Tessa’s Revenge

DIVORCE LETTER

Tessa

Eight hours earlier

“But you can talk to him and amend things right?” Robert said as I took the puff of my cigar. Robert is the only friend I have right now, or I can consider a friend. A college friend who wanted me as his lady but I fell for Williams instead, we aren’t past lovers just friends.

“And why would I do that? I don't have anything to attach myself to him.” I gulped the second martini bottle as I raised my legs and crossed them on his neat table. Robert might be single but he does have a neat home. I placed the cigar and sighed while my arms rested at the back of my head.

“You are drunk Tessa but what do you want to do ?” He took away the glass from my lips and carefully cleans off the excess from my lips.

“Get a grip and don’t drool.” He said to me and I laughed, “I should say the same. Come on, we are leaving. I can’t stay here in this country. I am no longer married. I need to chase my dreams and forget them.”

I bit my lips as I said those words, he was on his way to the kitchen when he paused. Robert knew me more than anyone, I should be crying on the floor and eating some ice cream or I should have told my mother in law that her son didn’t want a child yet.

I could have sent my best friend out of my home but instead I ran away.

“You are still married, Tessa. He is still your husband, and you can talk this out.” He tried so hard to be a therapist but it doesn’t suit him.

“I want to leave New York and move to Seoul. I have always wanted to live there-” I sniffed as I wiped the tears off my right eye, he didn’t see that.

“You want to leave? How does that help? Why would you do that! Tessa, this hurts but you can’t just leave! You have to fight this.” He sighed as he spoke, I could see him holding himself back from turning William into his punching bag, his eyes dimmed and I felt his pain.

I gulped as I stood up. “You can come with me, I will book the tickets, I am sleeping in the guest room, we leave at six. If you aren’t ready, I will leave regardless, you should be lucky I am not in a bar.”

I faked a smile as I walked to the guest room, my jacket was on my shoulder, my heels were scattered on the floor, my traveling bag and purse were neatly arranged, I tried to hold back tears as I entered the room.

I saw a music box in the room and it had a playlist, I checked the first song and it was “I am not the only one” by Sam Smith

He prepared the room from the moment I called him and explained. The room had a scented candle and dimmed lights, a note by the table. I smiled as I took off the dress.

I went into the bathtub, I saw rose petals and another note.

“you will get through this, he is just a jerk.” I sniffed.

Tears streamed uncontrollably down my face, each drop a testament to the profound agony tearing through my heart. My trembling fingers traced the cold, unforgiving porcelain of the bathtub's edge, a stark reminder of the betrayal that had crushed me. I may have left him as a first step, but I didn’t know what I would do. Seoul is miles and miles away, punishing him, while aching is no way to be fine.

I rested my back and clutched my legs to my upper body, As the relentless sobs wracked my body, I couldn't escape the tormenting images that filled my mind – images of him and my supposed best friend, entangled in a web of deceit and betrayal. The very thought that they had conspired together, sharing whispered secrets and stolen moments, made my chest ache with a pain I had never known.

I could still remember her expression, she watched me go crazy and didn’t defend herself , her cold and heartless ignorance that had shattered my world on what was supposed to be my anniversary day. The memory of that moment seared into my soul, etching a scar deeper than any physical wound. It was a knife through my heart, a betrayal that felt like a merciless assault on my very essence.

The water from the tap, once a soothing comfort, now felt like liquid salt, stinging my raw, exposed emotions.

In that moment, as I sat alone in the bathroom, I wasn't just shedding tears; I was shedding the innocence of trust, the warmth of love, and the security of friendship. My world had crumbled into a chaotic abyss of betrayal, and the tears that flowed were an inexhaustible river of grief, sorrow, and shattered dreams.

I rubbed my skin as I craved so hard for physical touch, from anyone. I needed a shoulder to cry on, a hill to yell on and comfort. I tried to muffle my tears and not wail but it was effortless, I hope he doesn’t hear, I slammed my legs into the water and I let out a scream, I released a cry of anguish and humiliation. I needed to be released of this unbearable pain.

I could walk out and not show any emotion but this scarred my soul.

The next day on the plane.

"Robert's voice trembled as he spoke, his eyes fixed on the airplane window. 'Let's not check the news for now, okay?' His insistence hung heavily in the air. We were already on the plane, soaring above the clouds. There was no way I could jump out and return to my husband, or rather, my ex-husband.

I felt my heart racing. 'Why, Robert?' I whispered, my tone edged with frustration. 'Don't make me cause a scene. Hand over the phone right now.' My eyes bore into him, the dim cabin lights casting eerie shadows on his worried face. It was business class, after all – I could easily make a scene.

Reluctantly, he handed me the phone, exhaling a sigh of defeat. As I unlocked it and checked my messages, my heart sank at the sight of an email with a subject that sent shivers down my spine: 'DIVORCE LETTER.' My hands trembled as I tapped to open it.

It was the subject of the mail, I saw the attachment and something else, he was getting married.