Chapter 1 - The Divorce

Jessica paced about the living room, waiting for her husband, Dylan Robinson, to return home from work.

She was a beautiful, fair-skinned, 27-year-old chubby woman, and she had been married to Dylan for five years.

She had been submissive and loving, taking care of their home and two children. Yet all of a sudden, Dylan had changed.

Jessica had a son and a daughter with Dylan. Her first child, Caleb, was a five-year-old boy, while her second, Nina, was a two-year-old girl. They were fast asleep in their separate bedrooms.

For two nights, after Dylan left for work on Monday morning, Jessica hadn't seen her husband return home. She had noticed that his mood had changed before he left the house that morning.

Jessica stood in the living room and called Dylan to find out where he was, but the network provider informed her, "Sorry, the mobile number you're trying to call is unavailable at the moment. Please try again later."

"Oh! Where could Dylan be?" Jessica muttered. She had called his phone line several times and desperately needed to see her husband.

She had lied to their two children, telling them their father had gone to work on Monday morning. Yet Dylan hadn't returned home at all, and she couldn't keep up the deception much longer.

Jessica heard the sound of a car pulling into their compound and parking. She went outside, peeked, and saw that Dylan had returned home.

She sighed and went back into the house to wait for him to come inside.

Soon Dylan stepped out of his car and walked into the mansion. He was a 30-year-old Black man who owned DY Mobile Company.

He entered the living room and saw his wife, Jessica Albert, standing there in her long white nightgown. She greeted him. "Welcome home, sweetheart."

"Hmm," Dylan frowned.

He looked at the divorce papers in his hands, which his longtime lover, Rosie Andrew, had given him to deliver to Jessica at home.

Dylan walked up to Jessica without responding to her greeting. He stopped in front of her, thrust the divorce papers into her hands, and said, "I can't continue pretending with you anymore, Jessica. Read through this divorce paper, sign it, pack your things tomorrow, and return to your father's house. You can take the kids with you if you want, or leave them behind and go alone—but make sure you pack and leave tomorrow. I'll give you some funds and a share of my company's revenue to pay you off later, but this marriage is over. So leave."

"What?" Jessica was taken aback by her husband's statement. She looked at the divorce papers in her hands.

*Is this a dream?* Jessica wondered. She stared up at Dylan as he walked away toward the living room stairs.

Instead of explaining where he had been for the past three days and two nights—during which she hadn't seen him—he had simply shoved divorce papers into her hands and ordered her to sign them.

Jessica snapped out of her trance and quickly called after him. "Wait, Dylan! What's the meaning of this? You just got home now, and instead of explaining where you've been, you're talking about divorce? What's come over you? What did I do wrong?"

Jessica looked teary-eyed, and Dylan paused and turned back to face her. He asked, "Have you taken a good look at yourself lately in the mirror, Jessica?"

Jessica was puzzled by her husband's question. She stared at herself from head to toe, trying to understand what he meant.

"Are you the same woman I married five years ago? Take a good look at yourself, Jessica. You've turned fat overnight, and I can't continue with you anymore. I can't carry you or make love to you the way I want because you've outgrown me—that's just the truth. This marriage isn't working anymore. So sign the divorce papers and leave!" Dylan spat in a cold voice and turned to walk away toward the stairs.

"No, Dylan! We can't divorce. I love you, and I'm already working on myself."

Jessica had been a banker before she met Dylan, but after giving birth to Nina and starting to gain weight at home, Dylan had complained that she was turning lazy. He had mandated that she quit her job to look after their two children, insisting she couldn't leave all the work to the maid alone.

Dylan had sent the poor maid away, and Jessica had thought the maid had done something wrong—but she had been innocent.

Dylan had insisted that Jessica cook his meals and spend time with their children, and she had happily done it all if it would make their marriage work and please him. Yet now Dylan was filing for divorce.

Jessica cried, "No, Dylan! I can't divorce you. After five years of marriage—no! This can't be happening to us."

Dylan paused and replied, "Just sign the divorce papers and leave, Jessica. I'm not the first man to divorce his wife, and I won't be the last."

Tearfully, Jessica asked, "What did I do wrong, Dylan? Why do you want to end our marriage?"

Dylan turned and replied, "You've turned ugly, Jessica—not the same woman I married. So leave!"

"What?" Jessica was shocked by his statement. She looked at her husband's face in disbelief. She could smell alcohol on him and see the red lipstick stain on his lips.

Jessica didn't want to believe Dylan was already cheating on her. She asked, "What did you just say? That I'm ugly now? Really?"

"Yes, Jessica! Or am I lying? Was this how I married you? Agreed, you're a billionaire's daughter, and your father helped me establish myself in the past—so what? I can't continue pretending with you. You've turned fat and aren't the kind of wife I want at home anymore—or the one I want to come home to. So leave!" Dylan spat in a cold tone.

Jessica's heart broke into pieces at his final statement. Tears streamed freely down her face, wetting the divorce papers in her hands.

She sobbed, "No, Dylan. I can't accept this divorce. I think you're getting it all wrong—it's not my fault I'm fat now. Some women gain weight after childbirth, and it's not a disease."

Dylan climbed the living room stairs and paused, staring back at Jessica. She did look innocent in her long white nightgown, and she hadn't been fat when he first married her.

He replied, "I can't continue pretending with you anymore, Jessica. Take your time, read through the divorce papers, and sign them. I acknowledge all your efforts to make our marriage work, and your family's support in the past and present. But this marriage isn't working anymore. I can't keep sleeping outside our matrimonial home or paying for hotel rooms when I have a luxurious duplex mansion here. So sign the papers and leave."

Dylan climbed the stairs and went up to the master bedroom he shared with Jessica, leaving her standing alone in the living room, staring at the divorce papers in her hands.

Jessica glanced at the living room wall clock and saw that it was already after 11 p.m. Yet Dylan was just returning home from work, and she knew his company usually closed by 5 p.m.

She screamed, "No, Dylan! This can't be happening to us—we can never divorce! Never!"

Tears rolled freely down her cheeks, heavily wetting the divorce papers in her hands. She said, "You can't divorce me now, Dylan. I'm not like this on purpose, and I can't turn thin overnight just to please you and make love the way you want."

Jessica fell back onto one of the living room's seven black couches and remembered the first day she had met Dylan.

Dylan was a handsome Black man—trustworthy, friendly, and the kind every woman would pray to have.

In the early stages of their relationship, Dylan had been sweet and romantic, never tiring in bed. He had made her want him constantly, and she couldn't resist his sèxual prowess.

If anyone had told her then that Dylan would one day break up with her or divorce her, Jessica would have cursed them as a hater. She had dated Dylan for two years before they married.

But now, Dylan wanted to divorce her and end their five-year marriage after all she had done for him.

"No, Dylan! I can't take this. That means you're already cheating on me with someone else. Come back here—you need to explain what happened to the Dylan I met and married. You can't divorce me now. No! After five years of marriage—never! I can't take this!"

"How can you just return home today after spending two days outside our matrimonial home and tell me I'm fat and ugly—not the kind of wife you want to come home to? No, Dylan! I can't accept this divorce!" Jessica stood up from the couch and rushed upstairs to their bedroom to confront her husband.