Prologue
“Why?” Iris asked, shaking her head in question at her husband as she tried to understand why he was angry with her this time. Her husband was packing his things, wanting to leave the house without giving her a proper explanation of what was going on. The two of them did not even argue; therefore, she did not understand what his issue was this time.
“Dean, please don’t do this.” She begged, trying to take his hand. Her husband was quick to pull his hand away, glaring at her.
“I never did love you, and I never will. You and I both know that our marriage was over long before it even started.” He said, reminding her that their marriage was an arranged one. She had hoped that he would love her by time, she prayed, she fought, she stood strong, tried to lure him in toward her, but nothing worked. The man was as cold as ice when it came to her, and that was something that she failed to realize.
She put her hand on her stomach as she felt it bloat. The last thing she wanted was to lose another pregnancy. This time, Dean didn’t even know about it, she didn’t want to give him any hope like she used to only to end up losing him again if she lost another one of his children. She had lost the number of miscarriages that she had, but this one was her last resolve. She knew that Dean wouldn’t touch her if sober and has only slept with her because he was drunk.
She could still remember the night very well. Her husband, the man that she was deeply in love with, had moaned out his mistress’s name in her ear as he imagined her before coming undone. She could still remember the pain and humiliation that she felt, but she never spoke about it to him. The next morning, when both woke up, the man didn’t bother looking at her. He didn’t even acknowledge the fact that she was in bed.
“Dean, the two of us have tried. I have tried, for years, I have tried to satisfy you. But…”
“Then stop.” He said, stopping her. She looked down at her feet, avoiding his eyes as tears formed in her eyes. She gripped her shirt as she felt weak. The fact that she knew what had to be done was something that she hated. The man has been insisting on them filing a divorce for months now, and he has been wanting it to end in one sitting. The one way to do so was for both of them to agree on this divorce, making it a ‘mutual’ one, and though it killed her inside, she knew that it had to be done. There was no use to fighting for a relationship that was done.
The man didn’t even want her, and that was something that she knew.
She looked up at the man before wiping her tears, her mind set on the one target that she had in mind. She wanted to keep her child, and she was determined on building her own family. The man may have broken her, he has done it more times than any man has ever done before, and the last thing she wanted was to deal with more of this pain.
Thankfully, she knew that she had the support of her father, but that didn’t mean that things were going to be easy. If anything, they were not. Her mother was not going to like the fact that she had agreed to a divorce. The woman believed that every marriage had its conflicts, and that everything had a solution.
But Iris knew it for fact, this marriage was over, and whether or not her mother liked it; she was not going to proceed with it. If she was to raise her child in a sane environment, then she had to ensure that she created it for the baby first, and therefore, choosing to leave was going to be the best option.
She was to raise her baby as far away as she could from all these dark memories, and one day, if her child chose to want to see their father, she would be more than welcoming to allow the idea. The man didn’t even care that he had broken her heart as he turned to his things, fixing them in his suitcase. She knew that he was going to that woman, his mistress, the woman who has somehow managed to earn his heart. Ariana.
“You wanted to file for a divorce?” She asked, making Dean frown in confusion. He stopped packing his things, and turned to face her, clearly surprised with what she was asking.
His ch*st ached for a second, and he felt like his breath got caught in his throat. The man nodded, crossing his arms over his ch*st as he waited to hear what she had to say. She put her hand on her chest, ignoring the pain that she was feeling in the pit of her stomach and her chest. She had to stand strong to fend for her baby. A heartbreak was not going to do her any good, and the constant arguing was only going to end up breaking her.
“I remember that you had copies of the papers before? You wanted me to sign them.” She said, keeping her eyes on his, ignoring all the pain that she felt at that very moment as her heart begged her not to do this. She knew that she had to, for her baby, heart, and sanity, she had to do this. Dean studied her expression, unsure of what to say before he nodded.
“Yes.” He said, regretting it almost instantly. He knew that she was well aware that he had them. There was no use lying about it now.
“I will sign them and get out of your life, Dean Andino.” She said, looking him dead in the eye, “so, please, do give them to me. Let us end his marriage mutually…”
