AVA’S POV “I want a divorce.” My hands are shaking badly as I stare at the papers that my husband has just handed to me, after saying those dreaded words. Nothing could have prepared me for this … not even the fact that it is and has always been glaringly obvious that my husband is not as in love with me as I am with him. “I booked a dinner to celebrate your birthday … Your mom and sister are going to be there,” I tell him in a voice that feels like it belongs to a stranger. Maybe if I ignore those horrible words, that he just uttered, they will turn out to be a figment of my imagination. “I have to get back to the office, unfortunately. I have a very important deal to seal, so I can't come. You can still go and have dinner with my mom and Amanda. Do sign the papers and leave them on my desk. This is for the best. You’ll be well compensated.” Derek says and leaves the room abruptly, not giving me a chance to ask questions. I sink into the chair that’s nearest to me, my whole body
How can I not know the face of the woman who, as my sister-in-law has told me too many times to count, is Derek’s first and true love?Jealousy, as I have never known it before, grips me, and I feel my heart constrict as I watch the two of them laughing at something that she had said.“Oh … my God! That lying, heartless, evil, cheating bastard!” I say under my breath with blurry eyes, my chest tightening even further until it feels like I can't breathe. Finally, Derek’s strange behavior all makes sense. His ex is back after all these years and he wants to discard me like a pair of old shoes because of her. The chemistry between the two of them is as clear as day, and as I watch them, I realize that in all the years that we have been married, he has never laughed so heartily at something I said.“Oh, please! Don’t act so surprised. Did you think a handsome and rich dude like my brother was going to remain with someone like you for the rest of his life? It was only a matter of time.”
“Hello … I’m sorry I didn’t get a chance to introduce myself to you properly. I’m Denise, and I’m a family friend of the Turners. It’s nice to officially meet Derek’s wife. I must say that he did really well for himself. You’re a very beautiful woman.” The woman, Denise says, taking me aback. She sounds nicer than I expect.“Oh, um, well, thanks.”“It’s the truth, but you’re welcome. That aside, I have a feeling that you and I are going to be such good friends.”“Unfortunately, I’m afraid that is not going to happen. Derek served me divorce papers this evening and is hell-bent on me signing them, so I’m going to be gone soon enough.” I divulge, then immediately wish I hadn't told her that.What am I doing confiding in a total stranger about the fact that Derek wants a divorce? At my words, Denise looks shell-shocked. In the next moment though, what suspiciously looks like happiness fleets across her face for a split second, but then, it is gone as soon as it appears, leaving me to wo
Determined not to embarrass myself by losing my composure, I turn away from him and walk back to my table, my legs unsteady and my eyes swollen from unshed tears. I notice that Denise is now seated with two other men and a woman, who are all dressed in formal wear. They must be the other clients that he had talked about. Okay, so maybe he was telling the truth about the business meeting, but I still have a strong hunch that he and Denise have something going on. I can see it in the way they can't stop looking at or smiling at each other and in their general body language too.I decide to stop torturing myself and ignore them for the rest of the evening. There is no rest for me, however, because as soon as I sit down, Amanda and her mother start what they do best … which is antagonizing me in a bid to provoke and get a reaction out of me. “Barren, ugly bitch! I don’t know what my brother ever saw in you.” Amanda taunts me after several minutes have passed since I returned to th
Buzz … I receive a message on my phone. I wonder if it is going to be Derek who is checking up on me. After all, I left the restaurant crying and in shock.I dive for the phone, hoping that he has sent a reasonable explanation for what I saw. One glance at the phone screen and I see that the message is indeed from him. However, any hope that I had that he is going to explain himself dies a quick death the minute I scan the contents of the message. It reads,"Denise is pregnant. She is about to give birth to an heir for me. Our child needs a family. Sign the divorce agreement by tomorrow." A new message from Derek's phone number.If I had thought that nothing could hurt me anymore after the series of events that I have faced this day, I thought wrong. This new unwanted piece of information hits me like a ton of brick.Bile rises in my throat and I rush straight into the bathroom just in time to throw up the contents of my stomach until there's nothing left in it, at which point I beg
DEREK’S POV My entire body hurts like hell, and my head is pounding like there are a million troops in it, but I do not go home. Instead, I head straight to the office, dressed in the shirt and trousers that I wore to dinner last night, although I do not wear the suit.I don’t want to have to deal with Ava and the accusation that would no doubt be in her eyes once she sees me. Last night was quite chaotic, but I’m not ready to explain anything to anyone just yet.“Sir, your wife, um … Mrs Turner, erm, Miss Ava, left these for you.” My secretary informs me when I get back to the office, handing me the divorce papers that I gave to Ava the previous night.To my utter surprise, she has signed them. Knowing Ava, I had thought that this would be a prolonged mess and that she would refuse to sign the papers and continue to declare her love for me. “Hmm. What is that woman playing at now?” I wonder aloud.“Sir, she also refused to accept this. She said she doesn’t need it.” My secretary say
FIVE YEARS LATER Ava’s POV It’s been five whole years since I last stepped foot in this city, and in the span of that time, a whole lot has changed in my life … for the better. It took a lot of time and work, but I got over Derek and his betrayal and now, I’m living my best life. Whereas five years ago, I was a dumb woman who worshipped the ground on which her husband walked, while the said husband despised her existence, now I'm a very famous screenwriter and producer who is her own boss, as well as the boss of many other people. Not only that but whereas I left with nothing except my clothes five years ago, this time around, I’m back with a whole human being, in the person of my four-year-old daughter. Yes, not long after I left Derek, I found out that I was pregnant with his child and even though I was heartbroken back then, I knew immediately that I wanted to keep the baby. This decision turned out to be the best decision of my life because I can't even imagine my lif
DEREK’S POVMy life is a living hell. There is no other way to put it, and I have only myself to blame for it. I dread going home from work every day, but I have no choice other than to do it. There’s no way I’m going to be kept from my own home.My son is the only ray of sunshine in my life, but then, even the joy he brings into my life is dampened by seeing him suffer so much day in, day out.Today, as I step into the house, the whole house is silent, which means that Denise probably took our son, Barry out of the house to spend some time with him, which would be a good thing because she neglects the boy way too much.When I get into the kitchen though, I see that I’m wrong. Barry is seated on the floor of the kitchen, with a huge tub of ice cream in front of him, and he’s stuffing his face with the ice cream.He smiles widely when he sees me, and I return the smile, but inwardly, my heart is aching. Barry’s whole body and the floor around him are stained with ice cream and he is cl