Chapter 2: never letting go

Valerie took everything she cherished away from her since when they were little, but not this time, not her man; no, she won’t give up without a fight. She ignored the warning bells in her head and the obvious red flags that waved at her, then slapped her cousin and said in her teary voice,

“I won’t let you take Trey away from me! He’s mine; you took everything away from me; I won’t let you take him too; he loves me.” Valerie feigned hurt by holding on to her slapped cheek and saying courteously.

"Lisa, why are you doing this to me? All I ever did was love you, but why do you want to take everything I love away from me? You know, Trey and I have been in love since we were little. Why are you acting like I’m the one who hurt you when you are the one who has been hurting me?” Valerie choked out, tears running down her cheeks. 

Lisa opened her mouth to retort when she was pushed aside, causing her to fall. 

“I told you not to fucking touch her, but you dared me. I don’t love you, Lisa; I never did and never will. I love Valerie; I will only love her in this life and the coming ones.” He muttered icily through gritted teeth. “I would never love someone who finds pleasure in hurting others. I know how you’ve tortured Valerie, and I also know how much she despises you. That’s why I married you to spite her when she rejected my proposal. I knew she would come begging the moment I married you, and I would divorce you the moment we made up.” Lisa gazed up at the two perplexed. ‘What the hell is Trey talking about? When did she torture Valerie? It’s vice versa,’ she thought angrily, then said, 

"Trey… It’s me, you love; why are you protecting Valerie? Why are you in love with her?” Lisa said, her voice hoarse as tears kept dripping down her cheeks. Trey passes his hand through his hair in frustration as he stares at the woman shedding fake tears in front of him. 

"Yes, I know. This isn't the first time you’re claiming to be her. I know people like you; you are disgusting,” Trey uttered coldly. “Since you won’t leave us to relish ourselves,” he said, emphasizing 'relish ourselves,' “we will go elsewhere.” He collected his suit, key, and Valerie’s handbag, and then holding Valerie by the waist, they walked out. 

Lisa stared after them, every step they took stabbing her heart like a knife. To her surprise, Valerie turned back and smirked at her. Lisa started to laugh like she had gone crazy; she kept laughing till it turned into loud sobs. 

‘How pathetic she is. How could she be so stupid? The signs were obvious—loud and clear. When she met Trey at the hospital, he spoke to her formally, like he didn’t want anything to do with her. But when he suddenly came and proposed, she thought she was overthinking too much about it. It turns out she was right all along.’ 

She sat on the edge of the bed and cried to her heart’s content. After hours of crying, she came to a decision that would change her life forever.

