Three

Asher watched the sun set high in the sky with so much indignation. Eyebags had formed under his eyes from last night's sleep deprivation. He had stayed awake all night, listening for any sign of Lily coming back, but he heard nothing. Once the clock struck at 12 AM, he knew she wouldn't be coming back that night, but a part of him believed she'd be back first thing in the morning. The employment of the housekeepers were tightly linked to her absence or presence, and he knew her well enough to know that she would burn herself for another, yet... She still wasn't back at half past 10.

His eyes darted to his bedside clock, and he clenched his fists tightly to keep himself from smashing it against the wall. It wasn't just the time that annoyed him, it was the freaking clock itself. Two nights ago, he had a classic vintage one sitting on his desk, now, it has been replaced with a boring black clock.. the same one he had before he married Lilly, and it infuriated him.  

When he walked into the room last night, he noticed the differences. He had picked on the gradual change in vibes and the looks of his room over the past week, but he couldn't place a finger on it, last night however, when he walked in... It finally hit him, Lily walked away with all the colours and homeliness she added to his life. His room was back to the exact way he had it before she came into his life, and instead of loving it... He detested every part of it. He wanted the little, barely noticable sparks of colours she added. The first time he noticed the subtle changes she was making in his room after he explicitly told her not to ever come into his room, he was annoyed... But soon enough, he got used to it and now...

A subtle knock on the door jarred him out of his thoughts, and he immediately looked up at the door, his hopes raised. He smoothened his rough hair, before he beckoned on the person to come in. He kept his face blank as the door crept open, and finally the person behind the door revealed themselves and disappointment and anger surged through him.

It wasn't Lily, it was Marie. 

"What?" He barked and Marie flinched. 

"Sir," she started, scared out of her mind to break the news to him. She and the rest of the housekeepers and workers, worked round the clock last night, trying to get a hold of their mistress and when they finally did... Lily blatantly refused to come back to the house. She tried all she could to coax her, but she was adamant. 

"Are you going to speak or are you just going to stand around looking at me like I grew two horns overnight?" The minute the question left his mouth, Asher felt a little pang of guilt at his tone. Marie has done nothing to deserve the anger, but there was no one else to receive it.

"We finally got a hold of the Mistress this morning." Marie said and Asher rose a brow, "she, has however refused to return back to the mansion sir. Instead, she told us to wait for a package to deliver to you this morning, she said it would clear things up for you... And us" she muttered the last part, hoping he didn't hear.

Asher felt a muscle tick on his jaw, and he gritted hard on his teeth to keep himself from exploding in anger. He couldn't wrap his head around Lily's newly found confidence to disrespect him... He called the shots, what he says go... And she was overstepping the line, a little too much and his pride wouldn't take that.

"And has the package arrived?" Marie immediately handed the brown envelope to him. His mind gave him an inkling of what it could be, but he chose to believe otherwise. She might be pulling her little antics now, but she wouldn't dare to do what he thinks she's trying to do... Not when she knows what is at stake. "You can go now." He said and Marie scuffled out of the room.

In all her years of serving him, she has not encountered such an angry and bitter side of him. She glanced at the locked door behind her and shook her head, "you should have treated her better." She mumbled before she hurried out. 

Once the door closed behind Marie, Asher tore the envelope open and poured its content on his lap. He picked up the paper inside the envelope and his chest tightened from the anger coursing through his veins. An agreement to divorce was written in black and white before him, and Lily's signature sat pretty at the bottom of it. She has crossed a line.

Asher immediately picked up his phone and dialled a number. "I want Lily's location in 30 minutes, if I don't get... You can clear your table." He said and ended the call. Once he dropped his phone, he tore the divorce papers into bits and pieces, and threw them in the trash. He wasn't going to let her divorce him, that wasn't her decision to make. She agreed to stay by his side for however long he deems fit, and he hadn't given her the permission to go yet.

His phone dinged less than 10 minutes later, information on Lily's whereabouts and how to get there were on display before him. A corner of his lips tugged up in a smirk, it was time to pay the little birdie a visit. If she wasn't going to come to him, he would go to her, and she best believe that he is going to bring her back with him, no matter what it takes.

She is his wife, his, and he has never let anything that was truly and duly his get taken away from him.