“Those are divorce papers. Sign it,” He instructed, his voice cold as usual. I stared at the papers in shock and despite knowing the answer, I still asked. “Why?” “Because you aren't needed. I married you only because my father made it the only way to inherit his properties. I wasn't going to allow my hard work to go to the snake that is my younger brother and now that I've inherited almost everything, you're not needed.” “That is all I was?” I inquired knowing fully well his answer would hurt me but he didn't bother giving me an answer. “You'll be paid for your years as my bed warmer—” Bed warmer? “—and the moment my lawyer receives the signed document, you'll have the money sent to your card. In addition, you can stay here for an extra month.” I smiled through gritted teeth. “Fine. A hundred and thirty thousand grand is all I need.” “You can get more.” “I need just the amount I specified and don't worry, I'll sign right now. Just send the money now,” I told him before signing the document and handing it to him. *** After Shawna ends her loveless marriage she finds out that she's pregnant for her ex-husband. Now she has to figure out how to take care of herself, her kids, and her sick mother. When Damien comes back into her life and is willing to share her burden and take care of her. Will she forgive him and come back to him after everything he has put her through?
Lihat lebih banyakSHAWNA
When I thought of marriage, my eyes would light up as I imagined being in bed with my husband, giggling as he whispered sweet words of affection to me. I had looked forward to cooking with him and having food fights every time we did. A sad smile settled on my face as I stared at the ceiling. “How naive I was,” I muttered, my voice breaking. If I had been told I'd be married at age twenty-two, I'd surely believe that but I wouldn't have believed my marriage would be loveless and the complete opposite of all that I had imagined. With a sigh, I sat up in bed. It had been two years since I got married yet it was still the same so thinking about it and regretting it was pointless. I gently got out of bed and sat back down because of how sore I was between my legs and a scowl settled on my face. “Even if he doesn't like me, can't he at least be gentle,” I muttered, frustrated because I was almost always sore anytime I had sex with my husband. As though he heard me, the door to the bathroom swung open and Damien, my husband, strutted out in loose pants and a shirt that had the two top buttons unbuttoned. One wouldn't know we'd just had sex with how clean and cold he looked. Even without a smile on his face, he still looks handsome. I mentally slapped myself at my thought before standing up, holding the duvet to my body so I wouldn't be bare before him. Despite him seeing me naked multiple times, I still wasn't comfortable around him. “Wait,” I blocked his path as he walked towards the door, freezing when his hatred-filled eyes locked mine. Taking a deep breath, I smiled softly. “Please stay the night,” I started to say to him. “We've—” Without waiting for me to complete my sentence, he shoved me aside and resumed his journey to the door, not sparing me a word as he left the room and slammed the door behind him. “It's not like I wasn't expecting it,” I muttered to myself as I blinked back the tears in her eyes. Dropping the duvet, I looked at my reflection in the mirror and a teardrop rolled down my face. I wrapped my arms around my body as the tears rolled down in torrents. I felt like a low-level prostitute that didn't deserve pay. That was what I was, not a wife. Looking to the edge of the bed, my eyes landed on the red heels and black dress I had prepared for that night on the floor. The outfit was carefully selected so he'd at least desire me but I doubt he had noticed it and even if he did, he didn't care. “Wife to the wealthiest billionaire,” I recalled the headline to one of the many articles on us. “Everyone wants to be me. I wonder what they'd think when they find out what it's really like.” It wasn't his fault and perhaps that was the reason why I couldn't hate him. The only person I could blame was myself and my family. As the eldest son and the CEO of the largest food company in America, Damien has several rivals and enemies including his younger brother, Kyle. Out of jealousy and a desire to be the heir to the company, Kyle had drugged Damien and paid my family to send me to his bed. I hated the offer but agreed because my mother needed the money for her treatment and despite my wealthy background, my relationship with my family wasn't the best; I knew they wouldn't help me with my mum's treatment without getting something in return. I didn't know he had been drugged by his brother and if I had known, I can't say that I wouldn't have accepted the money. All I wanted was to save my mother. It was supposed to be a one-night stand—that is what I was told but later I discovered that it was a set-up for Damien and to keep his position as the heir, he had been instructed by his father to get married to me. Despite all his efforts to change his father's mind and prove his innocence, he had to marry me and I couldn't refuse either because my mother was still in the hospital plus I had put him in that mess. I got married to him even when I knew he didn't love me. Despite knowing he hated me more than he hated his brother because I had separated him from the woman he loved, I still married him. For a while, I also hated myself but learned to forgive myself. I doubted he ever will but deep down, I hoped he did. To others, he acted like the perfect husband but when he was alone with me, he was a cold-hearted demon. He had never raised his hand or voice against me but he was cold and distant. The only time he came close to me was when he wanted to have sex and immediately afterwards, he left for his room. Even that was because his father wanted grandkids yet we hadn't had children despite it being two years. I stepped into the shower. “You were damn naive, Shawna,” I muttered. I had assumed if I was a good wife who was kind, caring, and patient, we would be a couple who'd grow to love each other but that didn't happen. No matter what I did, he wasn't moved and I had given up on trying. Just as I stepped out of the shower, my phone rang and my heart