Dear Ex-husband, I'm Better Without You!

Let’s get divorced?

…

“Welcome home, honey,” Lily warmly greeted her husband, Roberto, as he walked in through the open double doors that led to the living room.

Dressed in a simple white gown that barely reached her ankles, with her hair held up in a side-braided ponytail, she had her hands clasped in front of her. Her body slightly swayed from side to side, a bright smile tugging at the corners of her lips.

She had just finished preparing dinner for two not long ago. Although he had never eaten her food, she always hoped he would try it one day.

Usually, he would at least acknowledge her habitual greeting with a nonchalant hum. But tonight, he wore a grave expression and his steps were noticeably hurried.

Still, she decided to try her luck for the nth time, “I made dinner. Would you…”

“I don’t care about your horrible food!” he snapped, causing her to flinch.

“H-have you even tasted it?” she asked, trying to mask the hurt.

“Food made by a person I don’t like is naturally horrible. Don’t ever bother me again,” with that, he charged up the stairs, leaving her rooted in her spot, speechless.

‘Why is he acting like this?’ she thought to herself in puzzlement.

She ignored the curious looks of the housemaids who had been attracted by her husband’s earlier outburst, making a beeline for the dining section. She would eat alone, yet again.

It had been barely two years since they got married according to their families’ arrangements.

For her part, Lily had long had feelings for Roberto since high school; he was her senior back then. She had thought how lucky it would be if she could end up as his spouse.

 Hence, when her father, whose company was facing some sort of crisis at the time, asked her to marry him in exchange for the survival of their business, she readily agreed, thinking she would be able to conquer his heart in no time.

Unfortunately, up to this point, he had not shown any affection towards her; the only time she had witnessed him smile was on television broadcasts. She felt like he viewed her as a jinx who could drain away half of his lifespan if he smiled at her.

The food had tasted bland in her mouth. She couldn't bring herself to eat much, so she had one of the housemaids, return the rest to the kitchen.

Then she dispiritedly scaled up the stairs with draggy footsteps, her gaze at her feet, her hand placed on the banister. A swirl of pessimistic thoughts threatened to overwhelm her but she ultimately succeeded in dispelling them.

Now standing in the hallway, she looked longingly to her left, descrying a golden metal door in the distance. That was her husband's room— a place she had never stepped foot in ever since she moved into this mansion.

Dejectedly, she whirled on her heel, intending to make her way to her bedroom, only to hear the door of her husband's bedroom emitting a creaking noise.

"He must not want to see me right now," she mumbled to herself. With that thought in mind, she made to quicken her walking pace.

"Lily," she heard him call out in a husky voice, leading her to stop dead in her tracks.

What did he want? Or had she done anything to displease him?

Lips pursed, she turned to face him. He had an unreadable expression on his face as he stood in front of his room, hands in his pants pockets.

"Come inside,"

His unexpected words caused her jaw to drop in disbelief. Had her ears heard wrong, or were they playing tricks on her?

"What...?" she asked him, her tone unsure.

"I said, come into my room,"

"Why?" she asked him skeptically.

"I've got something important to tell you. I was about heading downstairs to fetch you, but since you're already here, that saves me time and energy. Don't make me repeat myself,"

With that, he returned to his room.

Though puzzled, curiosity got the best of her and she took slow but steady movements forward. Finally, she stood at the threshold of his room.

From there, she could see the inside of his rather capacious bedroom. From the fancy chandelier in the middle of the room to the oversized TV hanging on the wall down to the furniture, it could be seen that he had great taste.

Her husband sat on one of the two pumpkin-shaped brown chairs and gestured for her to occupy the other. She soon perched on the chair, internally hyping herself up just to hold his gaze.

There was an envelope on the round glass table between them and she wondered what it contained or if it was related to what he wanted to discuss.

His throat clearing yanked her from her musings and he pushed the envelope towards her. “Have a look,” he instructed.

“Okay,” she picked up the envelope and opened it, taking out a document. But upon seeing the contents, her face turned pale and her lips parted in disbelief.

She stopped inclining her head, fixing her gaze at him, “Divorce Agreement? You want to end our marriage?” she asked, her voice shaky.

“Thankfully your brain is working fine. Here,” he fished out a pen from his pockets, “Sign it quickly. As stated in it, you will be getting an alimony of ten million and a villa in Dove city,” he said coldly.

“Why?” she questioned, putting the document on the table.

“We’re just married on paper. Two good years with nothing to show for it. I don’t love you, you also don’t love  me. It must be hard for you to pretend to be a good wife every day. So it's time to put an end to that,”

“I’m not pretending,” she said, her tone emotional, “I married you because I loved you,”

“Save your love for someone else, Lily. I don’t like you and never will. Don’t waste my time, sign it and leave,” he said, the annoyance in his tone unmistakable.

She rose from her seat, a determined look on her face, “No, I will not,”

“What did you say?” he asked, a deep scowl already creeping onto his handsome face.

“I will not sign it, Roberto,” she took the document and tore it to shreds before throwing the pieces at him. “I got into this marriage of my own accord and I’ve decided to be with you no matter what,” she howled.

He nodded sagely, “I see,” he rose and walked towards his bedside cabinet, crouching down to pull out the lower drawer. Then he returned with a stack of documents and placed them on the table, “I anticipated this, so I’ve made several copies. You can’t walk out of here without signing one of them,”

“Why are you doing this to me?” Lily’s shoulders racked with sobs, “Why can’t you put in effort like I do and see if we can make this work? At least give ‘Us’ a chance for three months,”

Roberto shook his head, “My heart can never beat for you,”

Lily then recalled something she had seen in a news article. Miriam Walker, his childhood sweetheart was back from the States, now a famed artist with her works displayed in some world-renowned art galleries.

“Is it because of her?” Lily asked, unable to mask her pain.

“Who are you talking about?”

“Miriam Walker,”

“Yes. I want to make her mine, you are in the way,” he said coldly.

At that, she sniffled and shrugged, “Alright. Since it’s like that, I’ll sign,”

She took the pen and signed one of the documents, throwing it to the floor along with the pen before making a pivot.

“Don’t worry, I’ve already explained to your father. He was more than happy when I offered him some millions as compensation,”

His words made her freeze, then without turning to face him, she responded, “I don’t care about him. The both of you can go to hell for all I care!”

She stalked out of the room, slamming the door hard behind her.