My Ex or My Next

Diana Johnson looked around the house she spent the last five years one last time. This was the house that her ex-husband, Jack, purchased for both of them at the beginning of their marriage. This was the house that held both good and bad memories. This was also the house that he gave her in the divorce settlement, but Diana couldn't live inside it for one more day. It meant nothing without Jack. He was her college sweetheart and her first and only love. Diana thought back to where it all went wrong. Jack and Diana met in their second year of college. They started out as study partners, because one was good in a subject area that the other was weak in. They remained friends until their third year, when Jack decided he wanted more from her. She gladly agreed because she had a huge crush on Jack from the moment she laid her eyes on him. Her parents never liked him, her mother in particular, because she said that he made her rebellious. Her father, on the other hand, approved of him, because he was from money and marrying his daughter would bring in more business for him. As soon as they graduated from college, Jack asked Diana's father for her hand in marriage, and without a second thought, he agreed. This was what he wanted all along. It didn't matter if his daughter didn't want to get married. But she did. When he asked her, she said yes before he could even finish the question. They got married a few months later, upon her greedy father's request. Her mother wasn't pleased with the idea of her daughter getting married so young, but she changed her mind when she saw how happy Diana was. She was almost 23 years old. Old enough to make her own decisions and mistakes. They got married and Jack bought them a house with the help of his parents, and the money he had been saving since he started doing the part-time job in his father's company. He suggested that Diana should be a housewife in order to take care of the house and she didn't protest. He gave her a monthly allowance, so she could cater to her needs. She opened a different account and transferred most of the money he gave her into it. This was her mother's idea. She thought her mother wanted her marriage to fail, but changed her mind when she explained that it was good to have savings for a rainy day. Diana had everything she could ever want. She was living the dream, or so she thought. Life was going well for the both of them until the third year of their marriage. Jack started coming home later than usual and as time progressed, it got worse. She would prepare his dinner and he would come home and not eat it. Diana would dress up in lingerie and he would walk right past her as if she was invisible. It was starting to get to her because she needed love and attention from her husband. Everything became clear when she was doing laundry and saw red lipstick stains on his shirt collar, as well as a phone number in his pocket. These were obvious signs that he was cheating, but Diana was in denial. She didn't want to believe that Jack would ever cheat on her. That would mean that the fairytale life she was living all along was a lie and she couldn't have that. She couldn't lose Jack. He was her everything. Everything was put into perspective one night when Jack called her and told her that he was working late. She decided she would bring dinner to the office. He would be too tired to go out with all the work he says he has to do. She cooked his favorite, shrimp Alfredo, and brought it to his office. Everyone knew who she was, so she didn't have to go through a lot of procedures for them to let her enter her husband's workspace. What she thought was weird though, was everyone giving her pitiful stares. It was only when she walked past his assistant's desk was she stopped. His assistant tried to get her to stop, but she thought that was suspicious, so she barged into Jack's office. Jack had his back facing the door, his pants down at his ankles, with his secretary bent over on his desk. She could tell it was her. He was so lost in their intimate activities, that he didn't even hear the door open. How could he do this to her? She wanted to break down and cry, but decided not to give this b*tch any satisfaction. She dropped the lunch box with his food and walked over to both of them silently. She pushed Jack aside, and grabbed his secretary, Brenda. She beat the sh*t out of her. Not because she was the one that jack cheated on her with, but because she knew that they were married, but still helped him cheat. She would deal with Jack's a*s later. "How long has this been going on?" Diana asked. "Long enough for him to know that he wants to be with me." Brenda replied. "How long?" Diana shouted at Jack. "A little over a year." Diana felt her heart break. So she was not paranoid. "I'm going to make this easy for you. It's over between us. I want a divorce." Diana told Jack. "Please don't do this. I can change." Jack begged, but Brenda convinced him not to do so. After all, this was their opportunity to be together. "Let her go. She'll come running back when it's too late. Besides, she has no money nor anywhere to go. She has never worked. Remember." Brenda said. She now understood that Jack told Brenda everything about their marriage. She was grateful that she listened to her mother and stashed some money in a different account. "Just stay away from the house. I'm sure you could shack up with Brenda. That's what you wanted anyway. I'll send you the divorce papers by the end of the week. Sign them." That was how the process started, that brought her to where she is right now. She got the last of her belongings loaded into the moving truck. She didn't really have a plan, but she had enough money to go anywhere her mind told her to. Wherever it was, she would start off fresh and a new woman. To new beginnings.