Let's get a divorce!

ROSALIE'S POV~

“You're still up?" 

“Let's get a divorce, Damien." I interrupted him just before he could continue speaking and I saw his shoulders slump.

Damien stared at me in silence, his chest heaving up and down. I had no idea what he was thinking. 

"Are you out of your mind?" he asked, his voice menacing.

I shrugged nonchalantly, descending the last of the stairs to stand before him. “Let's not play this game, Damien. I want a divorce,” I declared, folding my arms across my chest. “And that's final. You can go be with whoever you want. Don't you think this farce of a marriage is stopping you from having an open affair with the woman that you claim to love? Think about it!” 

Damien's face turned bright red with anger as he closed the distance between us.

“Do you think if I wanted to divorce you that much, I wouldn't have done it?” he shouted, his eyes narrowed into slits. “I wouldn’t even blink twice to serve you the divorce papers, Rosaline.”

I scoffed, not letting his words affect me.

“However, because of the company's image I can't do it. And you know there are several other competitors who are on my neck, ready to feed on any weakness of mine and ruin me.” He toned down his voice, trying so very hard to cajole me into bending to his will. I could feel my eyes burning.

My eyes weren’t pricking because of Damien’s words—I had long since come to the conclusion that our marriage was never going to work. Never meant to work. We would never be an actual couple like I had imagined we would be after being together for years. I was only hurting, slowly breaking apart because my child was about to have a heartless man for a father, something I never wished upon anyone.

And despite how tight Damien's jaw had begun to firmly clench, I refused to waver in the face of his escalating temper. “I’m sorry, Damien. Those are not enough reasons to keep me in this marriage. I need a divorce like I need air to breathe.” I exhaled a shaky sigh, tucking some strands of hair behind my ear.

Before I could utter another word, to make him see reasons why we should divorce and go our separate ways, Damien snarled and made a beeline for an innocent delicate vase that sat on its stand. With a swift swipe of his arm, the vase came crashing down, shattering into tiny pieces on the floor. I gasped, my heart racing as I backed away from Damien, who loomed over me.

His eyes, filled with seething rage, fixed on mine. “Did you see that?” he bellowed, veins protruding his forehead. “This is how I can break your life into pieces, Rosalie! What can you even do without me? I give you every damn money you use to sustain your life! Everything you have now, it's all thanks to me! Do you think you can survive without me, with your current situation? How laughable!”

My heart shattered as hot tears stung my eyes, my lips trembled and I fought so hard not to sob. “I know you’re giving me everything I want, Damien,” I said, trying to hold back the tears. “But don’t forget something.” I stepped closer to him, locking eyes with him as my heart cracked. “I’m the one who protects your image from the public,” I growled. “I’ve been protecting and understanding you for so long, Damien. If I walk away, you’ll be the one who suffers the most.”

I watched Damien's gaze upon me, seething with hostility and vitriol. His lips were pressed together in a thin line, his nostrils flared, and his eyes glinted with malice. Every fiber of his being screamed violence, and I was terrified that he would lunge at me any moment, hands grasping my throat, strangling the life out of me.

The urge to rub my belly protectively was overwhelming, but I suppressed it, unwilling to give away the secret that I was carrying his child.

Damien finally broke the silence by muttering, “Bitch!" And then brushing past me in a violent, deliberate motion, his shoulder crashing into mine with such force that I nearly stumbled.

My arm ached where he had struck me, and I slumped onto the sofa, my body quaking as I wept.

The sadness that overwhelmed me was all-consuming. Damien had shown me nothing but cruelty and contempt since the day we had married, and I was beginning to wonder if I had made a terrible mistake.

I had indeed made a terrible mistake by choosing him as my husband, who was I kidding? And that would be the greatest regret of my entire life.

Memories of my past flooded my mind, as I stared into space. How had my life come to this?

I was such a bright young woman who was filled with a passion to succeed beyond expectations, so many visions of a better life. I held my chin upwards in the face of adversity and challenges of life, determined never to waver or break down but look at me now. The opposite of what I used to be in the past.

In desperation, I had approached Damien, a famous millionaire for help, while he presented me with a proposal - a marriage of convenience in exchange for financial support for my beloved grandmother's cancer treatment.

The little company given to me by my late parents as a legacy to carry on had entirely shut down. I had sold my entire shares off, using the last of the money to help my grandmother fight her dear life. She was the only relative I could call upon after my parents' demise.

Life had dealt me a heavy blow and most times I wondered why I was left to be alive.

Staring up at the ceiling, I let my mind wander to thoughts of my deceased parents, wherever they were. Were they ashamed of my decisions, disappointed in the legacy she had let slip through her fingers? My heart aches at the thought..

My head dropped, weighed down by the disappointment I felt in myself. Weariness pulled at my limbs as I slowly got up, making my way to my room. Several hours of rest were desperately needed.

As I passed by Damien's door, something stopped me in my tracks. l

The maids were entirely off duty, where was this sound coming from?

.I tried to convince myself to just continue on to my room, to ignore the voice coming from Damien's room. But something was familiar about the voice, drawing me closer.

Moving as silently as possible, I crept closer to the door, straining to hear every word.

"Oh, you bad, bad boy. You know I'm the only one who can give you the ride of your life. My body is a playground that you can explore all night long." The lady giggled again and I felt a chill run through me, taking in the scene of Damien, with his laptop on a video call with a woman who I couldn't clearly make out her face.

"You temptress, you know just what to say to drive me wild. You have me aching for you, longing to surrender to your touch." Damien chuckled.

"I can't wait to have you all to myself. Tell me, when will you be able to sneak away and give me a taste of that fire I see burning in your eyes?” She purred.

Damien yawned, hummed and then readjusted in his chair, blocking any chance of me making out the woman's features. “I’ll let you know once I'm done here. I'll meet you up at the usual place, and we'll have the entire evening to ourselves…”

Whatever Damien and his mistress said anymore got drowned out by how quickly and loudly my heart had begun to pound in my ears. I felt a sharp pang shoot through my chest when I pulled away from the door, gluing myself to the wall, scared that once I made a move it was likely for me to collapse.

“Of course, I love you too… don't worry about her, I've got a plan.” Damien's voice resounded.

Then silence.

Those last words made my breath hitch, making my heart sink deeper into my stomach.