"Oh yes, right!" Jason said, practically celebrating as soon as I finished signing the papers. He was checking to make sure there were no errors that could jeopardize the process in the future, as what he wanted most was to get this divorce to finally live his love story with his great passion, Kendall. But I had signed everything correctly; I wasn't there to complicate his life. "Wonderful! Finally, this divorce is happening!"

With great sorrow, I took my ring off my finger, and no matter how hard I tried to stay strong, it was almost impossible not to cry as I removed that ring that had been on my finger for continuous five years. I thought I would never take that ring off my finger because I had never considered the possibility of separating from Jason. But now I was doing it. I left the ring on the table and sighed with my head down, hearing Jason and Kendall celebrating because now they could legally get married.

"Well, you'll retain her rights, right, Jason?" Terence said after clearing his throat. He was so sad to see his friends' marriage ending so dramatically. "It's in the law that Laura should receive a part of your fortune, and she should also be compensated for the divorce because you filed for it and were unfaithful," he accused his friend without shame. It was obvious that he was upset with his friend's behavior.

Jason sighed but nodded, "whatever, she can have whatever she wants. The important thing is that I can be happy now with the woman I love and have always loved." He smiled affectionately at Kendall. I even averted my eyes to avoid seeing that display of affection between the two, which struck me like a stab in my heart. My heart was so broken that I would never be myself again.

"I don't want anything; I don't want money, property, or his fortune," I said, responding to Terence. Then I looked at Jason, "I don't want anything from you." I wished my words could convey all the hurt and anguish I was feeling.

"Wait, calm down, Laura; you might not be fully aware of what you're saying due to your pain," Terence said, looking genuinely concerned now. "You don't understand; this fortune is your right. You need to accept it. Waiving it doesn't make any sense. You've spent five years in this marriage, and you have no savings or anything. Accept this money that is rightfully yours."

"Please, my friend, think it over," Ava also interceded for me. "How will you live from now on?" She was so sad that she almost cried.

"Why are you both insisting so much? If she doesn't want it, then let her be. It's her decision," Kendall said, stopping Terence and Ava from continuing.

"Don't you think you should keep quiet now, Kendall?" Ava asked, seemingly scandalized that this woman was still insisting. "Have some sense, for God's sake!"

"It's okay, Ava; I'll be fine. I'll manage," I smiled to reassure them. I chose to ignore Kendall and looked at Jason, "I didn't marry you for your money, Jason. I never had any ulterior motives in our union. That's why I prefer to leave without anything." I was resolute in my words, and for a moment, Jason couldn't respond, looking confused by my response.

After all, he was a billionaire and probably thought I would file a lawsuit to take a significant portion of his fortune. He certainly didn't expect my answer.

"Well, if she doesn't want the money, there's no point in insisting, right?" Kendall insisted jokingly now. "Besides, you'll have more money to spend on me, my love." She laughed melodiously, hugging Jason's arm.

"Look, Jason, be a man and try to convince her to take the money!" Terence was practically shouting at his friend.

Jason just shrugged, "there's nothing I can do if she doesn't want it." He walked away with the divorce papers in one hand and holding his new fiancée's hand in the other.

"This mansion is so beautiful, love," I could hear Kendall saying as they walked away to go upstairs. "We're going to be so happy here, but I think I'll change this tacky decoration, hahaha."

Her ridiculing the decoration of the mansion that I worked on with so much appreciation broke me in half. I realized that everything was over, everything I built all these years would only live in my memory from now on.

"What a disgrace, honestly!" Ava swore under her breath as we watched Jason and Kendall climb the stairs on their way upstairs.

Even though I knew that was the last time he would see me, Jason didn't even look at me, acting as if he were finally free of me. That hurt more than anything. I had practically given my life to this man, but today he turned his back on me and left with another woman. My heart was, without compression, aching and resentful.

"He's my friend, but I'm totally disappointed in him," Terrence commented, utterly embarrassed.

