After Five Years Of Marriage

Chapter 7

Dylan smiled after his phone call with Rosie ended. He resumed his office work for the rest of the day as he waited for 5 p.m., when he would close from work.

----

Meanwhile, Rosie was in her house when she received a phone call from her boyfriend, Frederick.

“Hello, babe…” Frederick said over the phone.

“Hi, sweetheart,” Rosie replied, as she knew that Frederick was aware of her relationship with Dylan and that she was cheating on him with a married man.

She had explained to Frederick that she was doing all that for him and to help him get the money he needed to establish himself through Dylan.

“Have you gotten the money from him, babe?” Frederick impatiently asked Rosie.

She replied, “No, babe. You know that it will take some time, as I don’t want Dylan to suspect anything between us or realise that I don’t love him.”

“Hmm, but he’s sleeping with you. What if he disturbs my baby, who is growing in your womb? Can’t you just ask him for the money straightforwardly, or tell him to lend you the money instead and promise to give it back later?” Frederick asked in a mean voice, as he needed the money for a new business project he was working on.

Rosie replied, “No, Fred. Dylan would know, and I promise you, I’m always careful with him.”

“Hmm. I’m not happy about this, babe. Just get the money from him quickly and do away with him too, unless you want us to break up so that you can continue sleeping with him in your home. Don’t forget that I have the s*x videos too. So, it’s better that you take action quickly and ask him for the money first, or else I will threaten him myself with the s*x tapes of you both.”

Rosie gulped and told Frederick, “Don't worry, babe. I will see what I can do to get the money from him quickly.”

“Better,” Frederick replied, and the phone call ended.

Rosie sighed as she stared silently at her phone screen, wondering how she would get the huge amount of money Frederick was requesting from her.

“Wouldn’t Dylan suspect me?” Rosie wondered.

---

Meanwhile, Jessica was at home after the sun had gone down. She waited for Dylan to arrive home while sitting in the living room and watching television.

She picked up her telephone and called Dylan’s phone to know if he was coming home and what she should prepare for him, as it was after 4 p.m.

Jessica knew that Dylan would soon close from work, as he usually closed by 5 p.m. and sometimes 6 p.m. So, she called him to know what she should prepare for him.

“Hello, babe,” Jessica spoke first in relief as soon as Dylan picked up her call.

“What is it, Jessica? Why are you calling me now?” his deep, cold voice asked her.

Jessica gulped hard, as she had not expected Dylan to sound so cold and distant toward her again over the phone. She asked him, “What would you like me to prepare for you, Dylan, when you’re coming home?”

Jessica was eager to hear her husband’s response, but the phone call went silent for a while.

After a moment, Dylan replied, “I didn’t ask you to prepare any food for me, Jessica. And what about the divorce paper I gave you yesterday?”

“Dylan…” Jessica tried to speak, as she did not know what to say to him.

She heard him respond, “Don’t bother signing them again, as I will prepare another copy. That reminds me, I won’t be coming home tonight, as I have somewhere important to be. So, don’t bother preparing dinner for me. How about Caleb and Nina? Are they there with you, or are they sleeping?”

Jessica became teary-eyed and asked Dylan immediately, “Who is the new woman in your life, Dylan? Last night, you came home drunk with a red lipstick mark on your lips, and today, you’re telling me that you won’t be at home at all. Why, Dylan?”

Jessica was crying, and Dylan sighed, before replying, “Just get ready for the divorce papers, as there are some errors in the copy you have. The person I asked to prepare them forgot to add how much of our shares we would both receive while staying apart from each other.”

“Don’t tell me about divorce, Dylan. Remember that when I agreed to marry you, I told you that I didn’t want my marriage to crash and that I would do everything to make you happy. Why are you beginning to treat me this way? Why are you cheating on me? What has your new woman done for you that I haven’t done? You complained that I’m fat, but how is it my fault? It’s not in my genes to become fat; it’s because of the situation you put me in when you made me become a full-time housewife. Yet, after all I did for you, you still want to divorce me, Dylan. How could you?”

Jessica cried even harder as hot tears flooded her eyes and ran down her cheeks, rendering Dylan speechless. He could not answer her questions, as her words struck a pang in his heart.

“Answer me, Dylan. What did I ever do wrong to offend you? I love you very much. I did everything to make you happy, yet you chose to be unhappy by cheating on me?”

