LOGINANIKA’S POV
One week.
That was how long I stayed in the hospital. There was no visits, no calls, not even a message to check up on me.
I had devoted 4 years into this marriage, poured all my love, my time and my affection and in the end I had come to terms with the fact that the person that I loved the most would never even see my value.
He was occupied with my own sister.
Honestly I thought I would have felt terrible, more miserable or even cry some more but instead I felt this peaceful emptiness. It was like I had finally just accepted the truth that had been inside of me for years and now I was finally free.
When I was finally discharged, there was no one there to pick me up, not like I had any expectations. I booked an uber to take me back home.
The house was empty, untouched, like Simon had not stepped in here for the entire week that I was away, probably spent the entire time with Bree.
I waited for the hurt, waited for the pang of betrayal to pierce my heart, but that feeling of emptiness was still there.
Simon now felt like a stranger to me.
“Madam you’re back”
Martha rushed up to me and engulfed me in a hug. She was the head maid and probably the closest thing to a friend that I had in here.
“How is the baby?” she asked worried and tears welled up in my eyes again.
“I’m so sorry” she said and hugged me tighter.
I allowed her to hold me for a few more minutes, just basking in the warmth before I finally pulled away, wiping my tears.
“Has Simon been home recently?” I asked even though I already knew the answer to all of that she shook her head “no Madam” I simply nodded my head.
When I got to my room, I began feeling disgust… In the earlier stages of our marriage, I had insisted that our wedding portrait be left in my room. A large picture of him and me on the day we got married hanging over my bed.
We looked so happy, although now as I took a closer look at it I realized that it was only me that was happy.
I treasured it so much, and for years, I had made sure that there was no single spec of dust on it…. Now I could not even bear to look at it.
“Martha!” I called out and she hurried over “yes Madam”
I pointed to the portrait ‘’get rid of it” I said.
Her eyes widened “but Madam you love this portrait” she said.
I gave her a pointed look “I said throw it away”
He nodded “yes Madam”
And with that she called the men and they quickly brought it down. I stared at the empty space where the picture used to be, and I felt nothing.
Later that evening, I was in the living room sipping some chamomile tea while watching some cheesy telenovelas that I couldn’t even tell you the name of when the front door opened, and Simon walked in.
Before I would be waiting for him at the front door to take his bags and make sure he got changed into comfortable slippers that I had pre warmed, but now, I did not even look in his direction, just continued watching the movie.
I heard his footsteps walking over to me “Anika”
“What?”
When I looed up at him, his brows were scrunched up in a mixture between anger and confusion. “I heard you were back, so why were you not waiting for me with warm slippers?”
I stared blankly up at him.
In all the time I had been doing that, he never appreciated it, sometimes he even called me annoying and now he dared ask me that?
I shrugged “I won’t be doing that for you anymore Simon” I said simply.
He ran hand through his hair “I know you are mad that I did not visit you in the hospital but I was busy… no need to throw a tantrum” he said.
“Believe what you want” I said.
He looked even more puzzled, before I would have apologized, begged, looked for a way to appease him, but now I just did not care.
“What has gotten into you Anika?” he asked.
I stood up ‘’if you have nothing more to say then I am going to my room now”
“Wait.” He held my arm before I walked away and I snatched my hands from him. Then he heaved a sigh and brought out a bracelet from his pocket “here, so stop being angry”
The bracelet was cheap, the paint was already chipping off.
A dry laugh came out of my throat “is this what you think of me?” I threw the bracelet to the ground “you’re pathetic”
His eyes turned angry “you ungrateful bitch-”
His phone rang immediately cutting him off.
It was Bree.
I could see the way his gaze softened once he took her call, a smiled settled its way n his face like she could just lighten up his mood with one phone call.
That used to be me.
“Hi, how are you?” he asked immediately.
He voice was annoyingly loud at the other end “thank you so much for the Jade bracelet Simon it’s beautiful”
“I already told you, I will get you anything you want, no need to thank me” he said.
“Umm… I hope Anika takes the freebie and forgives me” her voice was sickeningly sweet.
I scoffed and folded my hands.
He seriously wanted to give me Bree’s remains as a gift. He could not even so much as put some thought into his so called apology gift, just passed me scraps like I was a dog.
I wasn’t hurt, not in the slightest. I was fucking livid.
How could he humiliate me like this?
“I will call you soon ok Bree, just take care of yourself before you get sick” he said softly and hung up. He turned to me with a guilty expression “Anika It’s not…. It was-”
I folded my arms my face hard and my mind already made up.
