3: Tip of the Iceberg

The room fell into silence after what Margot said. The latter raised her glass with a smile, urging everyone to make a toast.

“Here’s for the end of my marriage of three years. Cheers!” she exclaimed and gulped down her wine.

“Fantastic,” Margot mumbled as she savored the rich flavor of the beverage with her eyes closed. When she opened her eyes again, everyone looked at her with a frown on their faces.

“What?” Margot played the game and joined in, wearing an innocent look on her seraphic-like face. “Why so quiet? Let’s eat. The food will get cold,” she added before picking up her fork to try the salad in front of her.

“Margot, what are you thinking? This is not a funny joke,” Ryan said, looking solemnly at his daughter.

“That’s how I felt when you said you’d marry Linda when I was five,” Margot mumbled. “You married her anyway. Now, guess what I’ll do next.” She turned to her husband and smiled. “I’m going to divorce Harry whether you like it or not,” she continued.

“Woah! That’s cool, Margot!”

Margot turned to Harry’s sister, Rosaline, who clapped her hands to show her support.

“I would have liked you from the start if you were like this,” Rosaline commented and laughed. She raised her glass toward Margot and drank until her mother pinched her side. “Aw! What, Mom? Margot must have a reason she wanted to divorce your son,” she groaned.

“Well, you have a point.” Emma turned to her son and asked, “Why is this happening, Harry? Did you do something?”

Harry turned to his mother helplessly. “I… I have no idea,” he said, looking back at his wife, who was enjoying her food as if she didn’t mention divorce a few moments ago.

“Honey, what’s going on? Do you have any problem with me? We should talk about this first before you decide that,” he told her, holding back his temper. With his father-in-law aka his boss around, Harry knew better than anyone that he should be careful of what he’d say.

“You’re saying you have no idea why I’m doing this?” Margot’s bitter tone almost froze the air in the room. She was calm on the outside, but the madness in her eyes was burning even more.

“Besides, I don’t think I have to explain why I no longer want to have you in my life. I’ve done my part all this time, and you betrayed me. Do you not feel ashamed asking me for what you’ve done wrong just so you can play the victim in front of our family?” Margot scoffed and wiped the sides of her mouth.

She stood up from her seat and grabbed her pouch. Margot glanced briefly toward Linda and scoffed. “I lost my appetite, so I’m leaving first,” she announced.

“Harry, let’s talk again at home. I’ll give you all the time you need to admit your wrongdoings, then I’ll think about the divorce again,” she added before walking behind her father’s seat to whisper. “Dad, jokes are sometimes half-meant.”

Ryan couldn’t still understand why his darling daughter suddenly acted that way. “Margot, we’re not done talking. You should let us hear the reason you wanted a divorce in the first place!”

Margot shook her head and shrugged. “I can’t tonight, Dad. Maybe next time.” She turned her heels away from the table and waved the back of her hand. “Enjoy the food,” Margot said before exiting the function room.

A loud crash was heard as soon as Margot left. Ryan Vanders slammed the table and broke a few plates and glasses.

“What is the meaning of this, Harry Walton?” His eyes pierced through his son-in-law, the man his daughter fell in love with. He was against Harry in the first place, but Margot meant so much to him, so he ended up letting her have Harry, whom she claimed to be her soulmate. Mr. Vanders knew that Margot wouldn’t say such a thing if the reason behind it was a simple misunderstanding.

“I don’t know, Sir. We were fine before coming here. I have no idea why she suddenly wants to divorce,” Harry responded, worried. He didn’t like the idea of divorcing his wife, but most importantly, he didn’t want to get on his father-in-law’s wrong side.

“I don’t care what you do, but make sure you keep this marriage intact. It’s important to save face for the company’s sake. Everyone knows you’re my son-in-law, thus you’re enjoying the benefits of it. What do you think those people would do if they heard that my daughter is leaving you? You’re smart, so use that brain of yours to fix this mess,” Mr. Vanders ordered.

“It’s been three years since you married Margot. You should know by now how to pacify her,” he added, before leaving his seat.

“Yes, sir.” Harry stood up and bowed to his father-in-law. He clenched his fists as he waited for him to say anything else.

“Linda, we’re going,” Mr. Vanders told his wife and headed for the door, leaving the Waltons.

Meanwhile, Margot hurriedly left the door to hide in a corner when she realized her father was leaving. She pursed her lips in silence as she watched her dad leave the room with Linda following behind him. She thought he would take her side and scold Harry, but after listening to their conversation from the door, Margot realized she had nobody on her side but herself.

“This is ridiculous,” Margot muttered, ignoring the metallic taste of blood in her mouth. She pursed her lip harder until it bled, but the pain was nothing compared to how she felt inside.

Fishing her phone from her pouch, Margot called her friend Judy. She was the last person she could turn to and while waiting for her to pick up, Margot wished Judy wasn’t like the others.

“Hey! Look who’s this? Wanna have some beer?” Judy asked almost immediately.

Margot couldn’t help but smile while tearing up. Judy is her complete opposite, but they get along just fine. “Sure. Where?”

There was a brief silence from the other side of the line, making Margot frown.

“I’m serious. Text me the address,” she said, sounding a little annoyed by Judy’s sudden quietness.

“Hold on a sec,” Judy said and hung up.

A few seconds later, Margot’s phone rang. It was Judy.

“Hey, Mag. Someone was using your phone earlier and said she wants to join me with beer,” Judy mumbled and laughed. “She must be kidding!”

“I’m not,” Margot sobbed.

“Whoa! Wait! Okay, I’ll send you the bar’s address,” Judy replied and sighed. “I can’t believe the great Margot Vanders are going to drink beer tonight! Who made you cry, Mag?”

“Oh, please. It’s nothing,” Margot mumbled. “See you in a jiffy,” she added before ending the call.

There was no way she would go home, knowing Harry would start asking her questions. Margot wanted to take a breather and the only solution she had in mind was to be away from him, even for a while, to think. The air suddenly felt suffocating with Harry around.

“Just wait, honey. I’ll certainly give you a piece of my mind when I’m back,” she whispered, planning how to confront her cheating husband. And the first step would be—to get drunk.

She needed a perfect excuse to hit him while yelling he deserved it without talking about how she found out his infidelity… After all, Margot’s guts told her it wasn’t the first time he did it.

… And she wasn’t so kind anymore to let it go so easily.