“Enough, Jessica! That’s enough! I appreciate all that you have done for me and are still doing by taking care of our kids, but I’m no longer interested in this marriage. So, it is best that you move on too,” Dylan replied in a cold, mean voice.

Jessica asked him hysterically, “Just like that? Hahaha.”

She laughed hysterically, as though she were going crazy, and Dylan became worried about her.

“It’s easy for you to say, Dylan, because you’re cheating on me and you really want to cheat. So, you see nothing wrong with all that you’ve just said to me. I could have accepted another man—not because I don’t see other handsome men who are better than you, but because I love you, Dylan, and because I wish you well and accepted you.

“I love you because I truly do, and not because I’m merely saying the words to you. I can’t cheat on you because I truly love you. But you chose to treat me this way after everything I did for you. Just know that I won’t accept the divorce. You can continue cheating on me if you want, but this is my matrimonial home, and I won’t leave it for another woman to occupy. Not in this life that we live and breathe, Dylan. So, forget about me divorcing you and come back home.”

“No, Jessica. Just get ready to sign the divorce papers tomorrow, as I said. Goodbye,” Dylan said, before ending the call.

Jessica stared silently at her phone screen, still finding it difficult to believe that her once-loving husband had turned into a stranger and saw nothing wrong with divorcing her.

Their two kids were fast asleep in their separate bedrooms, and Jessica remained alone in the living room, waiting for Dylan to return home.

She did not want to believe anything he had said to her over the phone, as she believed that he was only lying and would soon be on his way home.

A few minutes later, Jessica stood up from the living-room couch, tired and no longer interested in watching the movie. She switched off the television and went to the kitchen to prepare dinner for herself while waiting for Dylan to return home.

----

Meanwhile, after Dylan ended the phone call with Jessica, he called a restaurant and ordered two expensive takeaway meals that were well garnished to suit the owner’s taste and appetite.

Dylan waited for the meals to arrive at his office. Shortly after he finished placing the food order online, his office assistant, Bright Kingston, knocked and walked into his office.

Dylan stared at Bright, who had entered the room. He asked, “What do you want, Bright?”

“Sir, it’s about the new phone product launch this weekend. You’re yet to sign the launch date for the new products that are to be distributed to the market.”

Dylan glared at Bright, who did not understand what he had done wrong by reminding his boss about the new products that needed his signature.

It seemed that Dylan had completely forgotten that they had to launch the new phones and advertise them to create awareness among their customers about the importance of the new models and their differences from the old products.

Dylan knew that if he attended the launch ceremony for his new products, he would have to attend with Jessica by his side.

Now that he had told Jessica that he wanted to divorce her, would she still agree to appear beside him at the phone launch ceremony on Saturday? There were only two days left.

“Sir…” Bright tried to speak, as the launch party had already been scheduled, and many of their top partners and some celebrities in the state had been invited.

Bright could not understand why his boss was not responding enthusiastically, as he usually did whenever they wanted to launch a new product.

“No problem with that. I think the launch date is this weekend, right?” Dylan, asked, as he looked directly at Bright.

“Yes, boss. It’s this Saturday,” Bright replied.

“No problem. Get all the necessary arrangements ready, as I have to be somewhere now. Also, let me know about the new products being added to the market,” Dylan said as he stood up from his office seat to leave.

“Okay, boss,” Bright answered.

He was standing in the guest seat across from Dylan and saw that Dylan was already leaving his office.

Bright could not understand what had changed in his boss, as he had been working for Dylan for eight years, since Dylan first established his company.

No matter how Bright tried to think about Dylan’s marital problems with Jessica, he knew that Jessica was a good woman who hardly complained about anything. She was not a social-media person and hardly posted anything online. Like her two elder brothers, she did not usually post or comment on anything, despite having millions of followers.

Bright shook his head as he exited Dylan’s office, wondering where his boss was rushing to. 'Dylan would not be rushing home like that if he were going to see Jessica and their two children.'

Bright knew that Dylan had been behaving grumpily for the previous months and weeks, but all of a sudden, he looked very happy and was rushing home.

“Hmm,” Bright sighed as he shook his head and walked away. He was also a 30-year-old black man, and he murmured to himself, “Hmm, if that’s how marriage is, then it’s better that I remain single and tell Anita that I still need some time to think about settling down with her as a couple.”

Bright locked his office door and went home in his car.