Chapter 2

“We are still married, and I am still your husband, Adele.”His voice was low and controlled.

The way he said it made her feel as though she had asked for the divorce, like he was merely agreeing.

Adele only nodded, her hand instinctively wrapping around his neck as he lifted her.

Chase took her to the room and noticed her face was a bit red before dropping her on the bed.

“You look pale,” he said, his hand already at her cheek to feel her temperature but she was perfectly normal.  

“Do you need me to call the doctor?” 

“I am fine”. Her words were a little harsh. His concern scraped against her nerves. Why pretend now?

“Last chance A…If you don't tell me what's wrong, I will call the doctor or take you to the hospital right now!” His voice was stern; she knew he meant it. 

And she definitely didn't want him finding out that she was pregnant.

Her fingers curled into the sheets. If he knew, everything would change and not in a way she wanted.

“It’s nothing, honey ”She stopped.“I mean, Mr. Crowdey.”

“It's just that you kept me awake all night and I really need to rest right now.” She said, turning her face away from him to hide the tears that streamed down her cheeks.

“So there is no reason why you should take me to the hospital. I am not sick.”

Chase felt a little bit guilty and angry. She never referred to him as Mr Crowdey before.

“What did you just call me?”His voice was calm but too tight.

“We are getting divorced soon, It’s better we start addressing each other formally now,” she said quietly. “So it won’t feel strange in the future.”

Finding her words grating,His jaw tightened as he stood up abruptly. But Adele’s back remained turned with her heart hammering hard.

“You know what?, I will head to the office now. Have some rest Adele and if you need anything you know you can always call me.”

There he goes again, giving her affections that he didn't mean. She shut her eyes for the upteenth time trying as much as possible to stop herself from crying.

“Adele! Chase called out again as he took a few steps further. Before we got married you said you could never see me as your lover right?”

Adele couldn't speak, her lips trembled. She wanted to tell him that she did grow feelings for him and he was basically the love of her life but she didn't. It was of no use.

“Yes, I said that.”

“And your feelings haven't changed, you only see me as your brother, don't you?”

Adele bit her lips hard in pain, as she thought of how attractive Chase was when she met him at the age of twelve and how her world had only revolved around him since then up until this day. She never thought of him as her brother.

“When I told you a year ago that I only saw you as a brother I meant it!” She replied, steadying her voice.

“Just like you have always seen me as your sister.” Her voice didn't waver nor did it sound unsure.

“That’s good,” he said lightly. “Now you can find someone who truly loves you.”

“Yeah, great!” She replied, trying as much as possible to hide her misery.

“Adele i….” Chase suddenly said again but stopped.

She waited for him to say something but got disappointed again.

“I will head out now.” His voice echoed back.

As soon as she heard the door close and his footsteps were further away, She broke down completely, her shoulders shaking as she buried her face into the pillow for almost an hour before a knock on the door interrupted.

“Ma'am. Mr. Frank is here to see you.” The maid's voice echoed from behind the door. 

Adele immediately stood up, her ands cleaning her red rimmed eyes. “Give me a minute please.” She rushed into the bathroom and washed her face then applied some makeup to hide her swollen face.

She headed for the door and just as she was about to head out her phone rang. It was a message from Chase.

‘Frank should be around soon with the divorce papers. If there’s anything you don’t want included, let me know.’

She immediately turned off her phone, her eyes hollow with pain and discernment. 

She headed to the living room looking beautiful and good spirited.

“Hey Frank. Good morning ma'am.” They both greeted each other simultaneously. Frank laughed nervously.

“Please have a seat”. She offered.

He had expected her to look miserable but she looked perfectly well. He guessed what his boss had said about her drunkenly the other night was True and that made him understand her behavior.

It seemed indeed she loved someone else, but who? Who could possibly love her more than her husband? He couldn't help but think about it as he pulled out the divorce papers from his leather bag.

“Here are the divorce papers.” He said with his glasses perching low on his nose, the divorce file open in his hands and he started to read it out with a professional tone.

She barely looked up.

“Don’t bother reading all that,” . Her tone was sharp, impatient. “I already know what it is.”

“I am so sorry ma'am but Mr Crowdey insisted I read everything out to your understanding”.

So she sat back and heard him read something about Chase giving her some of his assets and properties. She barely heard the rest of his words because she didn't want any of that.

All she wanted was Chase. For him to love her and not any other woman. How selfish of her but that wasn't even possible.

A laugh slipped out before she could stop it. 

Frank paused, “Is anything I said the problem?” His voice was cautious.

“No! Not at all. I am just thinking about how rich I'd become after the divorce.” She coughed trying to stop any more weird sound from coming out of her.

“Please go ahead and continue.”

Frank nodded but the disappointment in his face couldn't be overemphasized. So she was basically here for the money!

He continued to read but suddenly stopped. “Ummm… you can't sign this anymore ma'am”.

Adele’s eyes widened. Did Chase finally realise that this was a mistake?

“There are some missing pages. I'd just come back later so you can sign them.” Frank said and left.

Adele's face fell in disappointment so she sat down for a full blown hour staring into nothing, her hands slightly caressing her stomach.

Isn't she pathetic? Thinking something might change his mind. This was her fate she guessed.

She took out her phone and turned it on before staring at it for a long time then she dialed a number she hadn't called in months. Tyler Crowder.

His phone rang and it was picked on the second ring.

“Ty…” Her voice broke. “What should I do?”