Keepsake Destroyed

I found a spot to rent and went back to the villa to grab my stuff. Also, I served the papers to Christopher. He signed them without even looking, but when I tried to take them away, he pinned them down on the desk.

"If my parents find out we're divorced, they'd be livid. They might even have a heart attack."

Yeah, that was proof he did not believe my story at all. He probably stuffed his parents' ashes in a dark corner somewhere.

"If you're trying to say they might die if they find out about the news, you're a bit too late. They're already dead. I gave you their ashes, and where did you put it?"

"And I told you to stop spewing nonsense, Josephine!"

"And you are unbelievable," I snapped.

"No, you're unbelievable, Ms. Chandler." Yvonne placed a phone before Christopher. "Mrs. Grayson left a like on someone's status yesterday. If you really want to get Chris' attention, then apologize right now. Stop finding excuses for your terrible lies."

I was close enough to see the screen. The like was left the day before. Yet I saw Christopher's parents' bodies pushed into the furnace. This should not happen.

"Ms. Chandler, I only treated you like a sister out of respect for Chris. I never thought you were a good wife for him, nor have I ever recognized your marriage. You'd spin lies about his parents' deaths just to get what you want. What are you trying to do, really?"

Please, like my marriage needed her approval to function. She thought highly of herself. Too highly.

"I'm trying to bind you two together. I suggest you see a doctor. Perhaps there is nothing but air inside your heads. I reckon that is quite the serious predicament."

Then, I turned to Christopher.

"You believe everything she says. You're supposed to be the CEO of a publicly-traded company. I presume you have a phone. You can ask your assistant to verify my story."

"So what about this? Mr. and Mrs. Grayson's phone got stolen?"

They got into that car crash overseas. For some reason, we did not find her phone among their belongings.

Christopher said, "You only married me for money. The divorce will not get you a single cent, I promise you that."

"Oh, and I promise you you can keep all your money. Why marry me if you think so lowly of me? You were the one who couldn't stop getting my attention. Guess a change of heart does change your attitude."

Christopher always thought everything I did was out of a place of malice. He never believed a single word I said.

When I went upstairs to get my luggage, a frustrated Christopher asked, "You came with nothing. What are you even trying to take? I'm already kind enough to let you leave in those clothes. They're more than you can afford."

I clenched my fists and ignored him. There was something I had to take. My parents' belongings.

"Hey, something smells smoky. Is that the trash the janitor's burning?" Yvonne pinched her nose in disgust.

She would never say a word that failed to hit me where it hurt the most. This could not be good.

I hurried into the backyard only to be met with fire. Within the flames were my parents' belongings, including the necklace my mother bought me when I was ten. The last birthday gift she got me.

I ran ahead in a desperate attempt to salvage their belongings, but Yvonne stopped me on purpose. "You can't. You'll be burned." She smiled at me with venom and darkness. My haggard self fueled her mockery of me.

"It's nothing but trash. Why do you stop her? She obviously treasures them."

When we were still in love, Christopher said that my parents' belongings were the final pieces of them they left to me. Now, they were trash to him.

Just when I was about to get the necklace, Yvonne fell into the fire. Christopher shoved me away and pulled her out of the fire in a hurry. He held her in his embrace.

My head slammed into a stone. The pain shot across my body, and my mind was buzzing. Everything around me was ringing, and the world turned into a blurry mess.

Yvonne held up her burned arm and acted like it hurt more than murder. "It hurts. I just wanted her to stay away from the fire, but she pushed me away." She started crying.

"It's alright. I'll take you to the hospital." Christopher scooped her up. Before he left, he told me coldly, "I thought you were only a liar at most. Now I see your true colors. You're an evil witch. You tried to burn her alive."

Pregnant

I could not hear anything. The servant had been standing by our side, wondering if she should step in. I stretched my arm into the burning pile.

My blood drenched the world in a worse crimson blur. It took me some rummaging around to find my necklace.

Alas, it was made of plastic and was disfigured horribly. Still, I clenched it as tightly as I could, even if the scalding heat covered my hand in blisters.

