The Divorce He Refused to Sign

04. Accident

Seraphine was woken by the increasing laughter coming from downstairs. It just wouldn't stop. She squinted her eyes, rubbing them gently as if she was scared of accidentally poking them. She removed the blanket covering her body and stood up, heading to the bathroom to shower before going downstairs. She paused when the voices became more familiar.

"I didn't do it."

"Of course, you did. I remember that you were so embarrassed that you didn't want to play the match anymore. The almighty Evan was slammed against the wall. That was your worst defeat ever. You didn't play the match again until you graduated high school." Chelsea replied.

Evan placed the salted fish into the frying pan, making it sizzle as soon as the fish made contact with the hot oil. They were chatting so casually and were so engrossed in it that they didn't notice Seraphine standing at the entrance of the kitchen, watching them talk like old lovers. She wasn't happy that she was the third wheel here.

"Since you know how embarrassing that day was for me, stop bringing it up again."

"Why should I? It's just so funny that...oh, Seraphine. I didn't see you standing there. Good morning." Evan immediately turned around. She was wearing jean shorts and a white off-shoulder crop top with a pair of sneakers.

"Are you going somewhere?" He asked her.

Seraphine was bitter. She was dressed up this way mainly to impress him, but he...she decided to let it go and just play along, even though she was unhappy with the situation

"I...uhm, I was woken up by your laughter. I didn't know we had a guest before." She said, trying to hide her unhappiness. Even went back to frying his fish.

"Ah, yes, she had nowhere else to go last night, so I brought her over when it was late." He explained. Chelsea, with a victorious smile, glanced at Seraphine, gloating over the scenario.

"I hope you aren't mad about it, Seraphine."

Seraphine shook her head slowly, "I am not the owner of the house. Why should I be mad about it?" She answered. Breakfast was ready.

“Thank you very much.” Sera appreciated her husband, who sat next to her. Her heart swelled at each of his gestures.

“Evan is so nice.” Chelsea suddenly spoke, whims playing with her spoon. Sera nodded.

“He cooks for me every day.” That was a lie, and it was so cold passing through her teeth.

“Oh, really? I didn't know that. I guess that's his nature. He used to do that for me. I taught him everything he needed to know about cooking, so you should be thanking me for making him such a wonderful man.” She boasted.

Sera grabbed the hem of her dress underneath the table as the words settled deep in her.

The fact that Evan didn't rebut her words further heightened the tension that she was feeling in her heart.

“But unfortunately, you couldn't keep him because you didn't take the lessons you claimed you taught him.” The words dropped faster than a bomb from Sera's mouth.

Chelsea was stunned and blinked for help.

“What do you mean by that?”

“Chelsea, if you're done eating, I'd like you to excuse us.”

Chelsea chuckled in disbelief, “Are you kidding me? Is that what you have to say to me after I've been insulted by your wife?”

“My assistant will drop you off. Kindly excuse us when you're done.”

Evan wasn't joking. This further infuriated Chelsea, who stood up and pushed her chair away,

“I can see how heartless you've become. You don't even care whether I live or die!” And then she stormed off.

Sera was happy at this sudden change of behavior.

“I apologize for that,” Evan said.

“It's fine. Thanks for interfering.”

Not only did that day become memorable for her, but Evan's behavior towards her changed.

He was super nice and was always checking up on her. Chelsea was nowhere to be found in her house and even at the company.

It was almost as if things were going back to the way they were before her arrival.

Then one morning, during dinner, Sera decided to speak up,

"Ah, right, I haven't been feeling too well for a while now, could you please accompany me to the hospital this evening?"

She had concluded that instead of breaking the news to him directly, she could have the doctor do it instead.

Evan paused, his mouth still chewing the remnant of his meal as he thought about her request, trying to fit it into his schedule for the day.

"Sure. I will be free. Just call me when you are about to leave." He answered, and Seraphine was excited.

"Thank you." She planned on revealing her pregnancy to him in this manner since her other methods of doing so didn't work.

….

While anxiously waiting for the evening to come, the rumour about Evan and Chelsea being a couple spread like wildfire.

Some were speculating that Chelsea was probably married to Evan, as a few pictures of them had also leaked to the internet.

With each post that Seraphine came across, it hurt her. When she couldn't bear it anymore, she put her phone down and went offline.

"I can't bear to watch things like this. It's just a rumor." She tried to discourage herself from thinking further about it.

James entered, carrying Evan's portfolio, but he was nowhere to be seen.

"Welcome. Where is Evan?"

"Ah, something important came up, so he needed to attend to it. He said I should inform you that he wouldn't be able to go with you to the hospital as he will be working late. It will be better to just go on your own."

Seraphine's heart sank. She blinked, unable to close her mouth.

She nodded subconsciously and sat down again while James excused himself.

He cancelled it… again!

He could have just called her, too. It wouldn't have hurt her much like this if he had just explained to her on the phone instead of passing through a third party. When it was almost time for her appointment, she left the house feeling sad and lonely.

On her way, she decided to call Evan even though she had nothing specific to say. The call was answered on the first ring.

"Hello, Evan..."

"This is Chelsea. Evan is currently tired and sleeping. When he wakes up, I will inform him that you called. What is it that you wanted to ask him?"

Seraphine ended the call as tears formed in her eyes and she started crying. She was hurt beyond anything else. She kept sniffing and sobbing on her way, wiping her tears with the back of her palm. He wasn't busy. He lied. But why? Why would he lie?

"Why is he doing this to me? Just why? Does he not know how much it hurts?" She cried.

Because of this, she suddenly lost focus on where she was going, losing balance, and she hit another car in front of her.

The other car coming behind her also hit her heavily and was damaged.

Seraphine became dizzy. Her phone started ringing, and it was no other than Evan calling her, but she was too weak to answer the call as she was fading out of consciousness. The phone stopped ringing.

Her eyes slowly closed, and her breathing ceased.