Dear Billionaire Ex, You Don’t Own Me

Jocelyn’s POV

Inhaling shakily, I clutched my tote bag as I gazed at the humongous structure that was my husband's mansion.

I had gone to the grocery store earlier today after his mother told me to make her seafood boil and some other dishes. As we didn't have most of the ingredients at home, I had to source for them at the grocery store.

Initially, I had thought it'd be an easy feat and I'd only spend about thirty minutes there but alas was I wrong.

Apparently, today was maintenance day at the grocery store, thus, all shoppers had to wait outside for about an hour before they officially opened.

As I trudged into the house, I could only hope my mother-in-law understood that it wasn't my fault.

My heart lurched in fear when I saw the slender, middle-aged woman named Agnes sitting cross-legged on the sofa while sipping a glass of red wine.

On seeing me, she shook her head as a scoff escaped her.

“I was beginning to think you finally ran away with your lover,” She scorned. “But then again, you aren't exactly visually appealing enough to find one because you are an ugly, blind bat. That's why you are a liability to my poor son.”

When I was eleven, I was involved in a fire accident that made me partially blind in my left eye, thus, I always covered it with an eye patch.

My family’s vacation house at Florida had exploded with me inside it. According to my mother, it was my father who had saved me from dying in the fire. Till date, no one knew how the fire had started.

Although Agnes's words squeezed and tugged at my heartstrings, I remained composed and moved closer to her.

Dropping on my knees, I said. “I'm very sorry, mother. Today was their maintenance day at the grocery store and I-”

Before I could complete my utterance, she flung the remnant of her wine at me then slammed the empty cup on the stool beside her.

“Do you know what you are?” She spat. “A blatant fool. You always manage to find a way to mess up the easiest situations. I don't even know what my son saw in you. Why couldn't you go to another grocery store, you idiot?”

Wiping the wine off my face, I clutched my hands together and stuttered, my voice quivering with tears. “The next grocery store is about an hour away and you told me that you needed the food immediately. I'm very sorry, mother.”

“That darn mother!” Agnes snarled. “I'm not your mother, alright? I know who I gave birth to, and am certain it's not an asinine idiot like you. So never in your life should you call me that, am I clear?”

“B-But-” I began to say and she stood up and grabbed me by my shirt's collar.

“Am I fucking clear, you wench?” She spat, and I quickly nodded.

“Yes, mother, I mean, Madam Agnes.”

Her face melted into a smile as she stroked my wet hair. “That's good of you.”

“Thank you, ma,” I said. “Should I go and start cooking?”

“Sure,” Agnes shrugged. “I mean, that's all you are good for anyway. That reminds me, how old would your dead child be if you hadn't killed it?”

Her last statement sparked a bomb in my head and before I could stop myself, I exploded. “I didn't kill my child. Don't you ever talk about my baby like that. It was a miscarriage that no mother ever plans for!”

Three years ago, my suffering began after I bumped into my husband, Eduardo, at a coffee shop.

I was in a hurry to go to my mum's place as it was her birthday and I wanted to surprise her, so I hadn't seen the tall, sexy, and handsome man in front of me.

Prior to what I had initially expected, Eduardo had apologized and had also given me his handkerchief as well as his business card, offering to reimburse me for the coffee I had spilled.

Our love story started right there and then, and in the span of five months, we were engaged, and seven months later, we became husband and wife.

Eduardo had made me feel like I was the most beautiful woman on earth. He'd randomly gift me several custom-made jewelleries and clothing items.

On the day I told him I was pregnant, he had immediately ordered the latest range rover for me, and I had been so happy and had felt like the luckiest wife ever.

Unfortunately, I ended up losing the baby after three months and it was then Eduardo changed completely toward me.

He'd flare up at me at the slightest provocation and had even fired all our household staff. The final nail on the coffin was when he brought his mother to start living with us, and the both of them combined to make my life a living hell by making me a maid in my matrimonial home.

It was then I realized that keeping my true identity a secret had been a wise decision. They could and would never know that I was the only daughter and child of the wealthiest family in Australia; The Roswells.

My family owned Roshome, a chain of home appliance companies that spread across the whole of Australia.

I had lied to Eduardo that I had no family around me, mainly because I was scared he’d be after a business relationship with me after finding out who I truly was, and wouldn’t love me anymore.

In all of Eduardo's family, the only person who liked me was his little sister, Ivy. However, I had last seen her a year ago before she moved to Italy for college.

She was kind to a fault and treated me like we had been best friends for years.

Suddenly, Agnes bursted into tears, which yanked me out of my reverie.

“I'm sorry,” She sniffled, while I frowned in utter confusion. “I was just trying to be a good mother-in-law.”

Before I could respond, I heard footsteps furiously approaching me from behind, and I spun around to see my husband, shooting me the deadliest glare as he stormed up to me.

So that was why Agnes's attitude had done a sudden change.

“What were you doing to my mother?” He spat, and my mouth flapped open and closed wordlessly, as I couldn't even defend myself.

Averting his focus to Agnes, he said. “Mum, please go upstairs. Jocelyn and I need to talk.”

“Oh, okay, darling,” Agnes sniffled. “But don't be too hard on her. You know, she's still mentally unstable from losing her baby.”

With that, Agnes left, darting me a smirk that went unseen by Eduardo.

“Welcome home, Eduardo,” I said. “How-”

“Save it!” He spat, retracting a paperwork from his briefcase. “I want you to sign this and leave my house by tomorrow.”

Heart pounding in trepidation, I collected the paperwork from him, and saw “Divorce Agreement” clearly written as the letterhead.

“Y-You want a divorce?” I croaked out. “Did I do something wrong?”

“The question you ask is if you've ever done anything right!” Eduardo spat.

“Can you at least tell me what I did?” I sniffled.

“My true love is back. If you know what’s good for you, you’d better sign that paper and leave my fucking house!” He barked, before storming out of the living room.

Leaving me to stare at his disappearing form with a heavy heart.

Before I could respond, he stormed out of the living room.