I: Started with a Piece of Paper, Ended with Another Piece 

DEENA'S POV

"He's not answering," I said, pacing around the living room with my phone in hand and my other hand clutching my head. "Come on, Trent. Pick up." I grumbled under my breath while peeking behind the curtain to see the guests waiting for the party to start.

"Oh, dear. I hope he did not get into an accident." Mom murmured with a worried look on her face.

"God, what do I do?" I stressed, gripping my hair that I curled for hours.

It's Trent and I's first wedding anniversary and I'm planning to surprise him. Everything is already set. My mother and I prepared the food and the guests were already waiting, but how can I start it without my husband?

"Or... maybe he's caught up with something," My older brother, Daniel, commented while munching on peanuts and I threw him a glare. "What? Didn't you tell us he's been acting strange the past few weeks? Always busy and always missing. And now you haven't talked to him the whole day."

"Just because it's your habit doesn't make everyone like you." I hissed at him and dialed my husband's number again.

Daniel raised his hands in defense. "I'm just concerned about you, you know? I'm a man and I know how it works."

"Shut it, Daniel. You're not helping your sister." Mom snapped at Daniel and I threw her a look of gratitude.

The call finally connected and I let out a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank God. Where are you, babe? The party's about to start and you're the only one missing."

I expected to hear the voice of the man I love, but what I heard made my world crumble in a second.

"Oh, God! Harder, Trent!" A woman screamed from the other line and it was followed by the sound of bed creaking and shuffling on the other line.

"Please, baby!"

I closed my eyes when a wave of dizziness hit me and my mother was quick to support me. The phone slipped from my hand and fell on the ground along with my broken heart that was smashed to pieces.

My lips quivered as I choked on my own sob and covered my own mouth with a trembling hand where I wore my wedding ring. Suddenly, my brother's words made sense. The thing that never crossed my mind happened to me.

Trenton cheating on me? I never thought about it in a million years. Not after everyone around us judged us for getting married only after months of dating and told us it won't last. Not after I was warned that he'll get tired of me. After all, Trent used to be a playboy before he met me.

Our story was only written in books, and I guess that's why I thought I would have my own happy ending. I saved him from a car accident before it can explode, and since then, he became interested in me. He courted me for months and he didn't give up even when I rejected him a few times because I wasn't interested in relationships. His parents didn't approve of me when they found out and they wanted him to marry a rich girl, so Trenton asked for my hand just eight months after dating, and of course, I agreed.

I guess I was too naive to believe that it will last. Too in love with the man I have given my everything to—my virginity, my heart, my life.

And now reality comes knocking on my door with a hard truth.

I vaguely heard my mother gasping loudly when she picked up my phone because I was too broken and hurt to process things around me.

"How could you do this to my daughter, Trent?! She loved you more than her life! I trusted you to take care of her!"

"Mom, take care of Deena. I'll handle this," I heard my brother say before my mother took me to the couch. "You cheating son of a bitch. Do you know how much my sister defended you from me? Don't let me see your face or I swear..."

I no longer heard my brother say next because when I had the strength to look up. I was met with multiple eyes watching us. They probably heard the commotion, and now they heard what happened.

"M-Mom..." I said weakly, gripping her arm desperately while scanning the crowd with a blurry gaze and the next thing I knew, my world turned dark.

When I came to, it was already past midnight and Mom told me she drove off the guests right after I passed out. She and Daniel made sure no photos or videos will leak to protect my image from the public.

I had only started my acting career two years ago and I haven't made a name for myself despite Trenton being the CEO of my company. I didn't want to be known because of him. I wanted to be known for my talent, and if a rumor spread about this, it would be the end of my career.

The sound of a car arriving outside caught my attention and my eyes dimmed. Usually, whenever I hear the sound of that familiar engine, I would be flying to the foyer to throw my arms at him, but right now, it brings nothing but pain.

