The Wife He Never Wanted

Richard stood by the window, his hands buried in his pockets. His jaw was tight. "Now that I have the power, I can finally make this decision," Richard said in a cold voice. "I'm no longer interested in this marriage. I want a divorce," his voice rising as he looked at his wife. Helena knew he was tired of the marriage, but she never expected him to ask for a divorce so suddenly. Now he stood in front of her with the papers actually in hand. Deep down, she knew this was it as she stared at the divorce papers. "But you're the one cheating on me with your ex. This is because you want to go back to her." "I'm not cheating on you. Stop being so insecure." "Your friendship with her lately is questionable, knowing she is your ex." Helena snapped. His tone hardened. “I agreed to this marriage because my father threatened my inheritance. You knew I had a girlfriend when you agreed to marry me anyway. You knew I never loved you.” Richard and Helena had been married for two years. Helena's father had worked closely with Victor Harrington as his loyal right-hand man for years, being loyal and once, he once saved Harrington Group from a scandal that could have destroyed everything Victor had built. Before Helena's father passed away Victor made a promise: he would take care of his daughter. The way Victor decided to keep that promise was by marrying her to his son. After Victor Harrington died following a long illness, Richard became the CEO of the Harrington Group. With full control of the family's multinational corporations. He decides he could no longer remain in a forced arranged marriage. Helena had always liked Richard from a distance. He was smart, tall, broad-shouldered and handsome. If Helena had been honest with herself, it had always been more than liking. It was a crush she had never really managed to hide. That was why it was so hard for Helena to control her feelings when the idea of marrying Richard was first proposed. She knew he had a girlfriend, Anna Cole. But somewhere deep down, she had let herself dream of a fairytale happy ever after. Helena was still in school, studying to be a lawyer. She had told herself he would learn to love her eventually, even if he never loved her just as she loved him. "Richard, I love you," Helena said, her voice shaking as tears slid down her cheeks. "Please don't leave me." His fingers tightened around the divorce papers. "But I don't love you.” He flung the papers at her feet. “I'm giving you one week to sign them. That's more than fair.” He grabbed his coat and paused at the door for a moment, like he had something to say. Instead he walked out, and slammed the door behind him. The first few months of their marriage had seemed fine. She allowed herself to believe, even just a little, that this could still become the marriage she had once dreamed of. I don't love you. His voice echoed in her ears. She tried to comfort herself. Besides, he had never said he loved her; she was just an arrangement made by his father. This shouldn't have surprised her. She picked up the divorce papers from the floor glancing through, in them, he offered to pay her to sign and walk away. She set them down on the dining table. She thought about each choice that brought her to this moment. How she hoped to graduate and join the Harrington Group's legal team. Guilt settled over her. She blamed herself for marrying a man who did not want to marry her. Two days passed. The curtains remained drawn. Her phone rang unanswered. The meals left on the dining table for her were taken back untouched. Helena could not bring herself to get out of bed. There was a knock on the master bedroom door. It was Mrs. Hilda, the housekeeper. A woman who had come to care for Helena deeply, who had always seen the sadness behind her eyes as she endured a marriage built on everything but love. "I brought your breakfast, Mrs Harrington. You need to eat." Helena dragged herself out of bed, opened the door, and returned to sit at the edge of the bed. Hilda set the tray down beside her. “Mrs Harrington, I'm not leaving until you've eaten something,” Mrs Hilda said gently. Helena managed a few small bites. “Thank you, Hilda…for caring.” Tears slipped down her cheeks again. "Richard asked for a divorce. After everything I did to try to make him love me." "Mrs Harrington, everything is going to be fine.” Mrs Hilda dabbed at Helena's tears with a tissue from the tray. If it wasn't meant to be, then it wasn't meant to be. Stop blaming yourself. You are a young woman with a bright future ahead of you. Marriage does not define who you are. You can't force someone to love you. If he says he doesn't want you anymore, then let him go." "Thank you, Mrs. Hilda. I knew all that. I just kept hoping.” "So what's your decision? About the divorce?" Mrs. Hilda asked. Helena looked down at her wedding ring, turning it slowly. "I'll grant him the divorce."