I just wiped my tears, took a shaky breath, and picked up my suitcase, leaving the house with the intention of never coming back.

"Ma'am..." I heard a hesitant voice call me when I was outside, and that's when I saw all the household staff waiting for me outside. They were as sad as if it were a funeral. My heart almost failed. The team of housekeepers had been working with me since the day I moved into this place. So you can imagine how much they missed me and how much they were hurting to see me leave.

"Hi, everyone," I went to hug them all to say goodbye.

"We'll miss you so much...," they said, "this is so unfair; this house will never shine like it did when you were here." They liked me because I was always humble and treated them well.

"I hope you all will be fine. I need to go now," I said, smiling to reassure them, and I left for my friends' car, where I ended up crying again. I didn't want to leave that place behind and all the relationships I had built over all that time.

Terence was driving, and Ava was in the back seat, providing emotional support. I looked out the window one last time at that mansion that had been my home for so many years. It was as if half of me was staying in that place, so I ended up crying again.

"You were strong, Laura, you were amazing," Ava praised me, giving me strength.

"And now? What are you going to do?" Terence asked, looking at me in the rearview mirror. He was still so apprehensive.

And with good reason, I had no money or job. Since I graduated from college, I had been living to please my husband and make him happy, working hard for him. Jason Davies had been the center of my life for the last five years. Now that he was gone, I was as lost as a boat adrift in the ocean.

I sighed, resting my head against the car window and shaking my head. "I simply don't know what will become of me from now on."

Laura

After I divorced Jason, things quickly started to become torture for me. I lost friends and people who I thought liked me but who only smiled at me because I was married to Jason, and now that I was separated from him, I no longer had any influence on them, so they started to pull away from me.

I started to realize that I had dedicated myself all these years to pleasing my husband and completely forgotten about myself. Furthermore, I had gotten out of a marriage, and I had nothing—not a career, not a job, or anything else—that could support me because I spent the last years of my life after college taking care of my ex-husband, worrying only about him. And trying to win his love, but in the end, nothing came of it.

And now I was here at square one, without even knowing where I was going to start my life over. I knew I needed to get a job to be able to support myself because I can't always depend on Ava and Terence, who have been lending me money in the last few weeks. I knew I needed to start somewhere.

Likewise, I dried my face with the towel as soon as I finished cleaning myself. I had barely woken up, and I had already gone straight to the toilet to vomit. Recently, I was feeling good. At first, I thought that because of the stress I was facing lately, I was already expected to get sick, but with Ava's help, I discovered that I was expecting my ex-husband's child, which almost destroyed me.

Having his child at this point in the championship was out of the question, I had already separated from him, and now this child was on the way to making my path even more difficult.

Since I needed a job to support myself, I accepted a part-time job at a restaurant that would pay me $13 per hour to serve as a waiter. Even with the nausea I was feeling due to the pregnancy, I needed to work, so I put my head down and went to do my chores.

"You're Laura, right?" My boss asked me as soon as I had already changed my clothes and put on my waitress uniform.

"Yes, sir. I'm Laura," I replied, and the man nodded.

"Look, we have a shortage of waiters in the luxury wing of the restaurant because one of our permanent workers got sick. You're going to have to replace it, okay?" He said. The waiters who served in the luxury area of ​​the restaurant were much better trained and more experienced, and knowing that the owner of the restaurant was choosing me to replace one of his employees in the VIP area meant that my work was being well approved. Who knows, maybe I will leave with a good tip today?

I smiled and nodded, then replied, "Of course, sir. I can handle it."

The man took me to the VIP area of ​​the restaurant that was upstairs, being in that kind of place was not a surprise for me since I had spent five years of my life married to a billionaire, and from time to time we would go for walks and luxurious parties. I was willing to do my best because I needed money. The boss gave me a table at which I had to serve a high-class couple who had booked, but I didn't expect the couple to be my ex-husband and his new wife.

