4
925 Words
Emma's POV
Alex came home when it was already light out; he must have been with his girlfriend all night. Afraid something might happen to their baby.
“Where is Anna?”
“Anna called in sick today.”
Alex looked down at me as I knelt on the kitchen floor, as if I was being dramatic about nothing. Anger burned in his chest.
His face darkened. “I’m leaving for a business trip later. Call Anna back. The Sterling family pays her to work, not to take vacation.”
He turned to leave.
So that’s why he came home early. For his business trip.
“Ouch...”
I got dizzy for a second and didn’t notice the broken glass. My finger got cut, and blood immediately started seeping out.
“Okay.”
I hid the cut, stood up, and said, “When will you be back? We should go to the courthouse and file for divorce.”
Alex’s dark eyes narrowed. He looked at me with a frosty expression. “Divorce? Emma, there’s a limit to your drama!"
"Remember your place as a substitute. Don't disgrace yourself and upset my family, especially my father, by asking for a divorce!"
I said, “You know right. I never should have been Mrs. Sterling in the first place. Now that Charlotte’s back, I’m willing to give this position back to her.”
Alex grabbed my chin and forced me to look at him. His voice was sarcastic. “Give it back? How generous of you, Mrs. Sterling.”
“If you’re so generous, why didn’t you refuse when my father asked you to be my bride?!” Alex’s grip tightened.
I tried to pull away from the pain, but he wouldn’t let me go.
“Emma, don’t think I don’t know what you’re doing. You’re trying to threaten me with divorce. Tell me, what do you want?”
“I don’t want anything!”
I couldn’t escape. My face went pale as I spoke with difficulty. “Alex, I’m serious...”
Alex’s eyes went dark. He didn’t say anything.
I took a deep breath, looked directly at him, and said each word clearly, “let’s get divorced.”
Alex’s eyes were freezing. We stared at each other for a long moment.
“Alex...” I couldn’t keep my head up much longer.
“Fine! Perfect!” Alex let me go roughly.
I stumbled back two steps, barely staying upright. His voice was completely emotionless when he said coldly, “You got what you wanted, Emma. You better mean it this time.”
"And remember, there will be no divorce settlement for you because you filed it as we agreed ."
***
A week later.
Alex still hadn’t come home, and I had lost my patience waiting for him. He hasn't set foot in the house at all. I don't know where he is, and he's completely unreachable. I've asked his mother, his sister, even his father. And no one is willing to tell me where he is.
So, with all my resolve, I went to the family court alone to file for divorce. Using the reason of irretrievable breakdown of the marriage. It was the fastest way, because all I wanted right now was to be free from Alex.
I just left family court when my phone buzzed again and again, Alex calling for the eighteenth time. I declined it.
Suddenly a silver car pulled up before me and someone familiar got out from passenger seat.
Someone I know very well since I knew him long before I met Alex. He was my first love, even though he never knew it.
“Emma.”
I looked up. “Daniel?”
Daniel Sterling, Alex’s uncle, the youngest son of Alex’s grandfather’s second wife. The entire Sterling family dislikes him, but no one dare to get rid of him because he was the one who saved Sterling from bankruptcy.
He was only eight years older than me. Unlike the rest of the Sterling family, he’d always been kind to me.
“What are you doing here?” I asked, quite surprised.
“James called me. Told me what happened last night. And this morning.”
My face got hot. Of course James saw everything, Alex leaving me on that road.
“I’m fine,” I said.
“No, you’re not.” His voice was gentle but firm. “And you don’t have to lie to me anymore.”
He opened the car door. “Get in. We need to talk.”
“Daniel, I can’t—“
“Emma.” He looked serious. “Trust me. Please.”
Something made me listen. I got in the car. It was warm and quiet, so different from Alex’s cold BMW.
Daniel got in but didn’t start the car. He turned to look at me.
“I know about the miscarriage.”
I gasped. My hand went to my stomach.
“How—“
“Dr. Matthews called me. He was worried when you left the hospital so fast.” Daniel’s face got angry. “Emma, you lost a baby and Alex made you go to that dinner? Let Margaret say those cruel things? Then left you alone on a dark road?”
I started crying. “He doesn’t know. About the baby. And now he never will.”
“Good,” Daniel said. “He doesn’t deserve to know. He doesn’t deserve you.”
I stared at him. “Daniel, he’s your nephew—“
“He’s an idiot.”
- Writer
