Billionaire’s Regret: Chasing His Famous Ex-wife

“Jacob, what’s in the file?” Amelia’s face was etched with concern as her eyes darted from the file to her husband’s face repeatedly. “Are you not going to speak to me?” Jacob’s lips pressed into a thin line as he undressed the suit he wore from work and hung them in the closet, his eyes avoiding the pleading gaze of his wife. “Jacob, you have been behaving very strangely in the past weeks. Even if I did something wrong, at least you should be able to let me know and I will change,” Amelia pleaded, her voice raw as she fought the tears that were about to streak down her cheeks. “Is there something you want me to stop doing? I don't know, Jacob. I’m confused and you aren't helping.” Jacob’s body movements were devoid of emotions as he eventually sat on the frame of the bed and pulled off his shoes, throwing them carelessly. Amelia tried to move closer but his feet shuffled on the floor and he detached from her. He wasn't having any of Amelia’s tears which all seemed like crocodile tears to him. Amelia held the file in her hands wondering what was contained inside of it. Her mind was giving her terrible ideas but she discarded them out of fear. She preferred to hear from her husband’s mouth instead of communicating through some paper document. Amelia grasped at her husband’s shoulder gently but Jacob nudged away from her and left her side, returning to the closet with his gaze kept straight ahead before he finally spoke. “Just open the file. We don’t have to drag this out for long. I am choosing to give you a file because it is something you have to sign today.” Amelia’s eyebrow raised in terror as her heart hammered in her chest. She struggled to contain the overwhelming fear that surged through her veins as she tore the tape that was used to seal the file. Jacob couldn't even stand to be with her at that moment as he stormed off to the shower. Amelia pulled away the document from the file and the first thing she saw written boldly as the title of the document was ‘divorce agreement’. Her lips quivered with the force of her emotion as the tears she had been struggling to hold back fell like streams down her cheeks. Her shoulders shook with the force of her tears. She hadn’t realized that she had been in tears for almost five minutes until Jacob came out of the shower, his facial expression remaining impassive. “Jacob, is this how you are going to pay me for the years I have sacrificed for you? I am always treated like trash by your parents just because don't like me,” Amelia’s breath came in short ragged gasp as she sobbed. “They send subtle threats to me almost every week and yet I believed that if I could bring you to the reality that you wouldn’t let me go, everything could change. Are you telling me that I was a fool to have believed that?” Jacob resisted the urge to respond to his wife’s tears as he turned his back on her pain before speaking. “Our marriage contract has ended anyway. I don't get why you are acting as if you never knew that our marriage was only temporary. I only married you to fulfil my grandmother’s wishes, nothing more, and now that she is dead, it's the perfect time for us to part ways.” Amelia’s lips quivered and her voice caught in her throat as she tried to speak. She struggled to make sense of the harsh words that Jacob told her. She thought that she had done enough to earn a permanent stake in his life. She thought that there was nothing that could separate them after three years of marriage. She was wrong after all. Jacob tried to sound convincing, his posture erect and unyielding as he cleaned off the little drops of water on his legs from his time at the shower. “Listen to me, Amelia. It's high time that you also stopped pretending that you loved me.” Amelia’s eyes bulged with surprise that exposed how reddened her eyes had gotten from tears. “What?! Is that what you really think? Do you really think I am pretending after three years? Why would you even say that?” Jacob flared his nostrils with the weight of his rigidity. “You signed the marriage contract for three years because you wanted to get the money bag and leave, didn't you?” Jacob’s tone was tinged with a hint of sarcasm and ridicule. “Tell me, why then were you so glad about signing the marriage contract at that time knowing fully well that it wasn't going to last. You would have just requested to make it permanent these three years but you didn't. Now that you realize that you haven't gotten the bag to your satisfaction, you don’t want to sign the divorce. Too bad, Amelia. Too bad!” Amelia’s eyes were haunted and shadowed by the insults that pierced through her heart and shook her ribcage. “To think that you have harbored these thoughts all these years. Am I so useless to myself that I would be with you because of your money? I know what I can do for myself, Jacob. It’s only because of my sacrifice for you that I haven't started many projects that I had in mind.” “Well, you are free now. That’s exactly what I am saying. Just leave and start whatever project you always had in mind. I am done with you, Amelia,” Jacob’s expression was stony and filled with subtle accusations. “After all, you know that my parents and my grandmother who died two weeks ago were always at loggerheads just because of my marriage to you. Now that she is dead, I can't afford to have the only parents I have left to be unhappy with me just because of you. The truth is you are not worth it. I can’t tell you how long I have waited until this useless marriage contract ended.” Amelia had heard enough. She thought she could convince Jacob but it seemed that he had his mind made up. There was nothing left that would satisfy him about her. She exchanged her gaze repeatedly between the signature spot on the paper and Jacob, her hands quivering as she was caught between two worlds. While her eyes were covered with tears, she heard the sound of a pen drop right on top of the paper. Jacob had so accurately thrown a pen towards her. “I’ve hired someone who would help with your pieces of luggage, Amelia. Just sign the damn document and be on your way.”