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, so might as well get this done and over with."
Ella sat on a barstool and slid the papers over to her so she could read them. She smiled up at him, an empty, but sickeningly sweet smile. "Oh good, you were quick about it."
He looked shocked. "Good?"
"Yes, might as well get it done quickly." She shrugged and began reading. There was a lot of information here and she didn't understand it all.
"It's just basic divorce papers. Sign them and be done with it."
"I don't sign anything I don't understand."
A wicked grin crossed his face. "Are you sure about that?"
A cold sense of dread spread through her. "What do you mean?"
"Nothing," he said quickly. "Just sign them. I'm giving you 24 hours."
She scoffed. "Like you have any control over that. I'll take them to my lawyer tomorrow and if everything checks out he'll send my signed copies to your lawyer."
He rolled his eyes. "Fine." He turned, about to leave. "Oh, and Ella?"
"Yes?"
"Don't ever lock me out of my house again."
She stood and walked to the door. "You're free to go now." As soon as he was through the door she turned the locks knowing he could hear her.
Early the next morning she dressed in a pink dress with a matching bolero jacket. She looked almost barbie like, but that was the point. Sweet, feminine, helpless wife at the mercy of her rich, cheating husband. When she entered her lawyer's office, he handed her a newspaper. On the cover was a picture of Nathaniel pounding on the door of their house, screaming. "Trouble with elite's "It Couple?" was across the top of page one. She scanned the article, all speculation, flipping the page she saw a picture of herself standing alone in the parking lot of the fundraiser. She looked small, alone and very sad. "Mr. Woods wife left in the lurch?" captioned the picture.
"So they've already gotten their hands on the story," she said. "Does mother know?"
"I called her last night. She knows and she is not happy. She wants to know what you did to drive him away.
Ella rolled her eyes. "Of course she does..." She reached into her bag and pulled the divorce papers out. "Could you look over these with me?"
Elden took the papers and began scanning them. He nodded now and then. "This all looks standard. It's practically stock language."
"Good. I can sign them?"
"You can. I'll have them sent right away."
Ella signed the papers and headed for a cafe nearby for breakfast. Once she'd ordered and sat down, her phone rang. She sighed when she saw her mother's name on the screen. "Yes mother?" she answered.
"What have you done to our good name?" her mother asked in a shrill voice.
"He cheated on me, he served me papers, this isn't my doing," she said tiredly.
"You must have done something to drive him to this! You had a perfect marriage. You're a billionaire's wife! How could you throw that way?"
Ella rubbed her forehead. "I'm not throwing it away. I'm just not staying with a cheater. I know my worth."
Her mother scoffed. "Your worth? You have no worth. We got you this marriage. We made you who you are. You are worth nothing without your parents and your husband. You've ruined it with him and you know what? We're done with you too! You're on your own!" With that her mother disconnected.
Ella's appetite had left her completely. She grabbed the coffee she'd ordered, but boxed up the breakfast. On her way out, she handed it to a panhandler with a cardboard sign. She would head home and begin looking for a place to move to. The prenup might've given her rights to the house, she didn't remember, but she didn't want it. A big empty, sterile house she didn't even love. No, she'd find an apartment and move there as soon as possible.
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
An incessant beeping threatened to send Ella into a rage. Her head pounded and her throat ached. She must be sick... but what was that beeping? She tried to shift, to move, but her body ached too much. Something pulled at the inside of her elbow. Struggling to force her eyes open, the light in the room making it nearly impossible. Finally, an eye peeped open. She forced it to stay open and look around. The other eye followed suit soon enough. She was in a stark white room with bright, blue tinged lights over head. She began to panic as she realized it was a hospital. She was in a hospital bed. She tried to sit up, but she couldn't. Everything hurt and she was so weak. She tried to swallow, but she realized a tube was shoved down her throat. A strangled sound came out of her. The door opened and a couple of nurses came in. They rushed to her and assured she was in good hands. They removed the tube from her throat and gave her water. Her head swam, but she pushed through to take some wa
Ella made the call to the law school accepting their offer. She guessed they might have known this was coming, but they didn't let on. She'd start school in three weeks. She hoped she'd be healed up enough that no one would ask questions. When the time came she could easily hide the bruises that were left with makeup and a scarf. She eagerly dressed herself, did her makeup and left the house. She wanted to be early enough that she could map out her classes before school started. She didn't want to risk being late. The campus was a beautiful historical set of buildings. Once used as a hospital, now a law school. It was made of brick and stone in a Gothic revival fashion. Stone archways, tall sectioned windows and elaborate corbels graced the buildings. Ella walked through the halls, her excitement mounting. Her first classes were prerequisites. She would have no problem with those. She couldn't wait to get into the meat of her law studies though. Her life fell into a routine of scho
“I'm done,” she said firmly. Trying to keep from screaming at him. “You can't be done,” Nathaniel spit back at her. “You think that law school will still want you when they find out you cheated and left me? Do you think they want you without my name?”Ella grabbed the latest newspaper and slapped it onto the table. Front page was a picture of Nathaniel kissing Vera with his hand under her shirt. The words “Trouble in the Woods paradise?” were written under the image. “They won't believe I was the one that cheated.” She flipped to the article about the picture that listed her accomplishments and mentioned her volunteer work while absolutely trashing Nathaniel's character.He looked at it for a moment before swiping it off the table. “There will be more of these, except they'll destroy you next.” “They can try. There's no dirt on me to find. You though? You and your mistress? That's going to be a field day.”Nathaniel slammed his fist down onto the table. “You will remain living here