Chapter 2

Patrick Banks

~•~

As I sat down in my office, I couldn't help but wonder how we got here. My eyes darted over to the picture frame that stood beside the computer on the table.

Her blue eyes shone brightly in the photo. That was one of her features that had captivated me the first time I saw her on the television screen.

I knew I needed her in my life.

Valarie's beauty still took my breath away, even in a photograph. I started reminiscing about the days we would laugh together as we attended different events.

I remembered our love. I remembered the first time we met outside her dormitory. I remembered when everything was still perfect. I couldn't help but wonder how everything went wrong.

Valerie didn't seem unhappy. I thought I gave her everything she wanted. But I guess I was wrong. Everything was great between us, but she went ahead to ruin it.

Everything felt so surreal. I wouldn't have believed if anyone had told me that Valerie would end up betraying me.

Even though I felt insecure at times because of her line of work, I still trusted my wife. She assured me that she would never do anything to hurt me.

But then, I realized that people lie.

The worst part was that she was acting clueless about everything. She wanted to have a conversation with me badly, but I just couldn't do it.

I wasn't ready to watch her lie to my face anymore.

She had been doing it for a while, but I knew better now.

Valerie had been sitting in the lobby for over an hour. A part of me felt guilty for making her waste her time. But she deserved it.

After what she did, I shouldn't even care about her feelings anymore. The receptionist had called me several times to remind me about my wife who was waiting for me downstairs.

I gave her the same response every time.

"I'll let you know when I'm free, so you can send her up."

I didn't want to see Valerie, and I hoped that ignoring her would just make her leave. But Valerie was determined to see me. She didn't mind waiting.

She had tried to talk to me several times at home, but I always brushed her off. I didn't want to speak to her, but she was still persistent.

I was trying to wrap my head around the whole situation and needed space to think. I barely went back home just to avoid her.

As I sat down there, lost in my thoughts, my phone buzzed on the desk. I glanced at the screen, expecting it to be the receptionist again.

But it was a text from Valerie instead.

[ So you intentionally ignored me and made me waste my time in the lobby. We need to talk, we are married. You can't ignore me forever.]

I exhaled heavily as I read the text.

Yes, I couldn't ignore her forever, but I wasn't ready to speak to her. Did she forget that she was married before she betrayed me?

I leaned back on my chair, rubbing my temple.

Everything about the whole situation was draining. I didn't even want to think about it anymore. I needed a distraction.

I picked up my phone and called my best friend, asking him to meet me at a bar. Fortunately enough, Jordan was free and ready to meet up with me.

I still had a few more hours before my work for the day ended, but I couldn't stay until then. I told my assistant to reschedule whatever I had left for the day.

Soon enough, I was seated in my car.

It dawned on me that I didn't respond to Valerie's text. I drafted a quick response and sent it before driving out of the office.

After a short drive, I arrived at the bar where I asked Jordan to meet up with me. When I walked inside, I made my way to the counter where the bartender stood.

Jordan hadn't arrived, so I ordered a drink while I waited for him. "Give me a shot of tequila, please," I instructed the bartender, who responded with a nod.

"Patrick Banks." I heard Jordan's voice echo from behind me a few moments later. "Trouble in paradise?" He asked with a smirk as he sat on the empty stool beside me.

A relieved breath escaped my lips as I saw Jordan. Jordan's presence was like therapy to me. We had been best friends since we were little, and he always knew how to cheer me up.

I nodded. "Yes, man, trouble in paradise."

Jordan chuckled. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Without hesitation, I shook my head. "No, I don't want to think about it."

I didn't come all the way to the bar to talk about my problems. I just wanted to get drunk and escape my reality.

But I knew Jordan wouldn't let me get drunk in public. The last time something like that happened, it was a total disaster, and people on the internet didn't stop talking about it for weeks.

It even cost Valerie one of her roles in an upcoming movie.

I knew what I had to do to make her forgive me.

"Give us a shot of your strongest drink," Jordan told the bartender when he placed the shot of tequila in front of me.

I nodded in agreement. "Yes, we want the strongest drink."

My throat burned as I drank the tequila, but I didn't care. It wasn't as bad as the emotional pain I felt in my heart. I just wanted to numb the pain.

Jordan brought up a conversation about random stuff to lighten up the mood, but I still couldn't stop thinking about Valerie.

"You know you have to talk about what is bothering you if you want to move past it?" Jordan narrowed his eyes at me when I asked for another drink.

I waved my hands in the air dismissively. "Trust me, you don't want to hear about it," I responded with a chuckle. I honestly didn't want to tell anyone about it until I was ready to speak to Valerie about it.

"Okay, fine. I think we should head back to your house before you start acting funny." Jordan stood up from the stool and gestured for me to join him.

"I'm not drunk."

"I know you aren't drunk, but you will be if we stay here any longer."

I stood up and followed Jordan to his car. My driver would pick up my car later because I wasn't in the right state of mind to drive.

