"Divorce?" Desiree stumbled back in shock. "What do you mean by divorce?"
"I think you know what I mean, Desiree," Gerald said calmly.
Desiree stared at him and chuckled. "Gerald... This is a joke, right?"
His face remained as stoic as ever as he said, "I don't remember laughing when I said it."
That made her realize that he was being serious, and she stared at him in disbelief. "You... You want a divorce? But... but why? Did I do something?" She asked desperately, but Gerald only continued to stare at her coldly. "Please, I know our marriage has been rocky from the start, but we can make it work. We don't need to get divorced."
Gerald scoffed and picked the divorce papers from the centerpiece, shoving them towards her. "Please just sign the divorce papers, Desiree. This marriage is over."
A surge of anger and panic tore through Desiree. He hadn't even offered any explanation for why he'd stood her up at the restaurant, and he was also asking her for a divorce without any explanation?
Grabbing the divorce papers from him, she threw them away. "No, I won’t sign them. Why do you want a divorce, Gerald? Please, you can’t do this to us. Let's save our marriage."
Despite her defiant anger, Gerald only calmly picked up the papers from the floor and said, “Let's not drag this out and make it a long process, Desiree. Sign the papers. This marriage was never real in the first place.”
She stared at him. “What are you talking about, Gerald? Of course our marriage was real. Why do you want us to get divorced?”
Gerald looked at her without an iota of emotion on his face as he placed the divorce papers back on the centerpiece. "I don't owe you any explanation, Desiree. Just sign the divorce papers and leave."
He turned and attempted to walk away but she grabbed him by the arm, stopping him. "Of course you owe me an explanation, Gerald! I waited for you at the Diner for hours. You never showed up and didn't bother to give me any explanation. And now you want to divorce me without telling me why? Of course you owe me an explanation!"
Gerald didn't even bother to turn and look at her face as he said, “Go through the papers. If you don't agree with some terms or want some terms changed, let me know and I'll have my lawyers look at it.”
And then he walked away, leaving her staring after him with a mixture of confusion, anger, and misery.
༺❀༻༺❀༻༺❀༻
Desiree didn't sleep a wink that night, her mind running wild with thoughts about everything that was currently wrong in her marriage. Her father called her the next morning to check up on her, and like she'd been doing for the past one year, she lied and told him that everything was going perfectly and that she and Gerald had such a great anniversary night together.
After her father had hung up, Desiree tossed her phone beside her on the bed, letting out a sigh of misery. Why was everything falling apart?
She'd always known that Gerald didn't love her; he made it abundantly clear the day he agreed to marry her. But even though he mostly treated her with indifference at the beginning of their marriage, he'd gradually warmed up to her and become more affectionate.
He would take care of her whenever she was sick, feeding her, making sure she took her medicine and rested well. He would hold her tight when they were sleeping and she complained of feeling cold.
He never made love to her like she wished he would, but those things had been enough, and she missed it. She missed being in his arms and the feel of those strong arms holding her so close to his warm body.
Their marriage had in no way been perfect, but she always knew that Gerald cared for her even if he didn't love her the way she wanted him to. So what could've changed? Why did Gerald suddenly want to divorce her? What did she do to make him feel that way?
She tried searching her mind for anything she could've done to make him feel that way. Nothing came up; all she remembered was loving him every day. But he couldn't have changed his mind about her for no reason. And she needed to find out the reason.
Desiree suddenly remembered what Patrick, Gerald's PA, told her last night when she called to ask where Gerald was;
‘He left about two hours before closing time and said he was going to see someone.’
She froze. Someone. Gerald had gone to see someone yesterday. Obviously, that someone had been more important than their wedding anniversary for him to not show up because of that person. But who could this 'someone' be?
Her heart began racing inside her chest as she shook her head vigorously. No, it couldn't be what she was thinking, could it? Gerald would never...
She needed to know before it drove her crazy. And there was only one person who could tell her; Gerald's chauffeur.
With that decided, Desiree bounced out of bed. After brushing her teeth and washing her face, she set off downstairs. Her maids were all in the hall doing their normal morning routine.
"Good morning, Mrs. Butler," they greeted her.
Despite their greeting, Desiree could see that they were trying not to look at her face, and she instantly knew why; they had heard the argument between her and Gerald last night. The pity on their faces was so evident.
"Good morning," she greeted back, her face warming with embarrassment as she hurried out.
Their drivers slept in their own quarters, apartments attached to the main building but could only be accessed from outside. Desiree gingerly knocked on the door of Jose Luiz, the chauffeur who took Gerald out the most, hoping he was around. Some seconds later, the door opened to reveal him.
"Mrs. Butler," Jose Luiz said when he saw her. "Can I do something for you? Do you want me to take you out?"
Desiree went straight to the point. "I just came to ask you one question, Jose Luiz, and I hope you tell me the truth."
"Okay?" Jose Luiz said slowly, his expression showing that he didn't like where this was going.
"Where did you take my husband last night, Jose?"
Jose Luiz frowned. "Sorry. Is there a problem, Madam?"
Desiree bit her lip. "Just tell me, Jose. Where did you take my husband last night?”
"I'm sorry, Mrs. Butler, but if the boss hasn't told you about it, then he probably doesn't want you to know so I can't tell you.”
Desiree narrowed her eyes. “He's not your only boss. I'm your boss too, and I demand that you tell me right now!” She immediately regretted talking to him that way, but she felt desperate.
Jose Luiz stared at her for some seconds before nodding solemnly. "Mr. Butler made me take him to the hospital just like I've been doing every day for the past one month.”
Desiree's eyes widened. "The hospital? Is he ill?"
Jose Luiz shook his head. "No, I don't think so, ma'am. He goes to see someone."
Desiree stiffened. "Who?"
"I don't know. I've never asked him, and I never go inside the room."
"But you know which hospital and the room number, right?" Desiree questioned.
"Yes."
Five minutes later, Desiree was on her way to the hospital, driven by Thomas, another chauffeur. Her mind was racing with thoughts. When Jose Luiz mentioned a hospital, her first thought was that Gerald goes to see Winter, his ex, who ended up in a coma after being run over by a car. But the hospital Jose mentioned was different from where Winter was being hospitalized.
Besides, since they got married, Desiree knew that Gerald went to visit Winter every once in a while, but it didn't make sense for him to suddenly be visiting her every day to the point of missing their anniversary yesterday, especially since Winter was still in a coma. So it had to be someone else he was visiting, and Desiree wanted to know who.
On reaching, she didn't have to ask the front desk for the room number since Jose had already told her. She went straight into the elevator and rode onto the floor. Her heart thumped the closer she got to the room until she was standing in front of the door.
Raising her hand, she knocked once and entered, and she froze in the doorway at the sight before her; sitting on the hospital bed was none other than Winter, Gerald's ex.
And she was no longer in a coma.