The ten-year-old me called herself a princess because she wore the necklace. The adult me? This was the only link I had to my parents, and it was destroyed right in front of my face.

I had no idea what happened to Christopher or what made him change. I had no idea why he refused to leave me, even when he no longer had any love for me. I would never cling to him anyway.

Nor could I ever figure out why Yvonne did not marry Christopher, even when she had feelings for him. Instead, she chose to get into a situationship while torturing me at the same time. Was this some sort of fetish I had no idea about? I wondered if I was their living toy.

I really wanted to leave the land I was raised in, with the signed papers in my hands.

Every step I took blurred the world around me more. I wiped the blood away in an attempt to clear my sight. It did nothing.

…

When I woke up again, I was met with a familiar face.

We stood in the hospital's corridor, and he presented me with a report. "You looked terrible. If I weren't on my way to work, some unlucky driver would've crashed into you. And I can't believe you had no idea you were pregnant."

Nathaniel Mayfield. My old schoolmate from the class next door. He used to be my suitor, but the guy stopped contacting me after I went out with Christopher. So this was where he worked.

It was awkward to be seen in that form, especially by someone I knew. I had no idea what to say to him, so I thanked him and paid him back for settling my bill.

"What are you doing?"

Accusation

A furious Christopher strode ahead and yanked my arm. He noticed the bandage around my head and froze for a fraction of a moment. Then, he interrogated me.

"I was wondering why you wanted that divorce. You already have someone else in mind. Nathaniel. Still going after married women, I see. You know no shame."

The more he talked, the worse his insults became. He was attacking me and dragging innocent people into his rage. I flung his hand away and enunciated, "We're divorced, Christopher. The papers are signed."

"And I'm taking that back. You're hooking up with that bastard, aren't you? Talk, Josephine!"

Yvonne's arm was covered in bandages. She tried to pull Christopher back, but he shoved her away.

This was a joke. "You're making me wonder if you still have lingering feelings for me, Christopher."

"Don't flatter yourself. As long as we don't file the divorce, you're not going to flirt with anyone. Not when you're still technically my wife."

Yvonne said quietly, "Dr. Mayfield, you were Ms. Chandler's suitor back in college, I recall. Good friends, even?"

Christopher's face fell. Yvonne put on a look of fake surprise. "Maybe my memory's playing tricks on me." She stuck her tongue out. "Sorry."

"I'll handle this myself, Dr. Mayfield. You get back to work." I spoke up before Nathaniel could. I hid the report behind me and met Christopher's gaze.

"You might have the capability to flirt with every single woman you meet while you're married, but I do not. You'll never be a cuck, worry not."

"What is that you're holding, Ms. Chandler?" She snatched the report away from me, but when she saw what was written, the look on her face changed, but it flickered back to calmness a moment later.

"You got your friend to come up with a fake report to stop the divorce? If someone reports this, it's going to hurt your doctor friend's career."

Christopher scoffed. "You didn't even get pregnant while we were married, and now you are? It's been forever since I slept with you. At least think before you lie."

I tried to take the report back, but Yvonne dodged me, and Christopher pulled her behind him.

I snickered. "Trying to push me for her again?"

Christopher looked at my bandaged head and said nothing. He tossed the report in my face. "You'd better stay in line." Then, he grabbed Yvonne and left me behind.

…

About a month ago, he came back blackout drunk after a meeting with his client. He held me in his arms and called my name again and again.

"I love you!" he said. Again and again.

Naively, I thought he loved me. I thought there was some sort of misunderstanding between us.

However, when he woke up the next day, he couldn't remember anything that had happened. Instead, his eyes held more disdain for me. The disgust in his eyes scared me off.

That was probably when I got pregnant. Well, it wasn't a bad thing that he wouldn't recognize the child.

He couldn't care less about his parents. I did not expect him to offer any affection to the baby.

The divorce was imminent. Children should not be born into a world where they were not loved.

Still, I wondered if Christopher would have a meltdown when he found out that I aborted his child, never lied to him, and that his parents died because of him.

Oh, I wanted to see the look on his face.

But first, I made an appointment to get the termination.