Chapter 5 - Divorce

Isabella POV

I placed the divorce papers on the table.

Right in front of him.

The room went silent.

Sophia stopped talking. Her mouth hung open. The pink dress she was holding dangled from her fingers. Rebecca stopped smiling. Her eyes darted between me and the papers. Ethan stared at the documents.

"What is this?" he asked.

His voice was calm. But his eyes were sharp.

I met his gaze.

"Divorce papers," I said.

He looked at me. He raised an eyebrow.

"What's up?"

I pointed at the papers in front of him.

Is he blind?

Everywhere was quiet. Even the chatterbox Sophia was quiet. Rebecca was confused. Her head tilted. Her brow furrowed.

"I want a divorce," I repeated.

He stared at the papers. He didn't take them. He looked at me.

"Excuse me?"

"I want a divorce," I repeated. "I'm not asking. I'm telling you."

He laughed.

It was a nervous laugh. A confused laugh. The kind of laugh someone makes when they think they are being pranked.

"You're joking, right?"

I didn't blink.

"I'm not joking."

He crossed his arms. He leaned back in his chair. He studied me like I was a puzzle he was trying to solve.

"What is this about?" he asked. "Did I do something?"

You did everything, I thought.

You destroyed me.

"I don't love you anymore," I said. "I want out."

His expression shifted. The confusion faded. The charm returned.

He smiled. It was a warm smile. A practiced smile. The smile he used when he wanted something.

"Come on, Isabella," he said. "You're just upset about something. Let's talk about this."

"No," I said. "We're not talking. You're signing."

He stared at me. He looked amused.

"You think you can just walk away?" he asked. "You have nothing without me. You signed everything over to me. The company. The money. Everything."

I smiled.

It was not a kind smile.

"You can take the company," I said. "I don't care about the damn thing."

I saw a flicker of emotion appear on his face.

Surprise.

Then something else.

Greed.

He covered it up immediately. But I saw it. I saw the way his eyes lit up. I saw the way his lips twitched. I saw the way his fingers curled.

He thought he had won.

He thought I was giving him everything.

He was wrong.

Sophia decided that it was time to speak.

"Thank God," she said.

I looked at her.

She was smiling. A wide, triumphant smile. She walked to Ethan and placed her hand on his shoulder.

"Finally," she said. "I've been waiting for so long."

I knew she would make Ethan sign the divorce papers fast.

Because to them, I had given them what they ever wanted.

The company.

She looked at me. Her eyes were bright. She was waiting for me to be shocked. She was waiting for me to cry. She was waiting for me to break.

But I was emotionless.

I won't show them that their betrayal hurts like a bitch.

Sophia leaned down and whispered something in Ethan's ear. I couldn't hear the words. But I could guess.

She told Ethan to sign it. So they could be together.

Ethan was still reluctant.

He looked at me. His eyes were soft. His expression was pained.

"Are you sure about this, Isabella?" he asked.

His voice was gentle. Concerned. The voice of a man who cared.

I would have been touched. Had I not witnessed his betrayal in my past life.

"You're making a mistake," he said. "You're daddy's girl. You don't know how the streets work. You'll be homeless. Jobless. I'm just trying to protect you."

I hissed at his pretense.

In my past life, I would have believed him. I would have thought he was being kind. I would have thought he was trying to save me.

But now I saw the truth.

He was not trying to protect me. He was trying to control me. He was trying to keep me close. He was trying to keep me under his thumb.

As much as I enjoyed their performance, I had another thing to do.

Time was not on my side.

I had an apocalypse to survive.

I looked at my mother. Rebecca. She was sitting on the couch. Her face was pale. Her eyes were wide.

I walked to her.

"Mother," I said. "Please. Beg your son-in-law to sign the divorce papers. I have given him the company. That is what he wanted. That is what you all wanted."

She looked at me.

Shocked.

Her mouth opened. Closed. Opened again.

"I... what?"

"The company," I said. "It's what you wanted, isn't it? For him to have it. For Sophia to have it. For you to be secure. I'm giving it to you. So please. Ask him to sign."

She stared at me. Her eyes were searching. Looking for something. A trap. A trick. A lie.

I met her gaze.

"I don't want the company," I said. "I just want out."

She stared at me for a long moment. Then she spoke.

"Stop calling me mother."

I blinked.

"What?"

"You heard me," she said. Her voice was cold. "Stop calling me mother. You were never my daughter."

I nodded.

"Gladly."

She flinched. Just a little. But I saw it.

She turned to Ethan.

"Sign it," she said.

He looked at her.

"But…"

"Sign it," she repeated. "This is what we wanted. She has signed the company to you already. Let her go. She's nothing without it anyway."

Ethan looked at me. He looked at the papers. He looked at Sophia.

Then he picked up the pen.

He signed it.

He slid the papers across the table.

"Fine," he said. "You want out? You're out."

I took the document.

"Thank you," I said.

I turned and walked away.

I went upstairs to my room.

The room I had grown up in. The room I had shared with Ethan. The room where I had died and woken up.

I didn't look at anything. I didn't linger.

I pulled out a box. I packed a few of my clothes. Jewelry. Essentials.

I took my father's documents from the study. The hidden safe. The second document.

I need all the money I could get.

If I sold my jewelry, it would fetch me enough money to use for a few days. Till my plan started.

Thank God they did not follow me.

If they had, they wouldn't have allowed me to take the documents.

I hid them in my body.

I dragged my box downstairs.

They stood up and looked at me like I was a ghost.

Sophia recovered first.

"Never come back," she said.

Her voice was sharp. Her eyes were cold. Her smile was cruel.

I smiled.

"Gladly," I said.

I bowed my head. I looked at each of them.

"Thank you," I said. "For everything."

They stared at me. Confused. Suspicious.

I looked at Sophia. I looked at her belly.

"I wish you a safe delivery," I said.

Her face went pale.

I didn't wait for her reaction.

I didn't wait for any of them.

I had better things to do.

I walked out the door.

They thought I left the house with the divorce paper and my box.

But what they didn't know was that I left with another document.

A document that stated that I still had full ownership of my father's company.

I smiled.

Evilly.

Once I stepped out of the house, the taxi that brought me home from the lawyer's office was waiting.

He loaded my box.

"Where to, ma'am?" he asked.

I gave him the name of a hotel. A quiet one. Out of the way.

He nodded. He started the car.

I pulled out my phone. I opened my notes.

A list.

The things I needed to do in these fourteen days.

First on the list: Divorce.

I ticked it.

I smiled.

I looked out the window.

The city was passing by. Tall buildings. Busy streets. People are laughing. People living.

They had no idea.

But I did.

I had fourteen days.

And I would use every single one of them.

I looked down on the note again. To my second list. 

This second list would be interesting. I can't wait. 

I hope they will like my second gift. I was in the mood to appreciate them.