Divorce Case

Aria’s POV:

I drove around town for more than an hour listening to Taylor Swift’s Anti-Hero on repeat. I just needed to cool off for a while.

Especially after I received a call from my lawyer, I had a court case tomorrow all because Caleb refused to sign the divorce papers, and honestly, now that I know I am the problem; it makes me wonder if I really need a divorce.

I drove onto the estate, parked the car at the entrance and was surprised to find Ava. She stood there with two bottles of wine. “Why are you here?” I asked, Didn’t I leave them back at the restaurant?

“Let’s have a drink,” she suggested, and I nodded, unlocked the door before we got in, and sat in the living room, Ava filled two glasses with wine and shoved one to me.

“I didn’t want to ask this earlier because Sam was present, but…” Ava started, she swallowed hard and cleared her throat.

“That day I picked you up, and you had a man’s shirt, was it Liam Styles’s?” 

I sighed heavily and sipped the wine, nodded lightly and waited for her to scold me for sleeping with another man when I was still married or to judge me for being fake, for preaching loyalty while I was willing to give myself to another man.

“Did he take advantage of you?” 'She asked, and I shook my head in denial. I was very much conscious when it happened.'

“It’s not worth talking about it. I am sure he doesn’t remember much,” I stated and gulped down the entire content in the glass and had her refill it.

“I pushed Caleb to his limits. I expected so much from him, and that’s what pushed him to find solace in another woman’s arms,” I explained as a tear rolled down my cheeks. I kept staring at my glass before sniffing my tears.

“What right do I even have to ask for a divorce?”

“Aria Nicole,” Ava called. My gaze moved to hers, and she had a frown.

“What are you trying to say? You won’t go through with the divorce?” Her voice was stern as she stared at me anxiously, even when she already knew my reply.

“Fine, you wrote some books about having the perfect marriage, so what? Are you the first author to publish such?”

Then she stood up and sat closer to me. “I am not trying to tell you what to do, but think about this: a lot of people are looking up to you…They want to know what Aria Nicole will do after being cheated on. There are a lot of couples like you, and they need a way out. They are waiting for you to make a move so they can copy… Have you ever thought of that?”

I nodded. I knew I had a dominant influence on the public, especially women… They control their homes according to my advice, they thought I had the perfect marriage, and the funny part is, I also thought the same.

“If you think wives should give their husbands a second chance after such an act, then go on and do what you wish, the choice is yours,” she concluded and refilled my glass.

We kept drinking in silence; no one uttered a word…

Suddenly it was raining, the liquids hitting hard on my roof.. it reminded me of five years ago, the day Caleb went on one knee to propose, but the proposal was ruined when it started raining.

At that moment I thought it was a sign, the rain was blessing my proposal, but maybe it was a warning. 

-

“Aria…Aria,” I heard someone calling, slowly opened my eyes and found Ava and Mira, my lawyer, staring down at me.

“Hey.” I gripped my hair and sat up. I had slept off in the living room on the ground, and now my body hurt.

Ava also gripped her head, and I could tell she was suffering from a hangover just like me.

“Please have this and get dressed up for the court session.” Mira shoved a glass and pills to me. I quickly drank the pills and sighed heavily.

“What time is it?” I yawned and glanced at the big clock on the wall.

“It’s 9:23, and the session starts at 10, so please hurry up.” Mira urged, and I lazily dragged my body upstairs, stumbled into the bathroom, stood below the shower and let the cold water fall on me, making my bones creak.

Once I was done, I walked to the bedroom with a towel tied around me. I flinched when I noticed Ava rummaging through my closet.

“You scared me,” I pouted and kept drying my hair.

“Here, put this on. The public will be present, and you need to look okay; show them you are not some pitiful wife.” She smiled, and I nodded appreciatively and didn’t get the chance to thank her as she jumped on my bed and fell asleep. Guess she wasn’t coming to court with me.

After I was dressed in the long white trousers with its matching jacket, I held my hair in a tight bun, wore my heels and hurried downstairs, got into the car with my lawyer, who drove away.

This was the first time using her as a lawyer. Caleb was always my lawyer, especially for my businesses, and now I doubt if I want to continue working with him.

“Mr Thompson plans to make the court believe that your marriage wasn’t working out and Olivia seduced him, so he fell into temptation and wants to make it up to you.. he doesn’t want a divorce,” she explained, and I nodded while staring out of the window.

“So how about you lie to the court that your marriage was perfect, and you both didn’t have any arguments?” She asked, and I chuckled. Lie to the court? That was the truth, we never argued, and he never approached me about putting much pressure on him.

We finally arrived at the courthouse. I stepped down with Mira before me. The guards were quick to block the journalists and also the youth who hurried towards me.

“Aria Nicole, what outcome are you expecting today? Do you plan to leave him? Snatch his properties and all?”

“Or will there be a reconciliation?”

“We are all waiting for your decision.”

They kept yelling from the crowd. I followed Mira, and we were finally away from the crowd.

“Do you still plan on going through with the divorce?” Mira asked, and I stared at her confused. Why would she ask me that suddenly? Wasn’t that the reason we were here?

But I understood why she asked because right now I was going through a debate with my mind.

Before the courtroom were Caleb and his lawyer, he quickly approached me. “Aria, baby, can we please solve this out of court?” He pleaded and held my hand before kissing it.

“You know it; you know I love you, so please don’t do this to me.”

I stared at Mira, who had looked away. “You know why I can’t have a kid, you were there, so why did you say that to me?” I questioned and sobbed heavily. He told me he didn’t mind not having a child as long as we were together, so why would he suddenly blame my womb?

“I was crazy and said that; please forgive me.” He folded his hands in a plea.

I sniffed my tears, retracted a tissue and dabbed it on my face before breathing heavily. “I don’t hold anything against you because you were right about one thing: only a man like you could love a woman like me, and if I leave you, I will get old alone.”

He nodded and rubbed my cheeks. “I love you. I love you so much…”

I slowly pushed his hand away and stepped into the courtroom with Mira. The hall was filled with few people, but I was surprised to find Liam Styles.

He sat on the last row, dressed in a black suit, and kept staring at me… What the f*ck was he doing at my court session?