001

NORMANI.

The gates of Santiam Prison creaked open, and a blast of cool air rushed to my face. Hitting me was the first breath of freedom after a year, during which I was locked inside those lifeless gray walls. Twelve months. Three hundred and sixty-five days behind bars, not for something I did, but for the man I loved. I didn't regret it anyway.

I once thought I would only stay there a week, maybe even less. My father was powerful and untouchable. He could have snapped his fingers and pulled me out at any moment. But instead, he left me there. To punish me for marrying George. To make me regret loving the one man who didn’t come from wealth or power like me. My father didn't believe in love, he spat at the idea of it.

He sees George as someone who can't truly love, which is why he disapproved of our marriage.

“Normani!” Estella’s voice pierced my thoughts. I turned, and I saw her jump out of her car and run toward me. Her arms wrapped around me tightly when she reached me like she was trying to hold the broken pieces of me together. She smelled like her usual lavender perfume, one that was twice George's salary. She smelled like home, making me miss that place just a little.

“Oh my goodness, you look so lean,” she gasped, cupping my cheeks.

“Well,” I shrugged, trying to smile, “I needed to lose fat, my darling friend”

She frowned. “Don’t joke about something like this. You took the blame for something you didn’t do, Mani. What were you even thinking?!” She pushed her short hair to the side. She looked so pretty in her tiny strap Celine dress. A casual outfit that was worth thousands of dollars. 

Estella always called me ‘Mani’

I slid into the passenger seat and let my hand run through my long yet dry hair. It had lost its shine, just like my skin, my energy… everything. Prison does that to me. It was not a place one should be, although I was secluded because of my father’s influence, yet it was nothing like home.

“I thought Dad would help,” I murmured. “George had no one. I figured… since I am his daughter's, he would at least try to save me.”

Estella scoffed, pulling onto the road. Sometimes, she drove like a maniac.

“Well, he didn’t let you rot there for five years. A year was just enough for his ego. Honestly, I’m starting to understand why he hated George. That man dragged you into this whole mess.” She rolled her eyes.

“He didn’t drag me, Stella,” I said quietly.

“George was also framed. His boss—she wanted him, and when he refused her, she set him up.”

Estella shook her head. “Even if that is true, a real man wouldn’t let his wife take the fall. He should have protected you, Mani. And he doesn’t even know you come from a wealthy family that could help you out, so he was expecting you to spend five years there! You gave up everything for him.”

I didn’t respond. What was the point? Estella had made up her mind, she isn't going to accept George just like my father. But I loved George. And I know he loved me too.

When we finally pulled up in front of the little house I shared with George, I got down from the car and turned to her. I called it little because it was nothing compared to the mansion where I used to live. Nothing.

“Are you going to invite me in?” She asked, looking around the house with disgust. I knew the look she had on her face so well. This was the reason I could never introduce her to George, Estella dripped with money.

“You don't have somewhere else to be?” I raised my brows, knowing very well that she was the party type.

She smiled.

“True. The Monaco Grand Prix - god, I am late!” She exclaimed, tapping on her phone with her well-manicured fingers. Without saying goodbye, she drove off.

I smiled to myself and then braced myself before walking up to the house with my heart pounding. I had missed George so much. Missed his voice, his arms, the way he looked at me like I was the only woman in the world. I needed that again. I needed him. He didn't even know I was to be released today, I wanted it to be a surprise.

But the moment I stepped inside, I froze.

George’s mother, Esther, was lounging on the couch in a tank top and shorts. She barely ever visited, and when she did, she made it clear she hated me. Like always, her sharp eyes pinned me the moment she noticed me. It has been a year yet her hatred for me hasn't subsided.

“What are you doing here?” she asked, sneering like I was some insect crawling back from the drain.

I didn’t answer. I simply bowed my head slightly and started up the stairs toward the room George and I shared. I did not want to involve myself in a disagreement with her.

“Normani! You can’t go in there. George is busy!” She called after me, but I didn’t care. I reached the hallway and walked down as fast as my legs could carry me.

The door to our room was slightly open, and my heart raced in excitement to see my man. I reached for the handle, pushing the door further open, and then my heart stopped.

George. He was on his knees.

On his knees.

Proposing.

To another woman.

My stomach dropped to the floor. My vision blurred for a moment, but not from tears but from sheer disbelief. The woman he was proposing to wasn’t just anyone.

It was Becky.

His Boss.

The same woman who had “framed” him.

“All my life,” he said, looking up at her like she was his sun, “I have only wanted you.”

What about me? I wondered, staring at them like I was watching a horror movie.

Becky giggled and held out her hand. “Yes.”

He slipped a shimmering diamond ring onto her finger.

And just like that, my heart cracked open. Everything felt like an unpleasant dream and it happened too fast, it felt like a dream.

A soft gasp escaped me which was enough to make them both turn. George blinked. He looked stunned to see me but not sorry or regretful.

“What are you doing here?” he asked. “You were supposed to still be in prison.”

“I… I was released,” I whispered. I sounded like a stranger in my own body. I sounded pathetic too, like a defeated Koala.

“What is going on, George?” My voice trembled. “Why did you propose to her?”

He stood up slowly, like this wasn’t a big deal at all.

“I proposed to the woman I love the most. Is there a problem?”

The woman you love the most?

“No… no, I’m the woman you love,” I stammered. My voice broke. My whole body trembled.

“We have shared everything—our lives, our bed. You promised me… I even went to prison for you and you promised me! This pathetic woman framed you and now you are proposing to her? Were you brainwashed!” I half yelled incredulously. Everything felt like a dream, one I was ready to wake up from. I didn't care if I would be back in prison!

Becky laughed — a cruel, condescending laugh that made my skin crawl. She curled her fingers around George’s arm possessively. Her brunette hair, which I hated so much. It was just too glamorous for her little head.

“You poor thing,” she said, her voice full of fake sympathy. “You actually believed he was framed?”

My eyes widened.

She smirked. “It was all a trap. A little performance. We wanted you gone, and you made it so easy. You were desperate to save him like a good little fool.”

No. No, that couldn’t be true.

“I… am I dreaming?” My knees felt weak. I couldn’t breathe. “This isn’t real. Tell me this isn’t real.”

George didn’t answer. Instead, he took three steps close to me and then handed me a folded paper. His face didn’t show regret, just irritation. Like I was an inconvenience now. An inconvenience!

I looked down at the paper, and my vision blurred again — this time from hot and angry tear

s.

A divorce paper. His signature was already on it, I could see it through the transparent front cover.

He met my eyes with his cold expression.

“Let us divorce. Sign it and leave!”

What?

Just like that??

Damn! His words cut like a blade deeply through my heart.