Chapter 2: Divorce

Amelia's POV

The envelope struck my face before falling to the floor with a soft thud. I stared at it for a moment, unable to move. Demian had already turned away from me. He slipped an arm around Roselle's waist, holding her as though she were the only woman who mattered.

My trembling fingers reached for the envelope. A strange sense of dread settled in my chest as I pulled out the document inside. My heart stopped.

DIVORCE AGREEMENT.

The words blurred before my tear-filled eyes.

"N-No..." I whispered.

My hands shook violently as I looked up at Demian.

"What is this, Demian?" I demanded, throwing the papers at him.

The documents scattered across the floor. He didn't even flinch. Instead, he looked at me with the same cold expression he had worn all evening.

"It's exactly what it says."

"Why?" My voice broke. "Why would you do this to me?"

Demian's eyes remained emotionless. "Didn't you ask me why I married you?" He paused for a moment before continuing. "My grandmother left a condition for me, before I’ll be able to inherit the Carter family's fortune."

His lips curled into a grin. "And that is I had to marry you. If I refused...I would lose everything. And I wasn't willing to give up my inheritance for a woman like you.”

A bitter laugh escaped my lips. So I had been nothing more than a condition for him to inherit his family's fortune. Five years of my life. Five years of loving him.

Five years of believing that one day he would love me back. It had all been a lie.

Roselle slowly sat up and looked at me, a mocking smile playing on her lips. "Amelia, did you really think Demian could ever fall in love with someone like you?" 

She looked me up and down with undisguised contempt.

"Look at yourself. You're plain, predictable... painfully dull. You could never keep a man's attention."

Their laughter echoed through the room, each sound tearing my heart apart. For the past five years, I had devoted everything to this marriage. In the end I was nothing but a joke.

I slowly lifted my head and met Demian's cold gaze. "No. I won't sign these papers."

His expression darkened instantly. "You will," he said firmly. "Because there’s no point holding on to a marriage that never existed."

Roselle smirked, her eyes gleaming with triumph. "Do us both a favor and sign them," she said. "I've patiently waited for five years to become Mrs. Demian Carter."

My grip tightened around the divorce papers until they crumpled in my hands. "Never."

The single word echoed through the room. 

"If you wanted a divorce..." I said, my voice trembling. "Why bother making me see all this? Why didn’t you just hand me the papers?"

Roselle let out a soft laugh. "Because I wanted you to see the truth with your own eyes."

I frowned. "What do you mean?"

She reached for her phone on the bedside table and waved it in the air. "That message wasn't from Demian. I sent it." A satisfied smile spread across her face.

"I wanted you to walk in and see us together. That way, you'd finally understand that you never stood a chance. More importantly..." She tilted her head, her smile widening. “…you'd have no reason to refuse the divorce.”

"So..." I laughed, almost hysterically. "The two of you planned everything."

Demian looked at me as though I had lost my mind. Without another word, he bent down, picked up the divorce papers, and threw them at me. The papers struck my face before drifting to the floor.

I lowered my gaze, picked them up with trembling hands, and wiped away the tears threatening to fall. "I won't sign them."

Demian's expression darkened. "Don't test my patience, Amelia."

"I won't!" I shot back.

For the first time since walking into that room, a faint smile appeared on my lips. The sight of it made both Demian and Roselle stare at me in confusion.

I looked down at the divorce papers one last time before tearing them into tiny pieces. "You think you've already won," I said calmly. "No you haven’t."

Roselle narrowed her eyes. "What do you mean?"

I met her gaze without flinching. "As long as I don't sign those papers, the two of you won't get the ending you're hoping for."

A scoff escaped Demian's lips. "You really think tearing up one copy changes anything?" he said coldly. "My lawyer prepared more than enough."

My smile faltered for a brief second, but I refused to let either of them see how much his words hurt. I turned back to Roselle. "And do you know what people call a woman who knowingly sleeps with another woman's husband?"

Her face hardened.

"The other woman."

"How dare you!" Roselle snapped, taking a step toward me. "I'm not the other woman. You are!"

I let out a quiet laugh. "Really? Last time I checked, I'm still Demian Carter's legal wife." My eyes swept over her before I added. "As for you... you're nothing more than the woman who crawled into another woman's marriage."

Roselle's face flushed with anger, but before she could speak, I turned toward the door.

"Run all you want," Demian said coldly behind me. "You'll sign the papers eventually."

I paused for only a second. "Maybe," I replied without looking back. "But today isn't that day."

With that, I walked out of the room, leaving the two of them standing in silence.

My mind replayed everything that had happened. Thirty minutes later, I arrived home in a cab. Staring at the house that had once felt like my home, I walked to my room. 

Meeting my reflection, I let out a bitter laugh.

"Demian... one day, you'll realize you're the one who never deserved me. And by then, it will be too late”.