Let’s Get A Divorce
Sienna
The single document which sat on the table between us was the expiration of our loveless marriage. The anxiety I felt clawed at my insides, pricked my intestines and made me nauseous.
Or maybe I was nauseous because of something else. The main reason I had felt the need to visit my husband was the beautiful news I carried in my pocket. A single test strip, I thought, would change the dynamics of our marriage.
How stupidly naïve I was.
Drey didn't care about me, or our marriage. Neither did he care if I was pregnant or not. All he cared about was getting what he wanted, and right now Drey Falcon wanted a divorce, and I was not sure if I was ready to give that to him.
Not when… my hand traveled to my stomach and stayed there.
"What do you mean…?" I started, confusion swirling my thoughts. "I came here to… did I do something wrong? I didn't think we had any issues and if we did, getting a divorce doesn't solve it, Drey…"
"Sign the papers, Sienna. Don't ask me any unnecessary questions." he said sharply, his voice rising. "But if you want to know why so badly, then I will tell you. The only woman I want and love, Vanessa Hart, is back in town and her family are offering me something I can't resist. To take her as my wife. You, on the other hand… are useless.
The words cut through my heart like a knife. I never thought a day would come when Drey would use such words on me, but I should have been expecting it. The two years of our marriage had not been the field of roses I'd been hoping for.
Instead, I had endured his constant coldness, his family's abuse, and most of all, the emotional detachment that had grown between us like a wall neither of us scaled. I had told myself it was only for some time. That with time, Drey would come to love and cherish me.
But I had been deluding myself.
Every hope of that ever happening was gone. I had given everything for this marriage to work for my parents' company, my career, my life. Now my husband was saying I was useless.
I had no idea when the sound of laughter escaped my mouth, or when hot tears ran down my cheek. "You're asking for a divorce because Vanessa is back?" I choked out. "Was that all I was to you? A placeholder holding the spot for your first love?"
He shrugged. "I don't care how you see it. Just sign the papers and let's get this over with."
"And if I don't?" I asked, squaring my shoulders.
I could see the surprise that flashed across his eyes, but he recovered quickly. His lips turned up slowly into a smirk that promised trouble. "I'm sure I don't need to tell you what will happen if you don't. Your life is already miserable as it is."
I winced, pushing back the humiliating feeling that settled in my gut. My face reddened from embarrassment and shame, but there was another emotion growing beneath anger. Anger at the man who knew how his family treated me, yet never lifted a finger to help.
I had always given excuses for him. "Drey has no idea," I told myself. "If he knew, he would definitely stand by me." So I never told him. I did not want to stir conflict between him and his family. I let them make my life miserable while I smiled and pretended everything was fine.
He nudged the paper towards me, along with a ballpoint pen. "Sign it."
I stared at the paper for what felt like ages. For a moment, I was tempted to tell him about the pregnancy test I had done that morning. Maybe that would change his mind. But did I still want to go back to being his wife? After everything he had just said to me? Knowing what I now know?
No.
I grabbed the pen, gripping the hem of my dress tight. If he wanted a divorce, then there was no reason not to give it to him. My two-year marriage to Drey Falcon ended today.
"We signed a prenuptial agreement two years ago, so you can't take anything from this marriage," he said as I started signing. "But our time together meant something you deserve. "
"I don't want anything from you, Drey Falcon." I cut in, biting hard on my bottom lip to keep the tears from falling. "The only thing I will take from this marriage is my company. It may be worth nothing to you now, but once, it meant everything to my family."
I did not wait to see the crease that appeared in his brow. I shot to my feet, the chair scraping against the marble floor beneath me. I steadied myself, dizzy for just a moment. Now that this was over, I could not let this man see me weak.
"I'll have my lawyers contact you regarding Stanford Group. Until then, I hope we don't see each other again."
Drey shot to his feet, eyes wide, ready to speak, but I didn't wait. I was not even sure I was strong enough to stay, to shout and make him understand how undeserving he was of my love.
I had come running here with a smile on my face. I had come to give him the most beautiful news about the child we were expecting together. But here I was, leaving with tear-filled eyes, a signed divorce agreement, and a hollow space where my heart used to be.
Whenever did everything start going wrong?
A part of me already knew the answer. From the very beginning. After all, our marriage was never one of love, it was one of pity and mutual agreement. His family had been close friends of mine, and Drey and I had been friends too. I had harbored a quiet, desperate crush on him for years.
So when my parents died in a ghastly motor accident, leaving behind an almost bankrupt company and debts that nearly drowned me, his family offered a solution. A merger. An arrangement that was supposed to save not just me, but Stanford Group as well.
And I had jumped on the offer. Ignoring the warnings of nearly everyone who loved me, I got married to Drey and signed over Stanford Group to the Falcon family.
How stupid I was.
And now I was left to reap the harvest of my foolishness. No one had warned me it would hurt this much. No one had told me I was going to lose everything in a single night.
I stepped into the elevator alone, pressed the button for the ground floor, and finally allowed the tears to fall.
I pressed one hand against my stomach.
"It's just us now," I whispered to the tiny life I had not yet had the chance to announce. "But I promise you that's enough. I will be enough."
The elevator doors slid shut, and I let the last two years of my life close behind me like a door I would never walk through again. What I didn’t know was that life had another bullet waiting for me.