 

~~~

 

Lisa arrives home late. She entered the door and was greeted by Mrs. Cooper, their butler, seated on the couch in the dimly lit hall. She walked over and sat next to her. 

“Why are you still up? It's late; you should be asleep by now." Lisa asked. Mrs. Cooper smiled and replied. 

“I was waiting for you so I could heat dinner for you." Lisa took Mrs. Cooper’s hands in her hands as tears welled up in her eyes.

“Oh, Mrs. Cooper, thank you for everything you’ve done for me since I came to this house. You treated me like a daughter, and I felt my mom’s presence in you. Thank you very much.” Lisa sniffles with a smile. 

“I felt the same, my dear; I saw the daughter I never had in you,” Mrs. Cooper said, a tear falling down her face, and drew Lisa into a hug as they both sobbed. They stayed like that for a while before breaking it. 

“So what are your plans after yesterday’s event?” Mrs. Cooper asked. 

“I’m signing the agreement,” Lisa answered. 

“You made the right decision, my dear; I support it.” Mrs. Cooper said.

“I thought you would talk me out of my decision." Lisa asked. 

“I won’t do that, my dear; I saw the smile on your face when you came to this house; now you no longer have it; you deserve better, my love." She cups Lisa’s cheek. “If he doesn’t need you, don’t force yourself on him; love can’t be forced.” Mrs. Cooper explains. 

“Thank you for talking to me,” Lisa said, getting up to leave but was stopped by Mrs. Cooper, who said,

“Have your meal before you sleep.” 

“No, thanks; I already had dinner.” She lied. She lost her appetite following the day’s event.

 

Lisa dropped onto the floor upon entering her matrimonial bedroom and getting consumed by the familiar scent of her husband. 

“Trey… Trey… How could you allow Valerie to come between us? Huh? How could you do that?” She cried. “I will never forget, and I will never forgive you for breaking my heart!!!” She screams, hitting the grayish porcelain floor repeatedly, as fresh tears fall to the floor. “I hope you never regret it because I wouldn’t want you to get hurt, because as much as I hate you now, my stupid heart still loves you. I hope you’ll leave well, even if it’s with my cousin.” She says getting up to start packing her bags. She packed all her belongings, making sure not to leave a single thing behind because it would end up getting burned by the new madam of the house, she thought. 

By the time she was done packing, it was 3:00 am in the morning. She took the envelope from the nightstand and went through it; she saw there was an alimony of 1 billion dollars. ‘Wow! That’s huge,’ she couldn’t believe to get rid of her. Trey was willing to pay her a billion for accepting the divorce. 

Tears filled her eyes at the thought. She signed the papers with tear-filled eyes, making her vision blurry, and the tears dropped, wetting the papers. After she was done, she took one last glance at the room before going down with her bags to her car and leaving for her old apartment. 

She rented her old apartment a year ago after completing medical school and decided not to live in her uncle's mansion. 

 

12:30 pm the next afternoon 

 

Lisa was awakened by the sun shining on her face. Her sheets and pillow were soaked with her sweat. She tried to get up from the bed but felt weak and dizzy. She could hardly move her legs. 

With all the strength she could muster, she got down from the bed and went to the bathroom. She stopped in front of the mirror, turned on the tap, and splashed some water on her face. She stared at her reflection in the mirror. 

The woman staring back at her was thin; her collarbone had no flesh, her lips were dry, and her eyes were puffy with dark circles under. She sighed heavily and slowly walked to the bathtub, filled it with warm water, and took a relaxing bath. 

After what seemed like hours, she finally came out of the bathroom with a white towel around her chest, walking towards the vanity table. She did her makeup to hide the dark circles and puffiness and went to her closet to get dressed. She walked out of the closet fully dressed, took her phone from the nightstand, and checked the time. 

It was 2 in the afternoon. ‘She had been sleeping since 4 at dawn; that must be the reason why she was feeling dizzy and famished,’ she thought. She walked out her door to the elevator. When the elevator reaches the lobby floor, she goes to the apartment manager’s office, informs him about her moving out, and signs the necessary papers so that she can receive the remaining balance from her rent deposit. 

 

~~~ 

 

Lisa drove to her favorite restaurant to eat. She sat at the seat in the back and ordered her meals—yes, meals. She felt she could eat a whole whale; she was famished. As she waits for the waitress, she starts to plan her future. 

Now that she has signed the divorce papers, she doesn’t want to stay here; she doesn’t want to be anywhere close to Trey. So she decided to move to another country and start her life all over. But this time, things will have to change; she won’t let others trample on her anymore; she will stand up for herself. 

Her train of thought was broken when she saw a familiar back seated at a table not far from her. She wanted to go find out who it was but felt dizzy the moment she stood up, so she decided against going. Her meals arrived, and she dug in; within 20 minutes, she was done with all the meals on her table, taking a single gulp of the glass of water. 

After sitting down for a while to regain her strength, she walked to the counter, paid her bill, and turned to leave but noticed the familiar back again. But this time she decided to approach, feeling her strength restored. As she approached, she realized that she was going to make a huge mistake because seated in front of her were Trey and his friends, Kelvin Jones and Nathan Adams. 

The familiar back she saw was Kelvin’s. She silently turned to walk away but stopped when her name was called.