As we drove into the city, my phone buzzed with a text message from Valerie's sister.

[ Have you done it yet?]

Chapter 3

Valerie Will

~•~

I didn't have time to respond to Patrick's text, but throughout my time on set, my mind kept drifting back to what he had said to me.

Apparently, he was giving me the silent treatment because I had done something. But I had no idea what I had done recently that would make him behave differently towards me.

Why didn't he just communicate with me instead of shutting me out? I looked forward to the end of the day because I wanted to go back home and talk to him in person.

That was if he would even be at the house.

He had been staying away from the house recently, just to avoid me. I was wondering what the reason was, but now I understand everything.

But I was still lost about what I had done.

"You keep forgetting your lines, you have to keep your head in the game," Jamal whispered to me after we had tried shooting a scene for the third time.

He was right. I was being distracted.

The next few hours were hectic, I tried my best to stay focused until the end of the day. By the time we were done, I let out a relieved sigh.

"Are you ready to talk about it?" Jamal asked as he walked me to my car. "Something is bothering you, and you need to let it out."

I sighed, leaning my back against the car door. "I'm having trouble in my marriage. Patrick is upset at me because I did something, but he wouldn't talk to me about it."

Jamal raised a concerned brow at me. "What did you do?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "He didn't say anything yet. I can't remember doing anything, but I'm about to find out." The thought of everything made me a little bit nervous.

Jamal let out a wistful sigh. "Everything will be okay. Just talk to him." He pulled me into a warm hug before heading back to his car.

Just as I drove out to the streets, my phone started ringing. My expression soured at the sight of her name on the screen.

Why was my sister calling me?

We weren't exactly best friends, and most of our conversations often ended in disagreements.

Jessica wasn't my biggest fan, and she made it clear to me. I had no choice but to keep her in my life because she was the only sibling I had.

Our parents had always encouraged me to be a bigger person and tolerate her even though she was very annoying most of the time.

I hesitated for a while, wondering what she wanted this time. I already had a lot going on, and I wasn't prepared for her drama.

I decided to ignore the call and reach out to her later, but she was persistent. She didn't stop calling. Letting out a deep sigh, I answered the phone and put it on speaker.

"I'm driving. I was going to call you back." I explained before she got the chance to say anything. "Why are you blowing up my phone?" I asked with a hint of curiosity in my voice.

"I just wanted to check up on you."

That was clearly a lie.

"Okay, if you say so." I didn't want to press further and ask her about her true intentions. "Thank you for checking up on me. I'm doing well."

There was a brief silence, and for a second, I thought the line had disconnected. Suddenly, Jessica cleared her throat and continued.

"Are you sure that everything is okay?"

"What?" I asked, taken aback by her question. "Why are you asking me weird questions? Isn't everything meant to be okay?"

She responded with an awkward laugh. "I'm sorry." She tendered a lame apology. "I actually called you to help me do something."

My interest was piqued. "And what is that?"

Jessica exhaled sharply. "I've been thinking about a business plan, and I wanted you to help me set up a meeting with your husband. I want him to be an investor."

"You know you could have reached out to him and asked for a meeting by yourself."

"I know, but I just want you to do it. I mean, he loves you and would agree faster if you ask him on my behalf." Jessica replied.

I held back a scoff and decided to give her the benefit of the doubt.

"Fine, I'll talk to him."

Without giving her a chance to respond, I ended the call and focused on driving back to the house. Jessica was sneaky, and I didn't trust her.

But I didn't mind talking to Patrick about her business deal. Maybe she would finally have something for herself and stop being bankrolled by our parents.

Soon enough, I arrived at the house.

Patrick's car was parked in the garage, so I figured he was already at the house. I took a deep breath as I stepped out of the car and made my way into the house.

"I made dinner already, should I set the table?" The maid asked as I was about to climb the stairs.

I nodded. "Sure, I'll be having dinner with my husband."

We hadn't had dinner together in almost a week. But this time around, we would eat and talk about everything, even if I had to force it.

We needed to address our problems and stop living like we were strangers. I was tired of the silence and needed an explanation.

As I got upstairs to our room, I saw Patrick sitting in front of the desk. He didn't even turn around to look at me or acknowledge my presence.

I clenched my jaw in frustration. "Patrick Banks! I'm tired of living like this. You have to tell me what is going on right now. What did I do?" I asked, breathing heavily.

He turned around to look at me, his eyes filled with disappointment. "There's no point in talking to you about it. Let's get a divorce."

Before I could say anything, he opened the drawer and brought out a brown envelope.

My eyes grew wide in shock as I realized that he already had the divorce papers prepared without my consent. How did we get to this point?

Chapter 4

  Valerie Will

  ~•~

  "You want to get a divorce?" The words didn't even sound right as they left my mouth. "Have you forgotten about the vows we made to each other?" 

  Patrick didn't hold back a scoff. "Yeah, right." 

