Chapter 1 : Divorce documents

The dining room is set for a romantic candlelight dinner, with Italian cuisine, aromatic candles and a glistening chandelier.

Clarissa Anderson, in her late-twenties, sits at the table, holding a bouquet of amaryllis, anxiously checking the time. It’s nearly midnight, and her husband still hasn’t arrived.

She sighs, realizing that she’s spent her whole life waiting – waiting for love, attention, and recognition from him.

In three years of their marriage, she’s never asked for much, just a simple dinner together on this special day.

Despite her sickness, she made his favourite meal and bought his favourite flowers, hoping for a rare moment of connection but it seems like her wish wouldn’t be fulfilled by him like always. As she feels dizzy and disappointed, she whispers,

“Please come back.”

She sighs again, inhaling the aroma floating in the air, with a smile playing on her lips.

She appreciates herself for making the perfect scented candles, very right amount of fragrance, mild and sweet but not strong enough to give her a headache.

She’s been feeling sick lately and nothing helped her with dizziness except these candles but now her patience is melting just like them.

……………….

The clock ticks, a bitter reminder of her unhappy married life with her unloving husband, but just as she’s about to give up, she hears tires screeching.

He’s finally home.

The door burst open, and a tall man enters the house and heads towards the dining room – he knows exactly where to find her. That hasn’t changed in all these years he thought.

“Nicholas! You’re home.”

Clarissa stands up with the bouquet, her face glowing with happiness but Nicholas Romano isn’t pleased with her smile. It’s annoying to him.

“Sign them.”

He said, throwing down a stack of documents on the dining table, his voice cold and distant as usual.

Clarissa felt a pang in her chest when her husband is unwilling to even spare a glance at the décor. She spent hours to decorate the dining room but it didn’t matter to him.

She swallows the lump in her throat and places the bouquet on the table before taking the documents. She wants to yell at him for ignoring her efforts but she didn’t dare to anger him. She better do as he says….

The big sized bold letters on top of the documents broke her heart and she felt her world crumble under her feet.

DIVORCE!

“W…why?”

She whispered in her choked voice, barely catching her breath and her vision blurred as tears flooded her eyes.

“I’ll be the CEO of Romano group in couple of months and I think it’s time to end this sham of a marriage.”

Nicholas said impatiently. He didn’t want to trap himself with a cunning woman like Clarissa. He fulfilled his duty to his father and now it’s time to get his freedom back.

“No…NO WAY! I…”

Clarissa let go of the documents as her ears became numb and only his words of ending their marriage rang in her ears like a mantra.

Her body shook violently and her face turned pale white in despair. Divorce? Why?

Tears welled up in her doe eyes as they met with his angry ones, her heart wailing in pain. Her body became weak with each passing second but she drags it towards him with great difficulty.

“Did I fail to do my duty as your wife?”

She asks, her tears threatening to fall but she stubbornly held them back.

She knows it’s useless to talk to Nicholas who looks determined in his decision but she wants to fight to keep her marriage till the very end, to keep the man she loves.

“Wife? Have I ever regarded you as one?”

His words pierced Clarissa’s heart and tears streamed down her cheeks uncontrollably.

She looks into the eyes of her heartless husband and lifts her hands to hold his face but he dodged her touch. She knew he would do that but she’s really pathetic to even try.

She inhales deeply to calm her anxious heart but she couldn’t as she thought of the reason behind her husband’s actions.

“Natalie! She’s the reason for this. Right!? She wants you back.”

She whispers, her voice hoarse because of the dryness of her throat. She never thought she would lose Nicholas to her step sister all over again.

Natalie Cooper, a beautiful sexy woman who is obsessed in stealing her things since childhood but she didn’t expect her husband to be a part of her obsession.

Why should Natalie ruin her life? Why can’t she just let her live in peace with her husband?

It’s not like she never had chance with Nicholas but she couldn’t keep him with her and of course it was Natalie’s fault. But why did she return now and tries to take Nicholas back?

Natalie lost her chance once and she shouldn’t be selfish and greedy to steal someone else’s husband.

Nicholas arched his brow as he’s surprised by Clarissa’s tone. Why does she sound pitiful as if she’s been wronged? It’s only right for him to divorce such a lame woman.

“Careful Clarissa. Do not embarrass Nate by uttering her name from your filthy mouth. If not for your dirty little scheme, I would’ve married her three years ago but instead, I got stuck with you in this prison.”

Nate!? How pleasing? He never uttered his wife’s name with such tenderness and didn’t use any nicknames unlike he does with Natalie.

It’s hurting her from all the sides in every possible way but she couldn’t agree with his insults. Never.

“What did you say? Did I trap you? Did I ask you to marry me? Who was the one that approached me with a marriage contract?”

Clarissa tried her best to contain her emotions but she lost it completely when Nicholas defended her step sister because she is ready to endure anything from him but not siding with Natalie.

And why is he accusing her of using tricks on him?

She told him countless times about what happened that night but he never believed her.

Why can’t he just go and ask his precious Natalie about what she was doing on that very night instead of staying in her own room?

“Bravo Clarissa Anderson! I should bow my head to your pretence. Even now, you act like a Virgin Mary but I’m not a fool like my father to fall for your crocodile tears. I rather die than live my life as your husband.”

Nicholas left the house after throwing down those cruel words at her crumbled state. How can she still defend herself?

If she hadn’t sneaked into Nate’s room that night from three years ago. He wouldn’t have slept with her, assuming her as Nate and his father wouldn’t have forced him to marry Clarissa who pretended to be a victim.

She deserves his hate.

Left alone, Clarissa collapsed on the floor with heart full of sorrow and grief. She looked around the dining room which is now mocking her with it’s grand décor.