ARIA'S POV
Adam hands the flowers over to one of the maids, asking her to put it in a vase or whatever. He clears his throat, trying and failing miserably to hide his embarrassment in front of his mother, his sister and the maids.
“The flowers weren’t for you.” He says, voice hard as he stares at me for a brief second. I barely even feel anything when he says that because I genuinely don’t care anymore, I just want to get the hell out of this house and never return. I don’t even care about the rest of my things which I am yet to pack, I just want to turn my back on this horrible life already. I hear Eva sniggers.
Adam seems like he wants to say something to me but then he decides against it and turns to his mother instead.
“Mum, please return the bracelet to her.”
She snorts and shakes her head stubbornly, “I am not letting her leave with it.”
Adam grunts, a sign that he is slowly losing his patience, “ I have never seen that bracelet mother, it belongs to Aria. Please, give it back.”
Adam’s mother doesn’t immediately move to do as she is told but the moment she does, it is with an annoyed huff as she tosses the bracelet at me. I catch it in my palms while she heads back to sit in the same position as earlier when I first walked into the living room.
I fall to my knees by the mess the maids made out of my clothes and then I begin to arrange them again, rushing through the process so I can get out of here fast to stop the repeated sting of humiliation. Adam standing there and just watching me clean up his mother’s mess without as much as an apology from either of them only adds to the rising level of humiliation.
Once done, I stand and face Adam squarely, taking in the same clothes he wore to the cemetery earlier and getting reminded of all the reasons why I am making the best decision of my life.
“As I said before, it is over between us. The divorce papers and my resignation letter will find their way to you soon.” I say, ignoring the way his face twisted, “Goodbye, Adam.”
I turn around before I can even hear his response. I don’t want to look at Adam, not anymore. I walk away from him, going straight for the door and turning its knob for what I hope is the very last time.
I have barely taken a step outside the door when Adam’s strong hand grabs my upper arm and twists me around to look at him. I have worked with him for seven years, four of which I was just his secretary and that was enough for me to know the kind of man Adam Miller is. He is usually composed with a blank expression that shows how in control he is.
Right now, Adam is neither composed nor in control. He seems like he has lost grip of it and the meaning of those words don’t even matter to him anymore as he holds my arm in a tight grip. I struggle to break free of his hold.
“Let me go.” I snap at him but Adam only narrows his eyes at me, his anger burning past his blue eyes.
“You can’t just leave, Aria.” He growls.
“You can’t tell me what to do, Adam. At least not anymore. Let me go!”
“Does this even make any sense to you!” He yells in my face as he lets go of my hand to run his hand through his hair, “ You can’t just spring this kind of shit on me.”
“It’s not springing if we have both had it coming from the very moment we shared our vows which you have already broken. We both know this marriage should have never happened so cut the crap and let me leave.” I say, practically fuming before turning around in another attempt to leave.
“What about grandfather? You are taking such a big step without talking to the old man who set it all up anyway. The man who has been nothing but good to you.”
I turn back to face Adam, hating his attempt at making me feel guilty. My thoughts go to his grandfather momentarily and I try to imagine the old man’s reaction to me filing for a divorce when he cares about me so much. However, I don’t waver. I refuse to let those thoughts come between me and my freedom. I refuse to put the wish of another over my own happiness.
“I will talk to grandfather. Believe me, you have nothing to worry about.” I say and make another attempt to leave but of course, Adam doesn’t give up as he speaks again.
“I won’t sign it Aria, I won’t sign the goddamn papers!”
“What the hell is wrong with you?” I yell out my frustration, “Why won’t you just let me go?”
He stares me down, eyes burning stubbornly, “I won’t sign the papers and I won’t accept your resignation either. The company has rules you have to follow and you can’t just decide to resign without prior notice especially when there is a lot of work at the office which I pay you to do!”
I scoff, unable to believe his nerve. Unable to get over his selfish thinking and absolute lack of remorse for the things he has done.
“You have Sophia, don’t you?” I shoot at him and his brows furrow.
“What does that even mean?”