  My mind was racing with different thoughts as I tried to process what was happening. It was the least of the things I expected to encounter when I came back home. 

  I wanted to have an honest conversation with him to see what was wrong and how we would fix our issues. But Patrick didn't want any of that. He wanted a divorce. 

  "Why do you want to divorce? You didn't even think to speak to me about it before deciding." Panic surged through me, but I tried to keep my voice calm. 

  He rolled his eyes. "Like I said earlier, there is no point in talking about it. Just sign the papers, and let's start the divorce process." 

  Patrick extended the brown envelope to me, his face void of emotions. "So you expect me to just sign it without knowing the reason why you're ending our marriage?" I stared at the envelope with disdain. 

  He nodded. "You already know what you did, so there is no use talking about it." His nonchalant tone made my blood boil. 

  What was he talking about?

  We were adults and should be able to communicate if something was wrong. 

  I wasn't going to sit back and watch my marriage crumble, 

  "Are you going through something? You know you can talk to me." I took a step closer, examining him from head to toe. "Everything has been going well between us. What changed?" 

  I was genuinely confused. 

  Even if he had made up his mind to end the marriage, the least he could do was tell me the reason. Or was he just tired and looking for a silly excuse to leave? 

  Patrick laughed. "Of course, you would want to manipulate me and make it feel like I'm the problem." He said through gritted teeth. "Things changed after I realized you betrayed me." 

  My lips parted, and I blinked. "I betrayed you?"

  "I don't even want to talk about it. Just sign the damn papers!" 

  His loud voice made me flinch. 

  What was really going on? 

  There was a brief silence. 

  I let out a deep sigh as I closed my eyes momentarily. "Is it because of her? Is she back?" I asked, bracing myself for the answer. 

  "Who?" He asked without hesitation. 

  "Madison." Her name tasted bitter on my lips. 

  Patrick laughed, a peal of cold and mocking laughter. "So you think I would leave you because of another woman? Madison, especially?" He asked with a chuckle. 

  Madison was his ex-girlfriend. 

  They almost got engaged but ended up going their separate ways. I knew how much he loved her, so I always felt insecure when it came to Maddison. 

  Patrick had assured me several times that she was his past and nothing would make them get back together. But I couldn't help but ask if the divorce was because of her. 

  I mean, there was no other possible explanation. 

  I felt embarrassed. 

  "So if it isn't because of her, why are you doing this?" 

  He responded with a scoff. "Have you been listening to me all this while? This has nothing to do with me! Everything is your fault." He exhaled heavily. "You ruined what we built over the past three years." 

  I was running out of patience, and the suspense was killing me. How exactly did I ruin everything? I had asked multiple times, but Patrick wouldn't say anything. 

  "Will you keep on beating around the bush, or will you would actually talk to me about what is going on? I'm genuinely confused." 

  Patrick threw his hands in the air. "Come on! Stop acting like you don't know what I'm talking about." 

  My expression turned soft. "I honestly have no idea." 

  He paused and looked at me. "You've been lying to my face for so long." He began. "You always made it seem like I was the only man in your life." 

  My eyebrows were etched in confusion. "Of course, you're the only man in my life," I assured him, but he wasn't having it. All this time, he was talking about a betrayal. Did he mean that I cheated on him? 

  Throughout our three years of marriage, I had never cheated on my husband. It was against my principles, and I couldn't even imagine hurting Patrick like that. 

  "Spare me that!" He sucked on his teeth. "I know about everything, and you don't have to lie to me anymore." He added as he stood up from the chair. 

  I couldn't even believe something like this was happening. 

  It made no sense. It was getting frustrating. Why wouldn't he just tell me exactly what he found? Why was he being cryptic? I had nothing to hide and was ready to defend myself. 

  "Patrick." I took a step closer to him. As I tried to reach out to his hands, he pulled away. "You won't even give me the benefit of the doubt? After everything we've been through, you won't listen to me?" 

  I was hurt and disappointed at the same time. 

  Patrick was acting differently. 

  A part of me was starting to think that he was lying about everything. If he really found something about me that made him choose to file for a divorce, he wouldn't hesitate to tell me about it. 

  "I already saw all the evidence I needed." 

  "Wow," I muttered, more to myself than to him. 

  "Just sign the papers, and let's get this over with." 

  I was confused about how I betrayed him. 

  But even if Patrick didn't want to say anything yet, I knew that the truth would eventually come to light. 

  I couldn't even fathom how my life would be if we went our separate ways. The thought of losing him was scary. I was still very much in love with him. 

  "You know what?" I asked, crossing my arms against my chest defensively. "I'm not signing anything unless you tell me the reason why you're doing this." 

  "Fine." He let out a defeated sigh. "You cheated, Valerie! Why did you cheat on me?" He asked, his voice crackling slightly. 

  Did I hear him correctly? 

  Who did I cheat on him with? 

  Where did he get such information from?