Chapter 8

Olivia ~•~ “What do you even want? You gave me the divorce papers and now you’re talking about how I’m about to throw five years of our marriage down the drain?” Alex stopped and ran his hands through his hair. “It’s just funny how you jumped at the opportunity the first chance you got.” My lips parted and I blinked. I couldn’t believe he was trying to play the victim card. “I know what you’re trying to do, Alex.” I pointed at him in disbelief. “You got caught, right? I realized you did it because of Tricia, and now you’re trying to put the blame on me. Like everything is my fault.” “For the umpteenth time, I had no idea Tricia was in town and this has nothing to do with her!” “I don’t believe you, Alex,” I screamed at him. “You’ve always wanted Tricia, haven't you? She’s back in your life, you can have her now!” “I’ve told you numerous times, I didn’t want Tricia. It was always you.” He said, his voice filled with frustration. “You can’t let go of just one mistake? It’s all in the past, you never moved on from it.” How did he expect me to move on from something like that? How did he expect me to forget that he called his ex-girlfriend's name while we were having sex? “Alex, that shit happened twice! It was clear you still loved her.” Alex took a deep breath. “It happened four years ago and it didn’t mean anything.” He muttered and I shook my head. “I was never the woman you wanted and now you’re about to be free from me,” I said, feeling a pang of self-pity as my words left my mouth. Alexander was a nice man but the tension between us throughout the marriage was palpable. Yes, he liked and cared about me but I didn’t feel like he loved me. He only married me for convenience. His heart belonged to someone else. The same person he was about to leave me for. A part of me was happy he was hurt I agreed to sign the papers but even if I agreed to stay with him, it wouldn’t change the fact that he was in love with someone else. Alexander didn’t say anything else. We just stared at each other for a while in silence before he left me and headed to the stairs. “Can I have the papers now? I want to sign them so you can do whatever you want without having to lie to me.” I requested as I trailed behind him. Alexander didn’t respond. He kept on walking and soon enough, we were in the bedroom. “Where are the papers?” I asked again as I closed the door behind us. “I’m not giving you the papers.” He finally spoke and I narrowed my eyes in confusion. All of a sudden, he didn’t want the divorce anymore. “Wha…what?” I asked, my voice filled with confusion. “You know you still have your makeup on from yesterday? Have a shower and go down for breakfast.” Alex said, dismissing my question. I was also really tired and I didn’t want to stay there arguing any further. I just walked into the bathroom to shower. ~•~ A few weeks passed and I still hadn't signed the divorce papers. Alexander and I were still living together but we slept in different rooms. Even if he didn’t want me to sign the papers anymore, his signature was already on it and whenever I remembered, I got really upset. The fact that he could think about something like that made me give up on the marriage. It was like a ticking time bomb waiting to explode. It was only a matter of time before the marriage crumbled completely. The buzzing of my phone interrupted me from my thoughts and I jerked back to reality. It was an alarm reminding me about the lunch I was having with my parents later in the day. I always had lunch with my parents at their house from time to time. I turned off the alarm and stood up from the bed to prepare to leave. Alexander wasn’t around. He already left earlier in the morning for a meeting, so apart from the workers in the house, I was the only one around. I had a quick shower and dressed up before heading downstairs to the car. My regular driver offered to drive me to my parent's house but I declined and insisted I drive myself there. After a span of thirty minutes, I arrived at my parent's house. I didn’t have the best relationship with my parents, they had always forced their choices on me and that made our relationship to be strained over the years. But I still tried to maintain a connection with them and that was the reason I accepted their invite whenever they asked to meet for lunch. As I stepped out of the car, my mother emerged from the house. She must’ve heard the sound of my car coming in. “Hey dear, it’s been a while.” She said, giving me a wide smile. “Hi, mom,” I replied as I walked towards her. My father appeared behind her and we exchanged brief greetings before entering the house. The table was already set, so we just made our way to the dining table. My younger siblings, Amanda and David were already seated at the table. I let out a sigh of relief when I saw them. At least they were going to make the lunch bearable. As we all ate and talked, I tried my best to dodge all the questions my parents asked me about my marriage. I didn’t want them to know I was at the brink of getting a divorce. But everything changed when my mum brought out her phone and shoved it at my face, angrily showing me a post on social media.