Nicholas sat in the conference room along with two of his legal advisers, and they waited for his ex-wife to show up. He had explicitly requested her because he wanted to see how well she was doing now without him. Part of him felt guilty for how he didn’t give her a chance to explain herself. Instead, he tossed her out just like everyone in her life had. He was hurt too; for the first time he let someone into his heart, she ruined it for him. He hasn’t had a decent relationship since then. He hated how she made him feel vulnerable in a way that no other person had made him feel, it was like she allowed him to love her before she shattered him into tiny bits that would forever haunt him. His love life was a mess after their divorce and he would not be able to look at another woman the same way he looked at her. He has given a few relationships trials and she needed ruining them for him without her having to try at all.
He once moaned her name during sex and his then partner got annoyed that he was still hung over the same ex who cheated on him and he broke his heart, if there is one thing he regretted from the whole relationship, it was the fact that he let himself break without closure. He threw her out without asking her the vital questions he should have asked her. The door opened shortly, and the familiar lavender smell he had spent most years of their marriage sniffing attacked his nose, and he knew she was here. The hairs on his nape stood at attention as she turned to her assistant, who was asking how her vacation was. She smiled, and his heart constricted painfully; she used to smile at him like that; one of the things that drew him to her was her smile, the way her whole face would light up at the spread of her lips. When she turned, he stopped. The woman before him looked nothing like his ex-wife, but the body confirmed it was her. The whole face had undergone a significant change, and her face was perfect. Her lips were fuller now, and she looked like she was made for the runway rather than a law firm. That was when the whole thing clicked; She had done facial surgery out of the shame that she cheated on him. She didn’t want the entire world to recognize her again, and she would find another man to deceive again with her innocent face. The nerve of the bitch. His blood boiled at the sight, and it only confirmed his worst fears, she had moved on, and he was nothing but a thing of the past to her now. Here he was beating himself up for the past five years, resisting the urge to after her only to find out she didn’t even care to begin with. He doubled the alimony because he felt she needed to survive, but the bitch used his money on cosmetic surgery. “I’m so sorry for the delay; apparently, my brain doesn’t remember vacation is over. So let’s get to business now. Tiannah, please could you get me a cup of latte? Thank you.” She said before walking briskly to her seat opposite Nicholas and his advisers. Nicholas couldn’t take his eyes off the way her body moved as she walked. The soft sway of her hips, he could swear those thighs had gotten way thicker than he could remember. Her breasts looked fuller and the way her shirt constricted against them tightly. As if they were begging to be let out. He would bring her orgasms just by playing with her breasts in the good old days. He wondered if they were still as sensitive as they used to be. “Excuse me, Mr. Michealson? Is there a problem?” Her voice snapped him away from his thoughts, and Nicholas replaced the neutral look on his face with a scowl. She rolled her eyes subtly, but he still saw it. The same way she rolled her eyes whenever he suggested a movie she didn’t like. She hasn’t changed a lot. Nicholas’s trousers constricted painfully as she ran her tongue over her lips while she flipped through the documents. He couldn’t believe he was getting turned on by the sight of her licking her lips. “I don’t remember mentioning any,” He replied coldly, and she muttered something under her breath. She continued with her skimming through the pages of the files, and she looked unaffected by his coldness. This wasn’t the reunion he was expecting; he hoped that same old Astra who didn’t like getting on his wrong side. This one already grew wings. “You want to sue Thompson's Conglomerate? That’s huge, and if I may ask why?” She asked before closing the file in front of her and leaning back into her chair. Her eyes were fixed on them, and Nicholas felt highly uncomfortable by her stares as if she could see right through them. When she didn’t say anything, that was when he realized she asked a question, and there’s no way he would ask her to repeat herself; his pride wouldn’t let him. They stared at each other for like five minutes, and she didn’t repeat herself. “Mr. Michealson, I don’t have the luxury of waiting here in a starting competition. I have way better things to do with my time. Why not let’s reschedule this meeting? If you’re not ready to have me on the case, please contact Mr. Woltman and ask him for a lawyer change. Do have a nice day, sir.” She stood before stretching her hands to shake the two legal advisers, and she sat back in her chair flipping through another set of new files, thiers wholly abandoned. “A leopard would never change its spots. A whore would always remain a whore” He spat bitterly, and Astra raised her head, realizing the two legal advisers had left them. She smiled before looking at him dead in the eyes. Nicholas hated that she seemed unfazed by his words; he wanted her to feel the pain he felt. Her smile seemed sinister, and he hated that she was getting to him. The look on her face looked nothing like the woman he had fallen in love with, instead, she looked like the mastermind of a deadly game and the players found out they have been played. She looked like she was enjoying this showdown between them and he hated it. He wanted to scratch the snug look on her face away and maybe make heer feel worse than him. “A coward never gets tired of running from the truth. Look at you, Nicholas, all broken and hurt. Do you still punch your mirror when the thought of me crosses your mind, or do you