a perfect anniversary gift

Lauren’s P.O.V.

I looked at the stack of cold white papers on which black letters were mocking at me. Three years of endurance, hardship, and commitment brought what….

A Divorce Agreement…..

I am just a normal human.

When I signed up for this assignment, I knew what could come my way in the future, but with the passing time, a glimmer of hope filled my heart that there might be a possibility that I could get the bright side of the sun.

“You don’t need to be worried about your future. You are already compensated fairly for your services. You helped me stand up again, and I am not an ungrateful man. You did everything for money, and you are getting what you wanted. Sign this, and let’s end this.”

His tone was as cold as his heart.

I was used to this tone.

Three years…. Three long years…. 1096 days because one year was leap year… the year I entered this cold mansion, which I tried to convert into a warm and cozy home.

Three years of all the endurance towards the humiliation, and the result.

I sighed and slowly took the pen from the table.

I crossed out all the clauses related to the compensation.

The thing that I needed the least was money.

He didn’t know, but I know myself better.

I signed and slowly stood up.

I had so many things to say to him in my heart, but nothing came out of my mouth.

I just couldn’t say a word.

“I only have a request though,” he suddenly asked in a very low voice.

I stopped my already lifted foot in the air but didn’t look at him.

“I… I want you to teach the massage method and all those traditional medicines that you brewed for me to someone. I promised to help her. She… she has the same situation as mine.”

I scoffed and resumed walking towards the staircase. After signing those damn papers, I had no intention of staying here, not even for a second.

For the world, I wasn’t born rich, nor did I have a strong family backing me.

But I have my pride. I never humbled myself in any situation.

If you can’t reciprocate my feelings for you, it will be better to have a clean break, no strings attached.

“I have already compensated you for your time here, Lauren. What else do you want? You learned everything for me, and now I want you to teach that to someone else. Don’t be ungrateful, Lauren.”

His voice was as cold as the walls of this place. Every word coming out of his mouth pierced my heart to the extent that I couldn’t breathe.

Can anyone compensate for the sleepless nights that you endure because the one whom you love the most is in pain?

“I don’t need your charity, Mr. Westfield, and for your information, that so-called compensation is still lying safely in the drawer of your study table. You can go and check if you think I am lying.”

“I did what I promised your mother, and if she hasn’t told you yet, let me tell you that this wasn’t about money or anything related to monetary things from the very beginning. I don’t know what assumptions you have about me, and I don’t care about them at all. I will meet you at the civil bureau tomorrow at 9. Be sharp because I don’t want to waste even a second on you now.”

My reply was as cold and blunt as his usual tone to me, but now my heart was solid ice, and there is no warmth in this world that can melt it.

I straightened my back and continued ascending the stairs.

One more second here, and I feel as if I will suffocate to death.

I slumped my shoulders in defeat as soon as I reached my room. I closed the door and leaned on the doorframe.

I tried, but I failed.

I had only two options in front of me now.

Accept defeat and move on.

Or

Keep fighting and endure the humiliation.

I chose the former.

Still tears spilled without warning.

Damn tears.

It hurts. The pain in my chest is unbearable.

I wanted to scream, but I know that I can’t.

He is still downstairs, and he can hear my screams.

I continued breathing heavily, biting my lips to muffle my cries. I drew blood there, but the pain only made me numb.

I need to pack. I need to get out of here at any cost.

I flinched harder in panic when suddenly the shrill sound of my alarm destroyed the silence of the room.

A loud sob escaped my lips when I remembered this alarm tone.

I put this special alarm tone three years ago.

The sound not just burst my eardrums, but it also shattered the illusion and that glimmer of hope that I still had in my heart.

The phone was still screaming in my jeans pocket, but I had no strength left to pick it out and close it.

The deadline of three years ended with this alarm.

This was the first time I tasted failure, and, God, it tasted bitterer than bitter gourd.

What went wrong with my efforts? Did I not show my dedication to the fullest? Did I not share all those painful and helpless days and nights with him?

I was there when no one was there with him, and he just threw me out of his life with a flick of his finger, as if I meant nothing to him.

Why?

Why?

I was now sitting on the floor, hugging my knees tightly, my chin resting on my knee, thinking about why I couldn’t melt his heart.

The alarm stopped after some time, and I welcomed the silence. This was the first and the last time that I shed tears for a heartless man like him.

He is a lucky ba*tard that I, Lauren Shaw, shed tears for him.

I sniffed harder when I stopped crying and slowly stood up. It’s time to accept the defeat and move on.

What an irony that I entered the cold house in the dread of a night three years ago, and now I am leaving it in the same way.

A bitter smile crept into my lips while packing my stuff.

I was surprised to see that I didn’t have one full suitcase of stuff here.

It seemed that my time here was already decided by fate, and that’s why I never intended to get more stuff here.

I looked around in my room and felt an emptiness inside my chest.

I did have some things here that made this room more lively than other rooms. Now, after removing them, it comes back to its original state.

I went to the bathroom and fixed myself. No way that I will let anyone see how devastated I am right now.

I looked down at my attire and scoffed internally.

For him, I changed myself so much that I lost my original self.

I had worn an A-line maxi dress which was conservative, by the way, completely unlikely for me.

Still, I wore these kinds of things because of him, and what do I get in return?

Divorce agreement....

A perfect anniversary gift...

Yes, he didn't even remember that it was our wedding anniversary yesterday, which I celebrated alone, like the past two anniversaries.

I fixed my curly dark brown hair into a high bun, put on light makeup, and changed my clothes into my usual ones... a crop top in navy blue and a black short skirt ending in the middle of my thighs.

A cold smirk appeared on my lips while looking at my old self in the mirror.

"Welcome back, Lauren Shaw. Now is the time to claim what's yours originally." I said to myself and walked out of the bathroom.

I put on black high heels, going perfectly with my outfit.

I took my suitcase and rolled it behind while walking towards the door.

I dialed a number that I hadn't dialed in the past three years.

"I won." I exclaimed arrogantly, still trying not to spill tears while opening the door, but stopped when I saw him standing right outside the door.

I flinched a little while glaring at him but smirked satisfactorily when his cold eyes suddenly went wide when he registered my appearance.