Chapter 1

“Mrs. Monteverde, as I have already said a while ago, Damon is currently having a conference meeting and can’t take any calls. Don’t be such a bother,” an unfamiliar but also quite familiar voice belonging to a woman, answered her phone call, the voice that answer the phone was tainted with disdain as she responded with Ella previous question, visibly impatient.

Ella heartstrings tug.

That voice…

 Ella pursed her lips, hanging up the call before that woman could do it.

 Important meeting…?

 “Haa,” Ella clicked her tongue, chuckling.

She finally knew the reason why her husband who was almost inseparable and clingy towards her, changed in a blink of an eye.

Her head lowered slightly as she took a deep breath and sighed, ignoring her chest throbbing in pain.

 Looking over at the place she had tried hard to decorate and arrange during the day, regret filled up her insides.

 If she had proposed to divorce Damon as soon as she felt that something was off with him these past few weeks he was not at home, would the matter of her being constantly treated like something about to be discarded, change?

The phone call today was the proof. That voice… she can never mistake whose voice was that.

 Ella stood up, silently cleaning up her room. An hour passed when she was only down to tearing off the red curtains covering the transparent glass window, the once closed door opened with a click, revealing Damon with a cold expression on his face.

Ella heart skip a beat in joy, but, seeing the kind of expression her husband had right now, the upward curl of her lip narrowed down.

Her happy expression wiped off.

 Ella just looked at Damon for a mere second, before she continued tearing up the decorations in silence, not greeting her husband as usual when he returned home.

 Damon's clear footsteps were heard after a second pause when not greeted by cheerfulness as usual and seeing that the happy expression on his wife face suddenly went astray, turning to that familiar lifeless gaze. He felt puzzled but then shrugged it off as he arrived behind his wife and couldn’t help but to state with his familiar cold voice when Ella seemed to show that she didn’t have any thoughts of conversing with him after he stopped.

 “Why did you call for me earlier?”

 Ella clenched the foiled ribbon, her gaze slightly darkened as the corner of her lips lifted up in a sneer, before it disappeared, turning her back to look at Damon straight.

 “It seemed I’m the one that needs to question you about what day is it today--” Ella paused, her lip twitches as Damon just stared coldly towards her.

 Realization hit Ella almost immediately she saw that cold gaze.

 Right.

These fast few days, she felt like Damon was preoccupied with something, and it certainly does not involve herself, judging by that familiar voice alone. Of course, Damon would not know that it's their wedding anniversary today.

After all, if this guy knew, he would have brought a gift for her, like what was always done in the past. She smiled wryly at that thought.

 “It’s nothing,” Ella finally continued to say, also acting cold as she tore off one last piece of the foiled ribbon and popped up the balloon with strength carrying a strong resentment, turning her back and was about to continue putting all the decorations to the opened cardboard boxes.

 Damon furrowed his brows, the temperature surrounding them went lower. He certainly didn’t feel that his wife was angry, only feeling irritated when his question was not answered.

 He doesn’t like having his question being answered with a question, and even more so, his question being brushed off at the end.

 “Nothing? You disturb me in the middle of my conference meeting and even was disrespectful enough to hang up the call without letting her finish her sentence? Are you serious—!” Damon cold words were cut off as Ella went towards him.

 “Disturb?” Ella muttered, she chuckled, her head shook, like she had heard something worth laughing for, “Did I really disturb your conference meeting when you didn't come back after I called an hour ago? But then…” she paused, her head slightly lowered as she blanky stared at the ground, “Even if I did,” her voice also lowered, as her last words trailed off along with the time her mind turned, finally catching Damon words fully.

Just because she hangs up earlier than that woman?

Sure enough.

Ella chuckled, her eyes bent into crescents, though her gaze directed at her husband was cold, but beneath it, hid the rising pain about to be seen.

 Ella was a daughter of a wealthy businessman after all, pampered not only by her parents but by everyone. She grew up spoiled by her grandparents retired from being a military officer. Pampered by her brothers, pampered by her cousins and friends. And even if she was ever to be bullied. When does she even lay down and be bullied willingly?