“Everyone adores Sophia. She is smart, beautiful and can get your work done for you and oh, don’t forget the fact that she is also pregnant with your child! How perfect is that?”
Adam’s mother springs up, surprise evident in her features. Clearly, she is just learning about her coming grandson.
“Adam, is what she says true? You have a child on the way?” Eva asked excitedly.
Adam’s expression don’t give anything away and he doesn’t even spare his mother or sister a glance. He is still looking straight at me.
“Aria, what happened between Sophia and I wasn’t intentional, it just–”
“Don’t you dare make excuses for her! Who cares what she thinks? Sophia is who you have always deserved. The only woman who actually deserves to be my daughter-in-law.” Adam’s mother cut in while making sure to give me a nasty look that doesn’t even surprise me anymore.
I shrug at Adam, a way to show him that I was right. Everyone wants Sophia, including him and he can’t even bring himself to deny it. He continues to ignore his mother.
“Aria, it was an accident.” He says again and I nod, like I am agreeing to his words.
“Three years ago, you didn’t think the same way. You didn’t think you accidentally slept with me but instead believed I had gone as far as drugging you to sleep with you. What changed, Adam? Because all I see right now is a bloody hypocrite and a coward who would rather blame others for his mistakes.”
When I turn my back to him this time, I don’t stop walking. I don’t turn around.
“Aria! Aria, get back here while I am still being nice. Aria, I swear to God if you walk out that door, I won’t take you back even if you go on your knees. You need me, Aria. You can’t survive without me!”
Adam yells after me but I don’t stop walking as his arrogant words only fueled my desire to get away from him as fast as I can. I block out the rest of his words as I open the door and welcome my peace and freedom.
I am never going back to that sad reality.
ARIA'S POV It begins to rain heavily the moment I step out of the house, a manifestation of the dark clouds that have been present since I was at grandmother’s grave. I am unprepared for the sudden change in weather and I contemplate turning back to seek shelter till the heavy rain passes but what does that make me? A spineless woman who can’t stand her ground. So I power through the rain, dragging my suitcase behind me as I do. The streets are empty without a single car in sight which means I can’t even flag down a taxi. And what if I can? Where would I go? Right there and then, it fully dawns on me what the consequences of my thoughtless actions are. I don’t have anywhere to go. I don’t regret my decision but my helplessness has me hating myself. I burst into tears at once. Tears that are real, not just triggered by an allergy. The sound of the rain muffles my loud sobs while the drops of water flow down my face along with my tears as I continue to drag my heavy suitcase along.
ARIA'S POV The feeling of waking up makes me light for several seconds, like I am floating in the realm between life and death until I finally feel my consciousness slip back in. My eyes flutter open after that. I blink once, twice and some more when the vision in front of me doesn’t change into a familiar one. I sit up, expecting to see the dull blue walls of my room but the room I woke up in is painted differently in a brighter and warmer color that makes me feel relaxed to be here. Before I start to question the changes I am not used to, a fast train of memories slam into my mind and it all starts to make sense. Everything that happened from Grandmother’s funeral to me standing in front of the hotel, drained and desperate. From there, I remember nothing else. I must have fainted, completely blacked out and was brought to this strange place. I find it strange because it clearly isn’t a hospital room which I assume I should have been taken to if I fainted out of nowhere. The room
ADAM’S POV Three days–that’s how long it’s been since Aria worked up the nerve to walk out of our home. As a businessman, a few hours is enough for me to get over losses, as only a fool will continuously mourn a loss when he should be moving on to the next best opportunity to make up for it. It has always been like that with people too, I don’t care who leaves because in the long run, there is always someone better who can replace them. Yet, it’s been three whole days and I can’t get over this foreign feeling that tightens my chest each time I think of her. I can’t seem to attach my usual logic of loss and replacement to the one person I shouldn’t even care about losing. Unable to accept that the tight feeling in my chest means something, I resort to the ones I can actually cope with. I let the feelings of distress, anger, humiliation and total disrespect take root in my mind because really, those are basically the things Aria has done against me in the last 72 hours. The reasons f