“Let’s get a divorce”
ANIKA’S POVI was seated next to Felicia at the auction, but somehow Bree and Simon thought that it was the bright idea to take a seat right opposite us.“This is a rare gold necklace worn by the Queen of England herself-”“I want this one, Simon,” she said, eyes wide as she jabbed at a glittering necklace.Simon didn’t hesitate. “Whatever you want,” he said and gestured to the auctioneer to bid.“This is a diamond bracelet-”“Can I get this one as well” she bat her lashes at him. Simon juts smiled at her “ok”I rolled my eyes so hard I was surprised they didn’t get stuck.She might as well get the entire items to herself, such a waste of money.That and the fact that she was looking at me after every request like it was meant to mean something to me seemed to annoy me to no end.“I’m annoyed,” Felicia hissed beside me, her voice low but sharp enough for only me to hear.I just smiled, calm on the surface though a storm was brewing inside. “It’s not worth it, babe,” I said softly, lay
Anika“I did not know that what you were going through all of this all this time.”I smiled softly at Felicia. She was my best friend—well, to be fair, she was my only friend. Fierce, bold, loyal to a fault. The kind of person who would burn bridges for you without a second thought. I think the only reason I never told her about everything with Simon was because I knew she would make me do something about it. Something reckless. Something final.Back then, I had still been blinded by the love I thought I had for Simon. I had believed, foolishly, that my love would be enough to make him love me back someday. I was naïve, but now, I was smarter than that.Her eyes blazed like fire, and her jaw ticked. “I knew that I never liked him—I should—”I held up a hand and stopped her. “No need. We are already divorced.”She froze for a moment, then tilted her head. “How did he take it?”I said nothing. And to be honest, I really didn’t need to. I could feel her studying me, taking in the way my
SIMON’S POVI woke up with a pounding headache.It was like someone had placed a sack over my head and was hitting me with a pan over and over again until my head felt like it would just split open at this point.It was not a good idea that I drank so much, but Bree just did not want to drink alone and I could not be a party pooper and so I just had to indulge her…. I regret it now that’s for sure.I sat up when my nose picked up on the scent of faint vanilla perfume, and these pillows-I managed to open my eyes and that’s when I realized that this was not my room. So if I was sleeping in Anika’s room, then where the hell was she?And also where was my lime shot.In the four years that we were married, whenever I was drunk, Anika always made sure that I had lime shot every time I woke up after a night out so that I did not have to go the entire day with a hangover, but this time she wasn’t here.My brows furrowed in confusion. “Anika!” I called out but there was no reply.Fuck’s sake
ANIKA’S POVCan I not get a moment of peace?I mean seriously, that was not too much to ask for. Because tell me why at 10pm, just when I was finally falling asleep, my door banged open. My body jolted upright thinking it was some kind of actual burglar, but I only relaxed when I saw that it was just Simon.That did not stop the tick of my jaw.The nauseating smell of alcohol infiltrated my room instantly. It was clinging to him like“You didn’t come to my room tonight,” he slurred, staggering into the room. Glassy and they could not even focus on a particular thing.How much did he even have to drink?That was not even my business at this point, he was bothering me was all that I knew and I wanted him gone.I rolled my eyes and tried to push the panic down. “I want to sleep, Simon. So leave.” My voice was firm.“You’ve changed,” he said, taking an unsteady step closer. His words were low, slurred and there was something sinister laced in them. He pointed at me “you used to care about
ANIKA’S POVI hid the divorce papers in the middle of a thick stack of other documents.My fingers trembled slightly as I aligned the edges, making sure the pages looked perfectly normal. Contracts. Approval forms. Internal reports. The usual boring paperwork that Simon signed every single day without thinking twice.Funny he was the CEO of such a hug company and never for once had he thought to actually look through whatever he was signing… probably because he always had me to do it for him. But today I was grateful that he did that because, Right in the middle of it all… the papers that would end our marriage.Forever.My heart thumped painfully in my chest as I stared at them.Four years.Four years of my life tied to Simon Smith.Four years of loving a man who never loved me back.Four years of humiliating myself over and over again, hoping that one day he would finally see me… really see me, and not just some baggage that made him to marry her.I leaned back in my chair slowly, p
ANIKA’S POVThe doorbell rang.It was that kind of continuous ringing that always got on my nerves and made me wonder if the person on the other side had no manners.“Who is it” I said walking to the door but the ringing just continued.I pulled the door open and my eyes widened when I saw my parents.“Mum… Dad? When did you get back—?”Before I could finish, my father’s hand was across my face. The slap was so hard that it sent my head to the side. I tasted the metallic taste of my blood from my teeth biting into my cheek.“You wicked girl! How dare you push Bree down the stairs?” His voice thundered, echoing around the living room.I stumbled back, my cheek burning, shock paralyzing me for a second.It wasn’t me.It was Bree.She was the one who had shoved me, the one who had made me fall down the stairs. But no one believed me.Not my father. Not my mother.The reality of that sent an awful feeling through me.“I did not—she was the one that—” I tried to explain, my voice shaking.