skipped two beats when I saw it was the nurse in charge of my mother calling her. “Is my mum okay?” I immediately asked. “It’s not your mum but it's way worse than that, Shawna and you need to come down here.” My face fell. “Don't tell me it's…” I trailed off feeling anger coursing through me. If it wasn't my mom, it could only be one person. “Yes, it's her.”TERESAI could barely stand.My legs were shaking, my shoulder burned, and blood was pouring down my side. My hands were slippery with it. I didn’t know if it was mine or his. Maybe both.The room was spinning.I stumbled forward, bumping into the wall. I needed to get out. Now. I didn’t know how long he’d stay down. I didn’t trust him to stay unconscious.I turned around, just for a second.Richard was lying on the ground, motionless. His face was bruised. Blood was dripping from his mouth. My knife was still on the floor beside him.I should’ve finished it.I should’ve ended him.But I couldn’t.Not because I wasn’t strong enough, physically, I was trained for this. I knew all the ways to kill a man quickly. I’d done it before.But something stopped me.His face.Not the monster I’d come to know, but the man who once read me bedtime stories. The man who handed me my first knife and said, “Use this to protect yourself.”I hated him.But part of me… remembered loving him.That part ma
RICHARDShe came in like I always knew she would.I was sitting in that dusty old chair near the window, the one with the broken leg I never bothered to fix. I didn’t flinch when I heard the door creak open. Didn’t even bother to look up right away. I knew it was her. I could feel it in my bones, that familiar storm walking through the room."Teresa."Her footsteps echoed faintly through the broken silence. Careful. Measured. Hesitant. But I could hear the tremble beneath each step. She was scared, and trying hard to mask it with anger. I didn’t move. I stayed seated, elbows resting on my knees, staring at the scuffed floor of the abandoned room I’d chosen to hide in. When I finally lifted my gaze, our eyes met.She was holding a gun.I nodded slowly, not shocked. “I figured it’d come to this.”Her grip on the gun tightened. Both hands were wrapped around it, but they were trembling, just enough to notice. “Don’t talk. Just sit there.”I leaned back in the chair, calm, like we were ol
PHOEBEThe night air was cool, brushing gently across my arms as I sat beside Ramon in the car. The engine was off. Everything was still except the occasional chirp of crickets and the distant sound of water rushing beneath the old bridge. It was quiet here. It always had been. But this time, the silence felt heavier, filled with things unsaid.Ramon had come to me not long after Winnie left. He didn’t say much at first. Just took the keys, told me to come with him, and I did. I didn’t even ask where we were going. I just followed. Slid into the passenger seat beside him like it was the only place in the world that made sense, even when everything else didn’t.The ride was quiet. The kind of quiet that isn’t heavy or awkward, just… thoughtful. I kept my eyes on the window, watching headlights stretch across the road and blur into the darkness. My mind was loud though. Every thought I’d tried to shove down all week came back up like floodwater, rising, fast, and impossible to control.
WINNIEI walked down the hallway and paused at Phoebe's door. My knuckles hovered for a second before I knocked."Come in," she called.I pushed the door open gently. She was sitting on her bed, a blanket over her legs, flipping through a magazine. She looked up with a soft smile."Hey.""Hey," I said, stepping inside. "Can I talk to you?"She nodded and patted the bed beside her. "Of course. Ramon just stepped out. Said he needed air."I sat down, tucking my legs under me. "How is he?"She sighed. "Worried. Teresa disappearing really got to him. I mean, I’m scared too. But with him, it’s like... he’s carrying everything."I nodded slowly. "You’re doing amazing though. You’re here for him. And he’s here for you. That’s... really beautiful."She smiled a little, then tilted her head. "You okay?"I swallowed, feeling that familiar knot in my chest. It sat there, heavy and uncomfortable, like something I couldn’t name but knew too well. "I don’t know. I think... I think I’m scared."Phoe
RAMONI had just come back from the bathroom, drying my hands on a towel, when my phone buzzed. The screen flashed with a hospital number. My stomach dropped.I answered immediately. “Hello?”There was a slight pause before a woman’s voice came through. Nervous. “Mr. Ramon?”“Yes, this is he.”“We… we’re really sorry to inform you that Miss Teresa is no longer in her room.”I blinked. “What?”“She’s gone. We believe she left within the last hour. A nurse went in to check her vitals and she was just gone. There’s a note. She left it for you.”My throat went dry. “What do you mean gone? She can barely walk. How did no one stop her?”“We’re investigating how she slipped past security,” the nurse said quickly. “But she was alert and calm at her last check-in. She must have planned it. I… I’m really sorry.”I didn’t answer. I just hung up.The phone slipped from my hand to the couch.Phoebe sat across from me, legs curled up under a blanket, her face lit by the soft blue glow of the movie
PHOEBEI was propped up in bed, a pillow behind me and another one tucked under my arm. My body still ached in places I didn’t want to name, and the scars were tender, healing slowly. But Ramon was there. Always. Like a full-time shadow.“You didn’t have to do all this,” I mumbled as he dipped his fingers into a jar of lotion and started rubbing it gently onto my arms.He didn’t say anything at first. Just kept his eyes focused on what he was doing, careful and soft. His touch was light but purposeful, as if he thought I might break all over again if he wasn’t gentle enough.“I want to,” he finally said.I looked at him. His face was tired, but there was something fierce in his eyes. Something stubborn.“You’re either the best boyfriend ever or trying to make me gain ten pounds with all this pampering,” I joked, trying to lighten the mood.He smiled a little. “I want you healthy and bossy again. I miss the way you yell at me.”That made me laugh, but my laugh got caught in my throat.
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