They arrived at the restaurant exuding ostentation and happiness like a beautiful young billionaire couple in love. The way they talked and interacted made me feel nauseous. I was paralyzed in the corner, not having the strength to move.

"I loved that gift you gave me, Jason, my love," Kendall said. "The color of that yacht matches the stone in my ring." She shook her fingers in front of Jason as they both laughed.

"I can give you as many yachts as you want, my sweetie," my ex-husband told her, and the lunch I ate earlier almost came up my throat, my tears also threatening to come out.

I had to go to them; I had to smile at them and serve them, but I couldn't take it. No matter how much I needed that money, I couldn't take it, the wound was still too fresh. Then I turned around, wanting to run from there.

"Hey, waitress!" I heard his voice calling me, and I froze instantly, still facing away from the couple. "Aren't you supposed to bring the menu?"

"By God, what an incompetent girl!" Kendall complained, "I'm going to rate this fifth-rate place one star." Her voice was so annoying, for God's sake.

I swallowed my tears and turned around with the menus in my hands. "Sorry, lady and gentleman. Welcome to Charme, the best restaurant around," I said formally as the waiters were instructed.

"Laura?" Jason was the first to recognize me, looking at me in surprise.

"What?" Kendall was shocked and then laughed. "Now you're working as a waitress, Laura? Unbelievable!" She seems to be having a lot of fun now.

"I hope you don't give me a negative review, Kendall," I warned her, and she looked shocked.

"What did you call me? That's Mrs. Davies to you, waitress!" She corrected me, and I widened my eyes, unable to hide my surprise.

"Y-you guys got married?" I looked at both of them. You could almost hear the sound of my heartbreaking.

"We got married this past weekend," Jason replied without much emotion in his voice.

"So fast," I thought, but my thoughts ended up spilling out of my mouth, and Kendall threw her head back laughing.

"You're so stupid. What did you think? That Jason would come back to you one day?" She ridiculed me, maybe deep down I still had a glimmer of hope... "What are you doing standing there like an ugly statue? Go there and bring me some wine, you worthless woman!" She ordered, and I closed the door for her, that was already too much.

"Look here, you can't order me around," I was starting to say, but I was stopped by Jason.

"Yes, she can, we are paying for this place, and you are paid to serve us, so bring what my wife ordered!" He was harsh and thick in his words, looking at me with some disgust. He wanted to humiliate me. Was this the man I once loved? I swallowed hard and went to get their wine.

They went back to talking as if nothing had happened, while I served them expensive food and drinks. "Oops, my spoon!" Kendall exclaimed after a while as she dropped her spoon on the floor. The spoon was right next to her foot, but she still approached me rudely. "Hey, waitress. Come get my spoon!"

I approached the table and bent down to pick up that damn spoon. That's when I felt a cold liquid wet my head and run down my face. Kendall had spilled her wine on me.

"For God's sake, Kendie," Jason said, but instead of helping me, he was laughing at me along with his new wife. The people who watched that just laughed at my situation, thinking it was funny for a waitress to be humiliated like that.

"This is where you belong, Laura, in the gutter!" She belittled me. I couldn't take it, it was all too much. Heavy tears were falling from my eyes, mixing with the wine that ran down my face and soaked my uniform.

"Why are you doing this to me, Jason? Why are you making me suffer so much?" I begged, wanting it all to come to an end.

"I just want you to go away, Laura," he said. "Go away and never come back!"

Humiliated, despised, and helpless, I got up and left that place as heavy tears blurred my vision.

Laura

I was crying like never before. I was devastated and broke. Seeing Jason with his new wife in that restaurant broke me completely. He was taking his life, living his dream next to that woman, while I only sank even deeper into my pain.

I was in the bathroom of the employee restaurant, throwing out everything I had eaten that day, remembering Jason and his new wife. The things they said to me and the way they treated me made me feel so disgusted. Which made me vomit even more. I sat right there on the floor of the bathroom stall and cried some more. Everything was going so wrong in my life, and on top of that, I had this baby on the way. A child.