still drink yourself to death? No matter what you say to make me feel bad, You will always be the one on the losing end. Allow me to burst your bubble; my husband doesn’t appreciate people talking down on his wife. Unlike you, he will go miles to defend me,” She replied with a smirk, and He wanted to wipe the sick smile off her face. His heartbeat picked up at the mention of her husband, but his private investigator said she hadn’t been in a relationship. She can’t be serious about being married. Did she move on that fast?. She stood up before stopping in front of him. “Requesting for my presence on a case your company could have handled on their own says a lot about how you’re still hurt over this ‘whore’. I bet you think I’d come running between your legs? Admit it, Nick. You lost.” She whispered, making sure to lean in and her body is rested against his. She walked away, making sure to add extra sway to her hips, and he watched with clenched fingers. She was correct; he’s still the one broken and living in the past. She already moved on. Nicholas walked away from the boardroom and walked into the waiting car. One thing he would never get out of his head was the fact that maybe half of the men in the elite circle had fucked his wife. The day he received those pictures was still vivid in his head. The way those men in the picture had his wife in different positions was enough to make even the strongest men run mad. He hated to imagine that the same body he would spend hours worshipping in bed was the same body those men treated like dirt. It was the same body those men groped aggressively and tied in a way that suited their fetish. He knew she had a daddy kink but when they had that discussion, she told him it was mild. It was something he could always handle and he was rest assured. If only she had opened up to him about the whole thing, maybe he would have tried his best to satisfy her. Rather than inform him about having another round table discussion with him, she resolved to fucking everything in pants. The thoughts of those pictures still made his heart constrict painfully. The anonymous mailer sent twenty printed pictures and ongoing through them one after the other broke his heart over and over again. Each of them did more harm than the last but he kept going, he kept flipping through everything till the point that he wanted to run madly about the whole thing. He couldn’t bring himself to imagine it was Astra but the proof was right there in the front of his eyes. He couldn’t throw the pictures too away as well because he felt another person finding it might use it to blackmail her. He shouldn’t have cared about anyone blackmailing her or not but he still did. He never believed Astra would ruin him that way; she knew how much he loved her. He felt his whole world falling apart, and he had no idea what to do anymore to her. He couldn’t call anyone, and finding her look all innocent in their shared house made him lose it. That night in the rain, he sent her out, and he never looked back. He tried to focus on himself, but the more he remembered those pictures at the bottom of his drawer, the more he became hurt. He hated to say it but the mere sight of those pictures reminded him that the beautiful body used to be his to love and worship until she made a pact to punish him maybe or make him suffer for it. Even after she signed the divorce papers, he waited for her to come clean to him and apologize. He wanted to give her a second chance, maybe mistakes do happen but it seemed like she didn’t regret it because the next thing she did was jump on the next available flight out of the state. He watched her up to the point she left and then he knew he had lost her. Maybe they still had a shot at this future thing. But she never did; he didn’t know she was back in town until he discovered that she was working in a law firm close to him now. He couldn’t stop himself from going over to see her; He wanted to know how she was faring without him. He wanted to know if she was still trying to forget him like he was trying to put her in the past but he was failing terribly at. He was right even after five years, she didn’t give a fuck about him and she never would. According to her, he had lost and he hated to admit it but it was the truth. He had failed terribly at it and she had the upper hand in a game he had no idea they were playing. As pathetic as it may sound, she was absolutely correct.Astra walked into her apartment, and she made sure she locked the door before she dropped her bag on the floor and she slid down the wall. All these years of thinking about her reunion with Nicholas, never in one had she imagined him to hate her that much. She could see the hatred in his eyes as he called her a whore. Five years didn’t heal her heart and the same five years wasn’t enough to make her stop hating him. The most painful part of these processes was that he never told her what happened. He threw her out in the rain, called her names, and banged the door in her face. She felt betrayed because this man had promised to love her forever., promise to cherish her forever, and yet in one day, he turned her out and threw her to the wolves.She sobbed quietly, and she covered her mouth. She willed herself to cry because she had been holding on to her tears for so long. No matter what she did, she hated the way simple name-calling from him could send
Astra didn’t know which one excited her more, the fact that she was going to visit an art showcase with Dylan or that she just woke up on the good side of the bed naturally. She had always felt heavy each time she woke up, but today was better. Surprisingly, she had a weird dream about Nicholas coming to her home. Ewww! Nicholas would never come not with all that hate in his eyes. She was even scared of it herself. She said Hello to every co-worker she met on the road, and she couldn’t help but notice the stares they gave her. Like something happened, and she wasn’t in the loop. She shrugged and blamed it on the fact that she looked fantastic today. Her big smile was doing a good job complementing that.One thing that g stopped her from moving forward was how people hung around her cubicle while staring at it; they were not just staring. They were talking too. She had no idea what they were talking about, but one way to find out was moving closer
