Chapter Forty One

After Alice’s quiet but heavy departure from the Sanders mansion, Kelvin wasted no time. As soon as he got into his bedroom, he pulled out his phone and sent a message to Anita. “Alice is finally gone. Grandma's verdict was the annulment of our marriage and Alice has just left the mansion for good”

It didn’t take long for Anita to respond. Seconds later, she called him, her voice bursting with barely-contained excitement.

“She’s really gone?”

“Yes,” Kelvin said flatly. “She just left.”

On the other end, Anita let out a triumphant gasp. “Oh my God, Kelvin! Finally! I can’t believe it. She’s out of your life at last! Our of our lives.”

Her joy echoed through the phone, but Kelvin didn’t return it. Still, he allowed her to speak.

Anita was thrilled. That was the news she had long waited for. No more hiding. No more watching from the sidelines while Alice, the “nobody from nowhere,” walked beside Kelvin in public, bore his name, slept in his house. Now, the path was finally clear.

Once the divorce was finalized, Anita would take her rightful place beside Kelvin. She could already imagine the grand wedding, the press, the admiration. After all, she had been in his life long before Alice ever existed. She had endured the waiting, the rejection, the back-and-forth—all for this moment.

“You’ll tell Grandma about us soon, won’t you?” she asked, her tone softening, almost pleading.

Kelvin’s brows furrowed, and he was silent for a few seconds. Then he said, “Of course, I will. After the divorce is sealed. I’ll tell Grandma about you"

Anita beamed from the other side of the line, practically glowing with hope. “She’ll agree. I know she will. Especially now that Alice has proved to be a failure in her judgement”

Kelvin didn’t respond to that. His grip on the phone tightened, jaw set. He didn’t want to talk about Alice.

"We need to celebrate this" Anita said again, "Tonight. You and me have a wild night of fun and celebration"

“Sure. You make the plans and let me know” he said quietly.

“Okay,” Anita replied, still giddy. “I love you, babe.”

"I love you too" He replied before hanging up and getting ready for his day at work.

______

Meanwhile, Grandma Janet sat stiffly in her chair, in er bedroom, her eyes fixed on the large window. The morning sunlight streamed in, warm and golden, but to her, the world had lost its color.

Alice was gone — and not just gone, but disgraced. And the shame of it clung to Grandma Janet like a cloak she couldn’t tear off.

Her jaw was set, her hands trembling slightly as she reached for her walking cane—not because she needed it at that moment, but because it gave her something to hold on to. Something steady in the midst of the emotional chaos swirling within her.

How could Alice do this? How could she?

A girl she had vouched for. Defended. Celebrated. A girl she had welcomed into the Sanders family as one of their own, even when many — including Kelvin — had doubted the match. She had looked beyond Alice's unpolished village upbringing, beyond the stares of high society, and had said with pride that she had virtue and a pure heart."

And now, that same girl had repaid her love with betrayal. A betrayal so public, so humiliating, it felt like a slap across her face.

Her heart twisted again.

She had made a mistake. A grievous one.

Her voice, though low, was sharp as it broke the silence of her room:

“I thought I had the wisdom of age. I thought I could see what others could not.”

Her fingers curled tightly around her cane. “But I was wrong.”

She had brought Alice into their lives with certainty. She had told Kelvin that character mattered more than polish. That a good heart could be nurtured, molded into greatness. But all that faith had led to that scandal and shame.

She felt foolish — like an old woman who had lost her touch with judgment and discernment.

For years, the Sanders name had been associated with discipline, integrity, and pride. And she, the matriarch, had allowed someone into their home who could not uphold that name. Her shoulders sagged under the weight of it.

Tears formed in her eyes, but she quickly blinked away the tears. That wasn’t the time for sentiment. Not anymore. There would be no more softness. Alice was gone, and she would not be welcomed back.

Alice had made her choice — and Grandma Janet would now stand on hers. The divorce would happen soon and her family would be rid of Alice and her cursed self.

She took a deep breath, straightened her back, and nodded slowly to herself. “I will set things right.”

______

It had been five days after Alice departure from the mansion and Kelvin noticed that Grandma Janet had not left her bedroom. The maids had told him that she hardly ate her foods.

Moved by fear for his grandmother's health, Kelvin decided to personally serve her dinner in her room with the hope of getting her to eat something.

Kelvin walked into Grandma Janet’s bedroom after a brief knock. And he found her in her usual position, on her arm chair, just staring blankly at the space before her.

Kelvin rolled in the cart - containing the dinner he brought for her - into the bedroom and closed the door softly behind him. He brought the cart before her and then unloaded its contents onto the small table beside Grandma Janet.

The old woman looked up from her chair, her face lined with a weariness that hadn’t been there just days ago.

"Grandma, you've been in here for days now and the maids told me you haven't been eating" Kelvin started.

"I don't have the appetite for food" Grandma Janet replied, her voice sounding weak.

"But you know it's not good for you health. You need to eat something grandma" Kelvin said.

"My heart is shattered son. Food isn't what I need" Grandma Janet said, looking away.

"Grandma..." Kelvin called, " You don't have to allow Alice's unrepentant behavior affect you like this. She's not worth it grandma. She's the one who could not be faithful in her marriage and so she's the one to bear the punishment and not you"

Grandma Janet looked at him, "I am pained that my judgement wasn't right this time. I thought she was well cultured and brought up. I didn't know that she lacked even basic values such as this"

"You were not to know, grandma. She appeared to be very innocent and good. No one would have thought that she could do a thing like this" Kelvin said.