A few seconds later, Trenton Outlaw, my husband, the man who promised me forever and that he will never hurt me, entered the house and fresh tears brimmed in my eyes. The joy I always felt whenever I see him is now replaced by agonizing pain.

Mom approached him and slapped him in the face while my brother grabbed his collar. I saw no remorse in Trent's face. He usually looked composed and relaxed, but at this moment, his face was stoic and there was no expression on his face.

"I told you not to show your face in front of me, you little shit!"

I bit my quivering lips and blinked back my tears. "Mom, Daniel, let me talk to my husband alone."

Husband, the word that gave me pride whenever I said it now brought nothing but uncertainty and insecurity.

They protested but Mom thankfully dragged my brother away so we could be alone. There was a pregnant pause between us. I should be lashing out at him, screaming at his face for cheating on me. But for some stupid reason, I was still in denial.

"What was that, Trenton? Don't you think I deserve some explanation at least?" I asked in a shaky voice while staring at his back.

His jaw visibly clenched and he couldn't even look at me. "I got drunk and I didn't know what I was doing, Deena. I'm sorry."

"How could you?" I asked in a low voice at first when I was behind him and my hands pounded his back. "How dare you do that to me! I gave you everything I had to the point that I was left with nothing! I-I... I thought we'll be together forever? Where did I go wrong, Trent?" My strength left me and I ended up clutching his shirt desperately, as if my life depended on it..

Trent took me in his arms and I flailed in his embrace, utterly disgusted by his touch. "I guess I realize now that I wasn't ready for marriage, Deena."

With that, he pulled away and climbed up the stairs without looking back at me. He left me crumbling to the ground and choking on my own tears, questioning myself where I had gone wrong. He wasn't ready? Then why did he marry me in the first place?

That night, Trenton slept soundly in our room while I stayed awake the whole night.

Call me stupid, desperate and hopeless, but just like any other wife. I thought it was just a phase. I reached the point where I blamed myself for being busy the past few days because of my career and I neglected my husband.

I patiently waited for him to come back to me. I prepared his usual breakfast and suit. But two days later, Trenton stopped coming home and he would ignore me at work whenever we passed by one another. And when I tried talking to him, he brushed me off and told me to wait for the divorce paper.

And I eventually got tired of waiting.

I came home late that day because I had a taping and I thought the house was empty, not until I saw Trenton sitting on the couch with a woman clinging to him.

It wasn't just any woman. It was Sandra, the woman he told me was just a friend and one of his artists.

And between us was a piece of paper on the table that would determine our fate.

"What is this?"

"It's about time we end this, Deena. Let's not torture each other. Sign the divorce paper." Trent demanded as if it was just a simple paper.

"Deena, I swear I didn't mean this to happen. I didn't mean to hurt you." Sandra, who had a look of innocence on her face, stood up to approach me. There were tears in her eyes as she reached for my hand, and if I didn't know that she was an artist like me, I would have believed her. "I fell in love with him and just like you, I'm also a victim of love."

Is she serious?

I did not acknowledge Sandra, though I wanted nothing but to run away from this pain and save myself, but I knew I had to face this one way or another.

"I just have one question and I want you to look at me when you answer, Trent," I forced the words out of my mouth while standing before him and tried to act tough, but my voice gave me away. "Don't you really love me anymore?"

Trenton Outlaw stared back at me with an unwavering gaze. The same piercing blue eyes that used to look at me with love are now looking at me as if I was merely a stranger.

"Yes,"

A single word that ended all the hope I was still feeling and before I could break down, I reached for the pen and signed the paper. Placing the pen on the table along with my wedding ring.

And he looked taken aback—nervous even.

"That's it?"

"Why? Did you expect me to beg? You've proven to me that I've loved the wrong man and that you will always be a playboy. It was stupid of me to think I can change you. You are nothing but a coward, so goodbye, Trenton Outlaw. I hope you two will have a good life."