Astra grabbed the cup of coffee the waiter had just placed beside her on the table and sipped it gently after stirring it with the spoon beside. "You still don't like sugar? " Stephanie asked her while placing some cubes into her own cup. Astra smiled and said nothing to Stephanie. "Uhmm! this apple pie always tastes like heaven. " Stephanie declared while devouring the apple pie. "The delicacies here are meant for our taste buds, my dear friend. " Astra replied. Stephanie nodded in approval. "I needed this breakfast more than I needed anything. I missed it," said Stephanie. "It was always cheese, fish, and some dumb veggies for breakfast throughout our honeymoon. I couldn't complain but kept eating the whole damn thing. " Stephanie confessed with disgust while shaking her head. Astra smiled at her and said, "You didn't tell me how it went." Steph chuckled and replied. "You sure don't need every detail of my honeymoon. "Girl I need all the detail I can get. " Astra retorted with a
As soon as Nicholas left the room, Astra let out a sigh of relief. She was not sure how much more of the interaction she could take. It was a because of her stupid boss, that was the only reason she had to been deal with all of this. She felt a rumbling in her stomach, reminding her that it was lunch time. Astra had to get something to eat, and quickly. The breakfast she had with Stephanie that morning looked like it was not going to be enough to sustain her. Maybe she could just come in later to work on her project. As she pondered on this idea for a moment, the sound of her ringing phone cut through the air. Astra picked it up for the table and glanced at the screen. “Jared,” she noted with a sigh. Her mind took her back to Jared and Nicholas' reaction. It hadn't ended well, and with the mood that Nicholas was in already, there was no telling what he would do if he found out who was calling. Astra's shoulders slumped a little, as she leaned against the table, to ease some of the
Astra quickly turned the direction of the car to Nicholas’ home the home that was once hers. Not the time to think of that Astra, she scolds herself.“This had better be some serious emergency” She mutters. With the speed at which she was going, she’d definitely get pulled over. Luckily for her, there were no police around. Astra prayed in her heart that Nicholas was okay, she shouldn’t care, she should have been doing quite the opposite. But deep down she knew no matter what, she’d always care for Nicholas. His voice over the phone sounded hurried, frightened even and before she knew it she had sprinted out of the coffee shop without giving any explanation whatsoever to Jared. What was she to say? “Sorry Jared, Nicholas needs me. You know Nicholas don’t you? Yes, the same man you met in my home a week back that harassed you. Also, my ex-husband that threw me out into the rain five years ago, ah yes that’s the one” Jared would have looked at her as a stupid woman and in all honesty,
Nicholas felt utterly and completely dejected and most importantly a fool, a very big one at that. How could he let his guard so lose and let the pure lust he felt towards Astra control his actions. That was the thing he never liked when it came to Astra, how she was in total control of his feelings without evening trying. He could do the most stupidest things and shitties things when it came to her. What the fuck was he thinking trying to coo her into his bed.“God I am such a fool” he muttered to himself, hands folded behind his neck as he looked at the plain wall as though it was supposed to miraculously reply his question.The cold wind blew as the trees swung from left to right. Everywhere was calm and the lights were off. The creepy darkness haunted the streets and not a soul could be seen hovering around perhaps some living souls that meant business could be seen. In his large black coat with a muffler around his neck, he stood by the end of the road as he adjusted his big hat
The 18th of July. A date Astra never thought she could forget in a hurry. About twelve years ago on that day, she tried Sam's line but it wasn't going through so she went to his home instead to ensure everything was fine. Sam always picked her calls unlike that day. The door to Sam's living room opened the moment she gave the door a slight push. His parents were probably out and Jean his younger sister was playing with her friends at the park behind. She dashed to Sam's room and hit the door with so much frustration after the moanings she heard made her run mad with rage. Sam her highschool boyfriend was on top of Clara some random girl from her class as Sam asserts. Clara was butt naked while Sam had his boxers on. After she hurried home in tears, she imagined Clara bending over Sam's abdomen giving him a blow job while he screamed in pleasure as she heard him say to Clara "You handle me so well." She was heartbroken. The tortuous scene she encountered back then made her vow never
Astra marched down the hallway, her red heels making click clack sounds in her wake. The light from an adjacent window shone on her hair and reflected on her defiant face as she walked with purpose.She was going to tell her boss she could no longer work on the Michaelson's case and her stand was final.She didn't know what kind of elaborate joke this was, being forced to work hand in hand with her ex husband but she was not finding it funny and Trevor had better be prepared to hear an earful because she was not going to be a pawn in this game, least of all to Nicholas Michaelson any longer and if it meant her sliding of her chair, packing her things and leaving, she would do it. Hell, she would even move states.As she approached the foot of the stairs, she berated herself. Why had she stayed in the same state she'd been broken, expecting to somehow be healed? And why was this thought just occuring now?Taking the stairs one at a time, she recited all the reasons why she would never