Once Rejected, Now Desired

l won't let him hurt you

CHAPTER TWO

I won't let him hurt you

Something inside me snapped.

I stood. “You want to talk now?”

He shut the door behind him, I stared at his handsome face with strong jaw line to match his left cheek dimple.

His thin lips move.

“You’re being dramatic, Ariana,” he said without sparing me a glance, leaving his impressive tall figure to my face.

My heart stuttered. “D dramatic?"

He unbuttoned his cufflinks, and then his necktie.

“You barged into my office without announcing yourself, you disrespected my privacy.”

I stared at him in disbelief. “Your privacy? Vincent, you were having s*x with my assistant!”

He shrugged. “And you could have waited outside.”

Blood roared in my ears. “I’m your wife, Vincent!”

“And I’m a man with needs,” he said casually, walking toward the closet.

I felt physically sick.

He opened the top drawer, pulled something out, and walked toward me, revealing his incredibly handsome face, his piercing blue eyes still speaking of his indifference.

For a moment, my breath caught. Maybe it was a gift, an attempt to fix things.

Maybe this is the way he wants to say "l am sorry"

I thought wrong yet again

Just then l saw the document in his hand.

Papers.

Thick. White. Official.

“What… what is that?” I whispered.

He held them out. “divorce papers.”

My world stopped.

My knees buckled, but I caught myself before I fell.

I chuckled, “You’re divorcing me?” My voice cracked. “Just like that?”

You saw it all at my workplace,

he said bluntly. “l am in a relationship with Sonia”

Sonia.

The name twisted like a knife.

Are you serious? I whispered. “I walked in on you cheating”

“It doesn’t matter” he cut me off. “Our marriage isn’t working, It hasn’t worked for a long time.”

I pressed a hand against my chest as if I could hold myself together. “You didn’t even try, Vincent.”

He looked bored.

“I tried giving you the kind of life you wanted.”

I never wanted the lifestyle! I shouted. “I wanted you.”

And that’s the problem. He handed the papers to me. You’re clingy, emotional, dependent.

I felt the words like punches.

Clingy.

Emotional.

Dependent.

Funny how men called it “clingy” when you loved them, “emotional” when you were hurt, and “dependent” when you trusted them.

I held the divorce papers with trembling fingers. “You planned this, I realized. “even before today.”

He didn’t deny it.

A cold numbness washed over me. “How long have you and Sonia been"

“Long enough,” he said simply.

The air left my lungs. Do you love her?

He didn’t even think. “She fulfills my needs down my cheek.

He sighed. “Ariana, don’t make this hard. Just sign the papers and we can part ways peacefully.”

I laughed bitterly. “Peacefully? You cheated on me, and you want me to sign divorce papers on the same day I told you I’m pregnant?”

For the first time, something flickered in his piercing green eyes.

Not guilt.

No regret.

Annoyance.

“You should’ve told me before showing up at my office,” he said. “It’s inconvenient.”

My chest tightened painfully. “Inconvenient?”

“I’m filing for full custody.”

The room spun. “Full—Vincent, what? You haven’t even touched my stomach. You haven’t asked how I feel. You haven’t”

“I’ll provide a better environment,” he interrupted. “You can hardly take care of yourself.”

My hand recoiled like he slapped me.

He continued, “My lawyers will handle everything. Just sign.”

I stared at the papers in my hand. The ink swam. My vision blurred. My heartbeat thundered.

Anger burned through the grief.

“You planned to take everything from me right,” I whispered.

“You already did,” he said coldly.

I inhaled shakily. “I won’t sign.”

He smirked. “You will. You must.”

I stepped back. “Get out.”

“No,” he said calmly. “This is my house.”

Not our house.

Never had been.

Instead of leaving, Vincent crossed his arms.

“You have until tomorrow morning,” he said. “Sign them, or I’ll make sure the world finds out more about your… fragile mental state.”

I stiffened. “You wouldn’t.”

He leaned in, eyes cold enough to freeze bone. “Try me.”

He turned and walked out of the room, leaving the door open like a wound.

For a long moment, I stood there shaking, broken, furious.

Then something inside me shifted.

A spark.

A flame.

A promise.

I wasn’t going to let him destroy me,

I wasn’t going to let him take my baby,

I wasn’t going to sign anything.

And if Vincent wanted war…

I would give him one.

I wiped my tears, squared my shoulders, reached for my phone and went straight to Vincent’s study, and locked the door behind me.

I sat on the large executive rolling chair and started opening the drawers one after the other.

What Vincent doesn't understand was that, behind the humble wife he has with respect for bandaries, l have enough knowledge about his life and the company, so much than he could ever think or imagine.

Yes I found it, I whispered to myself, voice barely found,

I stared at the flash drive until my eyes dimmed.

I pushed it down into my front trouser pocket and hurried out of study, my steps fast and deliberate.

As if today hadn’t already stripped me bare.

I entered our room and locked the door again. The divorce papers lay abandoned on the bed, their white pages glowing like a threat.

I pressed a trembling hand to my stomach.

“I won’t let him hurt you,” I whispered. I promise.

I wiped my face, and went to the bathroom sink. My reflection barely looked like me, eyes swollen, lips pale, mascara streaked like war paint. I splashed water on my face and straightened my spine.

I held out the flash drive, and smiled wryly.

This alone meant power, I whisper to myself.