One

‘So this is how it ends,’ she couldn’t help but think as she watched the lawyer leave the board room with the papers that spelled the end of their marriage.

Jonathan had barely looked at her since she entered the room, and Samantha didn’t want him to either. The man she once knew and loved had become a thorn in her side and the cause of all her pain as she sat there alone and broken.

But she wasn’t going to show that face to him, instead she kept her expression stoic and cold as the silence in the boardroom stretched on further.

Johnathan had begun to shift in his seat, despite the seemingly peaceful atmosphere. Whether it was out of guilt or just discomfort at being in the presence of his ex-wife, he didn’t look very happy at all.

“Sam,” he finally said, his voice smooth and placating.

She was silent, though her heart clenched at him saying her nickname like they were still friends, or lovers.

The man she used to call the love of her life continued, “Look, I know this hasn’t been easy for you. It hasn’t been easy for me either. It’s unfortunate that our marriage has come to an end like this. I want to make sure there are no hard feelings between us.”

Samantha wanted to laugh in Jonathan’s face. Handsome though he may be, his personality had showed her how ugly and selfish he was. She had been blinded by love before but not now.

“No hard feelings,” she murmured, sounding distant as though she were thinking of what she would be having for dinner tonight. “It must not have been easy for you, screwing my best friend behind my back like it was nothing. And you’re trying to act like I should extend a hand of friendship towards you? Don’t make me laugh Jonathan. You’re not stupid.”

Jonathan’s grey eyes narrowed upon the 24-year old woman he had loved and dated since they were in high school. She had changed her personality overnight, in his eyes. Since she discovered his string of affairs, and worst, that he got her best friend, Caroline, pregnant, it was like talking to a wall. He never expected her to file for divorce so quickly, or to close herself off from him like he meant nothing to her.

“You can’t be serious about holding a grudge, Sam,” he raised his voice at her. “We were friends before all this. And we have been together since we were young. You can’t act like this.”

“Oh? I can’t act like this?” She rolled her eyes, tucking a strand of her red hair behind her ear. “Give me a break, Jonathan. I can’t wait to never see you again. And I wish you the worst.”

Just in time the lawyer returned and Samantha shut her mouth with a click. Jonathan’s eyes lingered on her until the lawyer began to speak, handing each of them their copies of the processed divorce papers.

It was done. And Samantha felt nothing but pain and fury.

…

When she had married Jonathan, it had been the happiest time of her life. She had thought it was the final note to her happy ending, like a fairytale.

Jonathan and her had grown up together, their families living together in the wealthiest side of the city, and due to their families being in the same circles it was only natural that they got together in the end. They made a perfect couple, they got along together, they were friends long before they even began dating.

To Samantha, Jonathan had been her first in everything: in love, in marriage, and now… he was also her first in heartbreak.

…

It was two weeks later, and the phone rang early that morning. Samantha knew without even glancing at it, who was likely calling.

Picking it up only after the fourth ring with a sigh while staring at the sunrise from the large windows of her penthouse apartment, she asked, “What is it mom?”

The snide tones of her mother were audible.

“Don’t act like that Samantha. You know I don’t approve of any of this anymore. Your actions are only causing us more shame in the eyes of everyone!”

“Is that why you called?” She exhaled heavily, thinking that her mother had nothing else to do than to very loudly show her disappointment in her only daughter for divorcing Jonathan. “I’m busy right now.”

“Let me guess, you’re trying to find out where to live,” her mother shot back. “You shouldn’t have acted so rashly. I told you to go to  marriage counseling. Cheating happens, you know. It isn’t the end of the world. And someone like Jonathan meets beautiful women every day. What did you expect him to do?”

Samantha grit her teeth, trying to rein in the sharp words she wanted to say to her old fashioned harpy of a mother.

No one liked the fact that she jumped so quickly to divorce Jonathan, who was now the CEO of Chase Enterprises, a family business that had become billions of dollars worth.

Every woman even remotely related to her told her that men would always cheat, and it was their nature. She was warned she would be ruining her future by becoming a divorcée. She was told no man would ever be devoted to her again like Jonathan was to her. She wouldn’t find a man as wealthy as him anymore.

But it wasn’t worth it in Samantha’s opinion. No money was worth her pride.

Her family had essentially disowned her for her actions, and barely called her in the first place since the divorce was finalized two weeks back.

It was fine, she didn’t need them anyway. She had enough on her plate.

“I already have an apartment. We sold that house remember?” She replied after a couple of seconds, reminding her mother of the only asset that Jonathan and her equally owned. It had hurt to not have the rest of their marital assets divided to her favor, but she at least had enough to rent an apartment and live off on for a long while.

And she had her trust fund from her late grandfather.

Samantha continued, crossing her legs, “And I’m busy because I have an interview today.”

Her mother, as expected, had something acerbic to say in response again, “A housewife becoming a career woman. Do you really think you’re capable of it, Samantha? And what kind of job is it? Let me guess, you got work as a cashier or something.”

She pressed her lips thinly together, having had quite enough of the derision from the woman that she hoped would defend her even once.

“Goodbye mom.”

The call went dead before anything else could be said, and Samantha blocked her mother’s number, and after some consideration, did the same to the rest of her family.

“Good grief,” she mumbled to herself, raking her hands through her copper red hair which was still damp. She still had time to get ready. This interview was a very important one, especially because of whose company it was.

Orion Sharpe, of the Sharpe Group.

Billionaire, dark horse… and Jonathan’s half-brother.

…