she could handle it. She spent as much time as possible at her apartment studying for her start in school. She couldn't lie to herself though, she was avoiding the mansion as much as possible. When Nathaniel was out in the evenings her mind went wild thinking about what he was doing with Vera. She'd go between anger and grief. Crying and wanting to smash things. She hated being in such emotional turmoil so she tried to avoid it. But since she'd agreed to live at the mansion she had to return at night. She would eat dinner and go straight to her room so she wouldn't know if Nathaniel was home or not, or see him head back out after a shower. One such night she had just finished washing her dishes