Grandma Janet sat up right, "Now, I'm asking myself, how do I even trust myself to make right decisions for you?"

There was a brief silence, the she continued, "How do I even get you the right woman to be settled with?"

Kelvin stood still, unsure of how to answer. He didn’t want to sound too eager, but the moment felt right — now that Grandma Janet had brought up the matter herself.

“Grandma,” he began carefully, “what about Anita?”

Her eyes, sharp and unreadable, slowly shifted to meet his. She raised an eyebrow, clearly surprised by the name.

“Anita?”

Even without saying much, the name lingered between them with a sting. She remembered the woman instantly. The same Anita she had once called uncultured, loud, and a poor fit for their name. She had crossed her heart in the past and vowed never to let someone like that into the Sanders family.

“Yes,” Kelvin nodded, unwavering. “We dated for a very long time before you fixed my marriage with Alice. I know you see Anita as a mannerless woman, but she’s really not. She’s an amazing woman and will perfectly fit into this family.”

Grandma Janet’s stare hardened. “You’ve forgotten that Anita isn’t from our caste and knows nothing of our culture. She wears clothes that show off her body and does not behave as modest as a woman should.”

Kelvin took in a breath, trying to sound calm but firm, the way she always respected. “That’s because she was born and brought up in the city, far from our cultural values. But I assure you, Grandma, Anita has a pure heart. She’s willing to learn and be groomed to uphold the values you want for this family, even after you’re gone.”

Her expression didn’t change, but her silence told him she was listening.

“You always say,” he continued, “that as long as a woman is teachable, she can be accepted and molded into the perfect shape. Anita is teachable, Grandma. She’s not stubborn or arrogant. She's just misunderstood.”

Grandma Janet sat upright, arms resting lightly on the carved wood of her chair. Her face remained composed, but there was a flicker of something deeper in her eyes — thought, conflict, a sense of caution. For a while, she didn’t say anything.

Then, at last, she spoke, her voice firm but quiet.

“It’s not an easy path you’re asking me to walk, Kelvin. But… if what you say is true, and Anita is truly willing to be shaped into the kind of woman who can carry this family’s name with dignity, then I will give her that chance.”

Kelvin exhaled softly.

“But hear me well,” she added sharply. “Once the divorce is finalized, she will move into this house where she'll be under my observation. I will train her myself to be your wife and the future woman in charge of this family. If she’s to be a Sanders wife, she must be molded for the role.”

"As you wish, Grandma" Kelvin said with a deep nod. “Thank you, Grandma.”

"Now grandma, eat your dinner" Kelvin pressed.

"I will" Grandma Janet said and slowly picked up her cutlery to eat.

Kelvin stayed till she finished the food before he took the plates and bade her goodnight and left the room.

As Kelvin left the room, he felt something he hadn’t in a while — control. Things were moving in his favor again. With Anita by his side and Grandma’s approval secured, the future suddenly looked... manageable.

_____

Anita received the memo of Grandma Janet’s decision that same night.

Kelvin had come to her apartment not long after his conversation with Grandma Janet. His expression was neutral, but there was a flicker of something unreadable in his eyes. He sat beside her and, without much ceremony, relayed the outcome of his discussion with his grandmother.

At first, Anita listened quietly, her smile faltering as the terms became clear. Grandma Janet would allow her to stay at the Sanders mansion after the divorce was finalized, as a woman under scrutiny, to be trained, observed, molded. Like a student under a strict headmistress.

The idea of submitting herself to Grandma Janet’s authority didn’t sit well with Anita. She wasn’t used to answering to anyone, let alone a woman who once labeled her as uncultured and unworthy. But her ambitions were too deep, her desires too consuming.

She smiled anyway. It didn’t matter. None of it did. She desperately wanted to be Kelvin’s wife — she wanted the name, the luxury, the status. The humiliation she would endure would only be temporary. She would grit her teeth, smile when required, learn every custom, every rule, and charm Grandma Janet with her best behavior. After all, how hard could it be?

Eventually, once she became Kelvin’s legally wedded wife, she would be untouchable.

Later that night, Kelvin stayed over. The air between them shifted—hot, desperate, celebratory.

They tangled beneath the sheets in a haze of passion. Anita clung to him like a prize she had finally secured, and he kissed her like a man eager to convince himself he had made the right choice.

To anyone watching, it would have looked like two lovers sharing a moment of triumph.

But inside Kelvin, something was quietly unraveling.

He was happy — at least, he told himself he was. He repeated the words in his mind like a chant: Anita is the one. Alice is gone. This is what I want.

But somewhere in the quiet corners of his soul, a feeling lingered. A strange emptiness, stubborn and cold, tucked just beneath his ribs. No matter how tightly Anita held him, or how fervently he kissed her, that feeling refused to disappear.

The mention of his plans — the wedding, the future, the family name — could not fill the void.

Because even in that moment, even in Anita’s arms, a flicker of Alice remained. The same village girl who constantly irritated him… still tugged at a small, silent part of his heart.

Still, he shut it down. He told himself that with time, with more nights like this, and more memories with Anita, that feeling would fade. It had to. Eventually, he would forget Alice. He had to.