Chapter 4: Divorce conditions

My divorce conditions.

“Did I say I was going to hand him divorce papers? I….” Lila stuttered, her brows knitting into confusion.

Charia's brows furrowed. She waved her hands over Lila's face. “Lila, are–are you okay?” she asked.

“Oh, about that,” Lila pursed her lips with a faint smile.

“It's a long story. Besides, I'm certain you've had a very long day. Why don't you take a shower and eat first? Then we can talk for all the hours that we like before we catch some sleep.” She suggested, still reminiscing on the best words to describe the whole event to Charia.

Without hesitation, they both sat at the table and ate the delicacy made by Lila.

“Oh, thank you so much for this sumptuous meal. Now, it is time to tell me how your day went.” Charia reiterated.

For a moment, the room went silent.

Charia fixed her gaze on Lila, who seemed to be focused on the empty plate before her.

“Lila. You look…” she couldn't finish her statement before Lila cut her off.

“Well, my day was not bad, since I didn't end up taking someone's life,” Lila mentioned.

“What? You.. mean to murder someone, or were you involved in an accident?” Charia rolled her eyes, her heart pounding impatiently as she awaited the next word from Lila's mouth.

“Accidents would have been better. I'm talking about using my bare hands to terminate someone's life!” Lila retorted, squeezing her eyes shut.

“Please, maybe I'll understand you better if you stop talking in parables,” Charia retorted, her face squeezing in a deep frown of confusion.

“Okay, fine.” Lila breathed heavily before she continued. “The simple explanation is that, finally, I was able to know the reason behind my marriage crash.” she explained.

“Like seriously! Did he open up to you?” Charia asked wittingly.

“He didn't tell me anything. But I've finally seen the woman whom Grey claimed she possesses all the qualities he needed in a woman.”

“What a fuck! You mean Grey mentioned something like that to you? And you've been away only for two days now, and he has brought in another woman already? I can't believe this.” Charia exploded, curving her hands around her waist as she listened impatiently to Lila.

“And you don't even sound bothered about it.” Charia added.

“What would you have me do, Charia? He has made his choice.” Lila squeezed her eyes shut as she mentioned, trying hard to force her tears back as her voice was barely above a whisper.

“The worst of it is that the woman behind my misery in marriage is nobody but my blood, Cynthia. Someone who will be the last person I'll ever suspect to be having an affair with my husband.” She explained .

“Infact, she was right there making out with my husband on my matrimonial bed.” Lila couldn't hold back her tears as the whole memory of what she saw in the room flooded her head.

“What!” Charia exclaimed in shock.

Lila's last sentence sounded unreal to her ears, reminding her of the selfless sacrifice that Lila had made for Cynthia.

“I’m sorry, Lila. But, honestly, this is ridiculous.” She padded Lila's back with reassuring words.

“Left to me, I'll say that you're better off without a husband than being tied down in a loveless marriage.”

“And I can't believe that you still want to let him go like that. Too bad you've signed and given him the papers already.” Charia added.

“I still have the divorce papers.” Lila responded and went straight to the wardrobe to grab the divorce papers that she left in her handbag and handed them to Charia.

“I didn't give it to him! The pain of seeing that my rival was no other person than my sister, it even made me forget that I have something to give him.”

“Great!” Charia exclaimed with excitement and heaved a heavy sigh of relief.

“Lila, This is the best news ever for me today.” With this, we can pull him down to the least and make sure he pays for every heartbreak he caused you.” Charia explained.

“But I've signed the papers already.”

“That’s not a problem, so long as you've not given it to him. The thing now is that you have to be sure of this step we're taking. Are you sure you're willing to take your revenge on them?” Charia asked, her gaze fixed on Lila without blinking.

Her heart began pounding heavily in her chest as a glimpse at Lila's facial expression oesn't seem like one who was ready to get a revenge.

"Com'on, girl, you should have known that after what I saw, my mind is already made up. I will make sure those two pass through the pains that I experienced ten times. I will make life a living hell for them.” Lila assured.

“Perfect.” A wide smile washed down Charia's face.

“Finally, I can use this opportunity to execute my long awaited revenge on that bastard.

Grey, your worst mistake is ever divorcing Lila while she and I are still friends. Because I'll make sure that you pay for hurting me in the past.” She mumbled to herself.

“Now, the first thing is for us to get a good lawyer, and then we can start our mission,” Charia suggested.

*****

Reading through the divorce papers, the compensation for the duplex and car that he gave her was for her never to go public with their divorce. He wants to avoid anything that will tarnish his reputation, at least, not now that he's partnering with one of the largest and most famous textile firms in the city.

“Ms. Lila, do you know his most valuable asset?” The lawyer asked.

"Yes, sir. The plantain plantation. That's his most valuable asset, and I'm demanding a fifty percent share of the plantation, plus the two houses on the mainland.” She answered.

“Are you sure? What about the company?” Charia asked.

“For that, I'm going to demand full ownership of the company. I'll make sure he doesn't enjoy any benefits from the company again.” Lila answered.

"But, Ms. Lila, getting a share in the plantation and full ownership of the company will be difficult to achieve. I know you're mad at him, but things still need to be done the right way.” The lawyer explained.

“I know the company is the most valuable thing he has for now. But, in reality, he doesn't own the company. I own the company. This is a secret that I kept to myself. Not even my father nor Grey are aware of that.” Lila concluded.

Sipping a glass of wine under the shade in the cooling spot of the house, his gateman ran to him and informed him of a certain lawyer from Lila who had come to see him.

Grey told him to usher the man in.

“Good afternoon, sir.” The lawyer greeted him.

“Afternoon. You're welcome.”

“I'm sure you're Mr. Grey Hanson. I am Barrister McDonald. You served my client, Lila, with a divorce, giving her some compensation and stating your conditions. I'm also here now to present to you my client's conditions before she signs the divorce.” The lawyer took his leave immediately and handed the envelope to Grey.

When Lila was thirteen years of age, she lost her mother to the cold hands of death through food poisoning.

On her dying sick bed, her mother took out a golden bracelet and necklace from her waist bag, which she always walks around with, and handed them over to her, saying, "Lila, my daughter, this bracelet and necklace were given to me by my mother as a treasure. She instructed me to sell it only when I encountered a serious financial challenge. But since I was able to conquer all my financial constraints with other means, now I'm giving you this as a heritage. Not even your father should know that you have something like this.” Those were her last words to Lila before she died.

“Wow! This is getting more interesting than I ever thought it could.” Charia breathed heavily.

“Yeah, since that day, I hid the treasure where no one could access it. Until the day I married Grey. I carried my treasure and moved into his house. Seeing that Grey is trustworthy after my seven-year relationship with him, I sold my treasure worth millions of dollars, and I was able to get the company for us with his name.

But, what he doesn't know is that the original documents of the company have my name as the owner. I gave him the fake copy because I needed to be sure that he was worthy of my trust. But since he has decided to betray my love for him, I'll ensure I bring him down to the point that he'll hate his existence on the planet Earth."