CHAPTER ONE

Aurora’s pov

“Zayne, I want a divorce.”

My eyes were stung with tears as those words slipped past my trembling lips across to my husband who wore a nonchalant and distant expression as he replied, “Fine, let's end this sham of a marriage!”

I felt my heart drop, how did we get here?

I met Zayne at a freshman party in college.

That night I was standing awkwardly with a half field plastic cup blending into the background like a wallflower when he approached me.

He was undoubtedly one of the hottest guys in my department, talking to me–a mere nobody so I couldn't help it falling for him, and when he got down on one knee to propose to me on our graduation with a bouquet of white roses in hand I throw my arms around his neck and yelled, “Yes!”

His eagerness to meet my family was the only thing that allowed me to voluntarily introduce him to my parents and my younger sister Amy.

So far he had only met my grandmother, and he was pleased to meet the rest of my family.

His enthusiasm was not one-sided at all.

Especially with my sister, Amy.

“Zayne, you're so good looking! Don't lie, you asked my sister out because of a bet right?” she had asked him with her arms slithering across his shoulder.

“Amy!” I yelled sternly.

As always my parents came to her rescue.

“Aurora, it was just a joke. No need to be so uptight!” My mother snapped.

“Indeed, you're always so sensitive,” said my father.

Amy went on to tell him embarrassing stories from my childhood, grinning from ear to ear and Zayne laughed until he was gasping for breath, while I was bathed in humiliation.

When we drove back to our shared apartment that night, I was quiet and reserved, he didn't seem to notice until we were in bed and he was aching for sex.

He finally noticed I was giving him the cold shoulder and grumpily asked me what the problem was.

“You were being too cozy with my sister, and did you have to laugh at every stupid story she told?”

His eyebrows drew closer together, “I thought you wanted me to get along with your family, why are you complaining now?”

My mind flashed with a sore image of my sister ‘playfully’ sitting on his lap, I had nearly imploded but Zayne didn't mind.

“Both of you went too far,”

He held me in his gaze for a moment, then grabbed his pillow and stormed out of the room stopping at the door before he said: “I didn't know you were so jealous and petty,” he wrapped his arm tighter around the pillow, “I'll be crashing on the couch tonight,”

The next morning, I was crawling back to him with an apology. He could easily get another girlfriend with a flick of his fingers, but I doubted that any man would ever look my way again.

We got married, but the honeymoon phase passed quickly when financial troubles came knocking at the door.

Zayne didn't have a stable job, so most of the bills fell on my shoulders. I did every part-time job that came my way to save us from being swallowed up by student loan debt.

After some years of struggle, we were able to get a house with a mortgage. I drove a second hand, beaten down Toyota, while I bought my husband a brand new Hyundai Venue. That was the balance of our marriage.

While I lived on scraps, Zayne lived on the lap of luxury . But I could never stay upset with him, despite all the years that had passed I was still that awkward freshman smittened by the popular guy.

I sighed in the present, parking my scooter and grabbing the last pizza for the night as I headed into the apartment building in front of me.

Grandmother had made me promise I'd cut on my work hours.

“It's not safe for a woman to be out so late in the night, my dear.”

After escaping a close encounter with a pervert while working late as a designated driver, I decided to finally heed that advice.

My husband didn't know I would be coming home earlier, so I planned to surprise him. All I had to do was deliver the pizza and I would be on my way.

The smile of my face along with my entire world came crashing down as I pressed the doorbell of the customer’s apartment and the door was flung open.

Standing in front of me was the love of my life, in nothing but his boxers.

His blond hair was tousled and sweat shone on his rippling lean muscles, everything about him screamed that he'd just been in bed with someone.

Before I could recover from that shock another one came with the force of a sledgehammer.

My sister, Amy came to the door wearing a designer shirt I had gifted him recently.

That and nothing else.

The pizza box slipped from my hand and fell to the floor with a thud.

Zayne snapped at me; “Ugh! Aurora, what's wrong with you?!”

I was shaken by how he roared at me.

“What is Amy going to eat now?!”

A thousand and one emotions spiral in my mind each colliding with each other until one comes out dominant.

“Is that the problem here? How could you do this to me, Zayne?! and with my own sister!”

“Can you stop yelling like a lunatic?” He blurted out and I was too stunned to speak. His eyes feel on my younger sister, swelling with a tenderness I hadn't seen in years.

“Amy, go inside and order another pizza. I'll take care of this,”

“Okay, but I want extra cheese this time,”

“Get anything you want, sweetheart,”

He said before embracing his lips with hers, I couldn't believe my eyes, they really had no shame.

Zayne unlocked the door behind him, but I had nothing left to say to him except those next words, “Zayne, I want a divorce.”