No less by such a husband that suddenly took a sudden turn of his loving personality.

Ella lips curled.

When she realized that Damon started to reprimand her because of that woman, her quiet face turned even colder as she restrained her impulse to slap that handsome face after standing in front of him, head raised as she slightly smiled, though there was no smile on her eyes.

 “What does it got to do with you if I want to do it Mr. Monteverde?” she called out Damon last name, mockingly asking, not backing down from that eyes that narrowed down dangerously after she clearly decided to mock and fight.

Her endearing name for Damon was nowhere to be found, that Damon who lowered his head had a moment of surprise that flash past his eyes.

 “I’m just telling you to behave yourself.” Damon quietly said, as he stepped back, distancing himself from her, massaging his forehead that creased.

 “And who are you to tell me to behave myself?!” Ella snapped out almost instantly Damon stated those words. A slight green vein popped out of her nape, agitated. “Behave? You really are absurd right now! Are you hearing what you just said?”

 But then, since she was able to snap out after those words from Damon, Damon, also, finally snapped out, after hearing her words, both of his palm slapping the table heavily, as he muffled out in restraint, veins bulging out from his neck and was threatening to pop, “I’m your husband! Who else have the audacity to tell you to behave other than your husband?”

“What suddenly got into you, Ella? Your acting like a shrew like those that I have seen outside!” Damon commented furiously. The table had a slight crack as the chair pushed aside creaked.

 Ella fell silent just when Damon slammed the table hard, her eyes widening slightly because of the sudden bloodthirstiness inside Damon eyes that cannot be hidden even if Damon tried his hardest best to suppress it. Her heart skipped a beat.

 But..

“Shrew?” Ella paused, a small snicker left her mouth, puffing out in mockery.

 “Husband? I never feel you are my husband anymore though! You were acting like a complete jerk towards me now that I only see you defending that woman for such an absurd reason, openly opposing me, your wife! Wife!”

“Say…” Ella paused, her expression turned blank, her knees weakened that she reached out for a chair as support, a moment of silence gave second of peace, but what she said next, also made Damon who was in front of her to stop, and had his jaw clenched, gritting his teeth with a click.

 “Are you tired acting like a loving husband towards me… now that she came back?” Ella tried to ask calmly as possible, staring right through those dark eyes that she knew went hazy after she asked.

 Damon eyelid twitches after that question, as Ella felt a lump on her throat as time passed by, only silence echoed along after her question.

 She lowered her head, turned her back and let out a low chuckle, breaking the silence that started to form between the two of them.

 Damon who was silent, also finally give his response, though he felt was too late, still stated stiffly, “Don’t think of such many messy things all day long. I chose you as my wife, not her.”

 “Because she was not here. You chose me as your wife five years ago, just to settle and make that woman regret leaving you. Isn’t that, right…?” Ella words were cut off as Damon frowned tightly after hearing her.

 “Don’t exaggerate it Ella. It’s not like that.” 

 “It will never be like that.” Damon felt that his tongue had dried because of how much he had said during this night. It seemed that the words he stated this night was comparable to a month of his everyday words.

 Now just thinking that his tongue was dry, he started to feel thirsty.

 But obviously he can’t drink right now, when Ella who turned her back, once again faced him, as she walked towards him, stopping a centimeter away, her head raised to match his gaze.

 When Damon narrowed his eyes and was about to step back and distance himself away from her, Ella pulled his tie hard as she reached out for his cheeks, gently caressing his left cheek before stopping, her eyelashes flickered down as the corner of her plump pale lip cocked up a little bit.

 When Damon heart races because of the sudden intimacy of his wife, returned normal, his breath hitches as Ella said in almost inaudible whisper, but was very enough for him to hear especially when their surrounding was too quiet—too quiet even, that's making him who loved silence in the past, hate it so much in a sudden, “Since Melanie is back...”

“Do you want to divorce me?...Damon.”