The Divorce Demand

My eyes fluttered open to the sight of the bright white ceiling. I was momentarily disoriented, unsure of my location. That’s when I smelled the disinfectant, and the slow, steady, monotonous beeping of a monitor next to me. I was in a hospital.

My throat was parched. I attempted to shift, but my body seemed leaden. The events from the night before came flooding back to me. The fight. The hurt. The way Callum shoved me. The way he walked of, no turning back. My chest tightened.

“Good heavens, there,” some one observed quite softly to me. I turned my head slowly. And my grandfather was sitting in the chair next to my bed. They softened at the sight of mine.

"Grandfather…" My voice cracked.

He bent over, his hand covering mine. "You're safe now. I got you moved in here after some of the staff came and discovered you unconscious. Don't worry. The baby is safe too."

My eyes teared up. "Really?"

He nodded once. "Yes. But you have to get your rest, Zephyrine. No more stress. No more tears for that man." His tone brooked no argument.

I swallowed hard, the mix of guilt and relief roiling in my chest. "Thank you."

Grandfather settled back. “I don’t have to force you to tell me. I already know. I’ve been sitting on the sideline too long. It ends now."

I must have looked at him blankly; I didn't know what he was alluding to.

He dropped a folder on the table bside my bed. "Divorce papers. You don’t have to stay married to a man who tosses you in the trash. I'll attend to the legal end of it quietly. He won’t even know until the papers are put in front of him.”.

My heart skipped a beat. Divorce. The word seemed heavy, final. But as I reflected on what Callum had done — the freezing, the humiliation, the push that almost made me lose my baby — I knew my grandfather was correct. Enough was enough.

I shut my eyes and breathed in slowly. "Yes. I want this. I can't do it anymore."

Grandfather nodded, smiling. "Good. I'll arrange it. But first you must rest for several days. You don’t meet him unless you’re strong.”.

Three days after, I came out from the hospital and I came back to my grandfather’s house, not the mansion on Bronson. "In the city claps for health workers, you can get infected," said the man, who gave his name as Yevgeniy, resting on the pavement with his wife and 3-year-old son. Callum texted me, “And that was the last I heard from him.” “He didn’t even reach out to me. No calls. No messages. Nothing. That silence spoke volumes about what I most needed to hear.

I used it to recover my strength. The divorce papers were prepared. My grandfather’s lawyers did a good job of cleaning everything up and getting it put away quietly. (Callum would only have to sign.)

One evening I was with grandfather in his study. The light in the lamp was golden and it made the papers on the desk look warm.

"Ready?" he said.

I nodded. "Yes.".

He looked at me with gravity. “When you do this, it’s a one-way street. Are you sure, Zephyrine?"

"I'm sure." My voice didn't shake.

He nodded, smiling a little. "Then tomorrow, you'll meet him. And remember—you owe him nothing. Not explanations, not tears."

I nodded, pursing my lips once more.

---

The morning after, with my grandfather’s lawyer by my side, I checked into the law office. Callum was already there, sitting at the massive table with his lawyer. He glanced up as I entered and narrowed his eyes.

“You look a better, too,” he said, his voice expressionless.

I didn't say anything. I took my seat opposite him, looking placid. My lawyer passed the divorce papers across the table.

Callum's eyebrows narrowed. "So it's true. You're serious about this."

"Yes," I said simply.

He slumped in his chair, arms folded. “I figured you’d run your ass to your grandfather bawling. But divorce? That's ambitious, Zephyrine. Do you truly wish to lose everything?”.

I scowled at him. "You gave it up first."

There was an awkward silence. His lawyer cleared his throat. "Mr. Bronson, perhaps we should—"

`Shhh, Cal told him to be quiet. He scoffed at me. "Fine. If that’s what you want, I’ll sign. But don’t think I’m letting you off the hook after that. You'll regret this decision."

My lawyer handed him a pen. He crossed it and signed it without having even read the documents he was signing. His pride blinded him.

When it was my turn, I picked up the pen and wrote my name slowly, every stroke deliberate. When I was done, I shoved the papers back across the lawyers.

Callum leaned forward, his smirk still present on his face. "You'll be crawling back, Zephyrine. You always do. You're nothing without me."

I met his gaze, my voice level but icy. "No, Callum. You're the one who'll be regretting this."

His smirk faltered for a second. He growled, "You shouldn't talk to me that way."

---

Two weeks later, he found out what I'd done.

There was talk in his company first. Investors started backing out of projects. Clients pulled back. Then, one by one, the large contracts he relied on were cancelled. All those contracts had come through me, thanks to my grandfather's clout. And now, all of them were gone.

I found out from my grandfather's assistant. Callum was furious, calling investors, trying to find out what had happened. But no one returned his calls.

For the first time, he knew what it was like to be abandoned.

---

I was sitting in my grandfather's garden in the evening when he came to join me. He brought me a cup of tea and sat down.

"It has begun," he said softly.

I nodded. "Good.".

He looked at me proudly. "You've made the first step, Zephyrine. You've shown him that you're not breakable."

I held the cup tightly in my hands. "This isn't for him. It's for me. I need to stand on my own. I won't let anyone break me again."

Grandfather's lips curved into a gentle smile. "That's your mother's spirit. Strong and unbending. She would be proud."

My eyes stung, but I did not let the tears fall.

---

The vision of the signing table stayed with me. How Callum sneered, how he assumed that I would crawl back. He still did not understand me.

He thought I was weak. He thought I would always need him.

But the truth was simple.

I did not need Callum Bronson.

He needed me.

And soon, he would realize it.