After Divorce, I Became Everything Novels & Stories

“That is the last time I ever want to hear that man’s name in this house. You should be grateful everything is over.” “You can’t just—” “Shh.” He stepped closer and cupped my face in his hands. “Everything is over now. I’m not going to marry her. Not after seeing what she’s capable of. You can have me all to yourself. Once the thirty days are up, we’ll cancel the divorce.”

SOPHIA I didn’t realize how much the divorce had been weighing me down until the weight disappeared. After appending my signature on those papers, something in me loosened. With each breath I took, my chest expanded more easily, and my smile came more frequent. I slept without worries. Marc was finally, legally, behind me. And for the first time in a long while, my past didn’t feel like it was chasing me. The shift was so profound that it reflected in my work. Ideas came pouring in. Designs were approved. Christopher must have also sensed the shift because he didn’t contact me again. Even Adrian seemed to have gotten a break from him.

"Can we have cake now?" Steel chuckled. “Okay sweetheart.” “Now we can have cake.” Jaden sighed. "Hold on, she gets the cake ahead of me?" Not fair. I surveyed everything around me — my turmoil, my emotions, my dwelling — and I recognized a truth: my previous divorce wasn’t a conclusion to my love life. It was an entrance to a new episode of love and in some way, by traversing it, I discovered everything I had ever misplaced. And perhaps, just perhaps, the universe had at last ceased its laughter at me — and begun to smile instead.

It has just been weeks since the divorce was completed, and there was no way any man should be making me feel some type of way. After everything Marcus had made me go through, there was no way I was trusting any man again. It was all the same, so vile! Marcus did more than this to me, he was all over me. Loving and amazing, he cherished me so much and then everything changed. “You are not going to fall for that again. Just keep your head in the game,” I told myself. I had to be strong for my daughter, I had to keep raising her. There was no point in chasing what wasn't real.

She didn’t even get the chance to say goodbye. I remember walking up to her to comfort her. “Everything will be okay,” I whispered, though she didn’t respond at the time. Ever since then, we had become inseparable. We would plan how to be successful when we grew up, talking endlessly about marrying wealthy, handsome, charming men, ensuring our children wouldn’t suffer like we did. Although we grew up to fulfill those dreams, mine shattered the day I finalized my divorce from Ethan. He was my world, my everything. Now, I was left with his child.

Beautiful, radiant, even strong at her core—she seemed reborn after their divorce, becoming carefree as if nothing mattered to her anymore. His chest felt blocked, the pain almost rising to his throat. After their divorce, he hadn't had anyone remove Aria's belongings from their marital home, leaving everything in place, as if this could give him the illusion that Aria might return at any time. He was still thinking about remarrying, but Aria had already started a new life. She moved out of their home and began working, as if there was no longer any place for him in her heart or eyes. Why?

But in every dream, her back was to me—I could never see her face. At first, I was angry why she wouldn’t just turn around and look at me. Later on... I started begging her to. And then the doubt crept in—what if she never intended to give me a second chance at all? What if she had it all planned before handing me the divorce papers—vanishing from my world so I could never find her? And now? I’ve got nothing left. I’m not even the CEO anymore. What the hell can I even offer her?

And just like she'd disappeared five years ago, she was going to disappear from his sight the moment she got her hands on those shares, the moment they got divorced. She was going to leave him and return to the life she had before coming here. She was going to return to the man who made her smile and made her mutter his name while she slept. She was going to return to the man who she freely told she loved. And she was going to leave him all alone, again. Like a thin thread being pulled on, Cillian felt something within him being stretched. And the final pull came the moment that voice—the one he knew he shouldn't be listening to, after all, it led him to the white walls and ceiling of a hosp

"You've been talking about everyone else, but you haven't mentioned yourself." "Me? When I first got divorced, I left with nothing and started over completely. But now, I have a daughter who loves me and a boyfriend who spoils me. I also have a substantial amount of savings in my hands. "All of these are great changes for me. I've even found a career that I love and am willing to dedicate my life to."

I said. "First we get you a job. Something good, something that starts rebuilding your financial independence quietly. Then when you have enough to stand on your own two feet — you divorce him. You build from there. And when you are ready, when you are strong enough, you come back for your share of that business. It was willed to both of you by your grandparents. He cannot erase that. But you need to be in a position of strength before you go after it." I sat with that for a long moment.