ARIA'S POV My shock at Regis’s claim is evident, in the way my jaw slacks and the way my eyes go beyond their normal size. I stare at him and he in turn continues to stare at the key chain like he is just seeing it for the first time. Perhaps, the realization that he is familiar with the one it belongs to is the reason he is now looking at the key chain in a new light. I also discovered that besides the color of the jewellery piece, I know nothing else because I haven’t properly looked at it since my grandmother's death. The shock and the preparation for her funeral gave me no time to do so. So I wait for Regis to clear up the air about what he knows about the piece of jewellery adorned with rubies and emeralds. “Did you say your grandmother gave this to you?” Seconds pass before Regis finally hands the key chain back to me. I take it in both hands, nodding absent-mindedly at Regis while I take a proper overdue look at the memento. I discover there isn’t much to look at anyway, d
ARIA’S POV I take a step to the back when the man wheels himself forward again, getting even closer into my personal space than he already was. Looking to Regis for help in that moment doesn’t help one bit because he also has the same look of confusion written in clear lines all over his face. “I can’t believe it’s really you. Look at you, all grown.” He’s smiling through tears. When he grabs my hand out of nowhere, I yelp at the unexpected contact, backing away from him. It is exactly what Regis needs to break out of his confusion as he steps between us. I hide behind him, rubbing the hands the man held not too long ago. “Sir,” Regis says, “Is everything okay?” At Regis’ words, the man breaks out of whatever spell he’s been put in since he saw me. “Oh, how rude of me,” He says and then meets my eyes to continue, “I apologize if I made you feel uncomfortable. I just couldn’t help myself.” He chuckles at the end of the words. However, that isn’t enough to convince me to step out
ADAM’S POVSitting in my office, I feel like a donkey. This is the twenty-third candidate I am interviewing to fill in Aria’s position and none of them seem to fit in her shoes. I sit and ponder, why am I even searching for someone who will be literally just a replacement for Aria?She is gone from this company and I should at least search for someone who is different from her, but it seems that she has become a habit of mine. I realize that I shall never be able to get over her and now I feel weak. I, Adam Miller, who has always been above everyone, including Aria, seem to be at her mercy.I have still not heard from her after a week and I have been expecting her to come begging me to take her back, but until now, nothing! This is really frustrating. I keep asking myself if she has not found another man and forgotten about me completely.Ever since she left the company, I have had a messed up life. I was the CEO of Miller Corporation and to me, all employees should have the same stat
ADAM’S POV Sophia and I are finally at the restaurant. Frankly speaking, I do not want to be here, but I am compelled to. Sophia thinks that carrying my child means that she owns me and this is something I despise- when women try to take control of my life and me. Here is Sophia, sitting in front of me, in a revealing dress that makes her look slutty. How I wish that the management could have had a dress code and not let us in, that would have been great. This so-called date could have been avoided. Unfortunately, nothing like that happened. “I’m glad that we can enjoy this moment like the old days,” Sophia says. I just nod. I am unbothered by the past I have left behind and here she is, trying to take me on the same track. She is not stupid and she somehow feels that I am not into her for a long time but she is forcing herself on me. I love kids, but that does not mean that I shall be her slave. What she does not know is that I am capable of being a single dad and chopping her of
ARIA’S POV How dare he touch me and ask me about my private matters! Why is he acting like he owns me? He has never been this way with me. Why this sudden change? “Aria is still my wife and you have no right to interfere in my private matter, Uncle Regis!” Adam exclaims in anger. “You’re so funny, Adam! I still don’t get it. Why aren’t you letting me go? You should be happy that I am out of your life and now you can enjoy your Sophia, no?!” I say sarcastically. I am not letting him control me like he used to do. “I don’t need anyone! I need you,” he tries to approach her, but all I see is his uncle getting between us. “Need?! Since when have you started needing me?! Does a marriage strife solely on needs or love or respect?” I ask. I know that Adam believes that his uncle must be my new man and that he is taking very good care of me when it should have been him instead. Why would he be jealous now? “Aria… We can sort out our marital issues together in private, rather than stan