THE CEO'S FAKE WIFE FOR CHRISTMAS.

FOR HOW LONG?

Chapter 10.

FOR HOW LONG?

Nora's POV.

“Damn it.” Grace sighed, and scrubbed her hands over her face. “I thought I threw that away.”

“You thought you threw it away?” I narrowed my gaze at the words to be sure that I heard correctly. “I—I don't understand. Why would you want to throw it away?”

“It doesn't matter, just give it back to me.” she said, holding out a hand to me. “It is mine, not yours. So give it back.”

“Come on, Grace. If there's something going on, don't you think you should tell me?” I asked. “We are sisters after all. You should be able to talk to me.”

“Yes, I guess I should.” there was a hint of sarcasm in her voice as she replied to me. “However, I can handle myself. Besides, just like you said, I had to do what had to be done.”

“Are you trying to use my own words against me right now?” I asked.

“No, that's not what I'm doing.” she said, shaking her head. “I am only telling you the truth. I can handle my own issues myself, just like you did yours.”

“But that doesn't mean you shouldn't tell me what's going on with you, or does it?” I asked.

“Look, it doesn't matter. Just give it back.” she said. “Whatever I say isn't going to change anything. So, let's not talk about this.”

“It might not change anything, but still I need to know what's going on between the both of you.” I said with a serious look. “Besides, what happened to the photo of you both that's supposed to be on the fridge.”

As far as I could recall, there used to be a photo of them together on the fridge. Daniel, and I also had one, but I had to do away with it after his death because it wasn't helping me to move on with my life.

However, theirs was supposed to be on the fridge. I should have noticed when she went to get the ice cream, and soda from the fridge earlier, but I guess I was rather buried in my own thoughts.

“What do you think happened to it?” she shrugged.

“Please, don't tell me it's what I'm thinking, Grace.” I said, shaking my head. “You didn't throw it away, right?”

“I don't know what you're thinking about, but I had to throw it away.” she said without any ounce of regret for her action. “Perhaps, I should have done that long before now.”

“You still haven't told me what's going on between the both of you.” I crinkled my face in confusion. “You took your ring off your finger, and you threw the photo away. What's going on, Grace.”

“We are getting a divorce.” she confessed.

“Wait… what? Why?” the words jolted out of my lips. “Why a divorce?”

Last I saw them together, they were the happiest couples on earth, and that was just over a week or two ago. in fact, they'd just returned from a vacation in a different city, and she just wouldn't stop showing me the photos they took, and telling me how lovely of a man he was.

So what could have happened between them to the point of settling for a divorce? I knew that the news of my marriage with Julian didn't make sense. However, when compared to the news of her divorce with Paul, it made some sense. The divorce just didn't make any sense to me.

“I don't know.” she shrugged.

“Of course, you do, Grace.” I replied, refusing to believe her words. “You know what happened, so tell me.”

“Alright. Before getting married, I told him that I had to pursue my career first before child birth.” she explained. “And he was fine with it.”

“Are you sure that he was fine with it?” I asked, in a curious tone.

“At first, he wasn't. But after some days, he called to tell me that he was fine with it.” she said. “Things have been going well with us for the past three years until recently.”

“What happened?”

“Just about two weeks ago, he began to bring up the issue of child bearing.” she said. “I told him that it wasn't possible because I was this close to getting my dream position at work. All I asked for was one more year.”

“And?”

“He refused.” she said. “He said it was too much for him. He said that he had waited for three years, and now he wants to have kids. I mean, who does that? All of a sudden, he wants to have children, really?”

“So, what did you say to him?”

“Of course, I refused.” she replied. “I didn't come this close in my career to give up. I'm just this close, Nora. This close. I can't afford to get pregnant now.”

“Are you sure about that?” I asked, raising a brow. “I mean, this is about to ruin your marriage. Perhaps, you might want to think about it again to be sure that you know what you're doing.”

“I know exactly what I'm doing.” she said, speaking through her teeth. “I am not ready to ruin my career over some pregnancy that can wait for a few more years.”

“Really? Because it sounds to me like you're hurting, and you want to save your marriage.” I said.

“Of course, I do.” she said. “But I don't see myself getting pregnant anytime soon. Not at a time like this. Besides, his attitude has changed since I refused to give in to his request.”

“How do you mean his attitude has changed?”

“He has been returning late from work these days.” she said. “He has been going out with a lot of women, drinking, and partying.”

“Have you talked to him about it?” I asked.

“Of course, I have but in his words, he is just having 'fun' and nothing that I say or do will stop him.” she said, doing the air quotes. “He has decided not to listen to me because I have refused to listen to him. But he says that the moment I decide to comply, then he'll stop.”

“So?”

“So what?” she raised her voice. “You think he's just going to quit like he said? You think it's easy to stop this? He has started it already. He doesn't do any of this before, do you think he'll stop because he says he will?”

“Why don't you give it a try?” I shrugged a shoulder. “Let's not forget that he didn't want to do it before. However, you refused to do what he asked.”

“Are you blaming me right now?” she narrowed her gaze.

“No, don't get me wrong.” I shook my head. “That is not what I'm doing.”

“Of course, that's what you're doing!” a flash of temper lighted her eyes. “You are taking his side right now. But it's not my fault. We spoke about this before getting married. But now he just wants me to do as he asks when I'm this close to fulfilling my dreams? No, that's not possible.”

Her voice shook with tears.

“Look, I understand how you feel.” I said, in a soft voice as I took her hand in mine. “But I think you should reconsider your decision here. Save your marriage.”

“My mind is made up Nora.” she said, her voice husky with tears. “I am not getting pregnant for him until I get what I want in my career.”

“Can you just keep your voice down, she's sleeping.” I said, staring at Lily who was fast asleep on the couch.

“You don't understand, Nora.” she said, blinking back tears. “I can't stop now; I'm this close to getting what I want. Why can't you just understand?”

“Of course, I do.” I replied with a hand on her face. “I am just worried about your marriage. I'm worried about you. I don't want you to make a bad decision.”

“This isn't a bad decision.” she shook her head as she held my hand. “I know what I'm doing. I just need you to trust me. You trust me, don't you?”

“Of course, I do.” I forced a smile. “I trust you, Grace.”

“If you were in my shoes, what would you have done?” she asked. “Would you take your own advice? Besides, do you think he'll be able to stop all these that he has started?”

I fell silent.

“Yes, that's what I thought too.” she added, taking my silence for an answer.

“I should see mom before leaving.” I mentioned.

“She is fast asleep.” she said.

“I know, I'll just see her face, and be on my way.” I got up from the couch, and walked to her room.

I opened the door, and walked in. Like Grace said, she was asleep. A smile pushed my lips to the side as I watched her for a few seconds. However, just as I turned to leave, I noticed an envelope on the bedside table. I moved towards it, picked up the envelope and then opened it. Inside was a medical report. As I went through it, my heart shook.

“Damn it.” I muttered under my breath, blinking my eyes in shock while looking at my mom as she slept.

I turned around, and exited her room.

“Grace, can you explain this?” I asked, holding the report to her face. “What does this mean?”

“Nora…” she got up from the couch. “I was going to tell you about it.”

“How long?” my voice broke with tears. “How long has it been?”