I had wanted to tell Jason that I was expecting his child when I saw him exuding so much happiness with Kendall, but what good would that do? I couldn't use this child to get revenge on that man who did me so wrong, I had to regain my strength, get up, and keep fighting until the end.

I went in front of the bathroom mirror and looked at my appearance. I looked bad, my hair was messy and wet, the wine and my tears were smeared on my face, and my clothes were all stained with wine. Furthermore, I sighed and washed my face with tap water. I tried to clean my clothes off the sticky wine that Kendall had spilled on me, but that would only wash off with a washing machine, so I gave up and left the bathroom.

As soon as I came out, I saw that the restaurant boss was waiting for me outside the bathroom, and he didn't look good. "You distracted my most important client and his wife, Laura? Have you lost your mind?" He said that, shouting those words at me.

"What? No, I didn't do anything like that. They were the ones who humiliated me and treated me like an animal. Look what that ordinary woman did to me!" I said I was showing my hair and clothes all dirty with wine.

"So what, Laura? Do you think I care about what they did to you? Mr. Davies and his wife stormed out of there, saying they're never going back to this place again. I just lost the most important customer of all my VIP clients. Do you know what negative impact this will have on this place? If people find out that billionaire Jason Davies disapproves of this place, no one will come to eat here anymore, and this place will go bankrupt because of you! And you want me to worry about your shitty appearance?" The man was so furious.

I knew that my ex-husband had great power over the local media, but that wasn't my fault either. "Sir, I…" I tried to speak, but the man harshly shut me up.

"Get out of here, you're fired!"

"What? But I need this job!" I was almost in a panic. What would I do now to support myself?

"Securities! Come and get this incompetent woman out of here!" He shouted at the security guards, who approached me, wanting to drag me out.

"No, it's okay. I know where the exit is," I said and then sighed. If somebody had told me that the day would end like that, I would have laughed skeptically. So there was nothing left to do, I collected my pride and left that restaurant.

Since Jason wanted me to disappear from his life so badly, I did not doubt that he had given the restaurant that negative review just to make the owner fire me, he didn't even care whether he was going to destroy the reputation of that establishment with his negative opinion of that place.

Jason Davies, the man I had loved for five years, was now my worst enemy. I hated him so much, by God, but there was nothing I could do. There was simply no place for me in Manhattan since Jason Davies was like the owner of the city. I needed to get away from that place to a quiet place where I could gather my strength, have my baby, and start over from scratch, away from that man and the world he dominated.

*****

A few days later, I was finishing packing my bags for the trip, and a few minutes later, the doorbell rang, announcing that Ava was outside. I went to open the door, and after a brief hug with her, she smiled at me and asked.

"Everything is ready?" I nodded with a little smile.

"Yes, it is. I've already packed everything I need to take to move," I replied to her, who was holding my hands.

"Okay, Lau, are you sure you want to do this?" She was worried about me.

Ava was the only one who knew I was expecting Jason's child. She advised me to tell Jason, and maybe then he would leave his new wife to come back to me if he found out that a baby was on the way, but things shouldn't be done like that, Jason shouldn't get back with me just because I was expecting his child. He didn't love me and never loved me, so I would never be happy with him, and that would only harm this baby in my belly. Besides, the way he had treated me at the restaurant, I didn't believe he would want to take on this child.

"I admit I'm scared, but this is the best decision I can make," I told her with weakened firmness.

"But Jason can help you, Laura," she asked, and I shook my head.

"No, he can't. I can't go back; I don't want this child to suffer like I suffered; I don't want this child to be rejected by his father like I was." There was so much grief in my heart.

Ava was already crying with sadness. "I'm so sorry, Laura," she said, sobbing.

"You just have to promise me you'll never tell anyone I'm pregnant, least of all Jason," I reminded her. We had already talked about it, I was going to move to Staten Island to a quiet, little-known neighborhood where no one could find me, and then I was going to start my life over there.

"You can trust me, your secret will be well-kept," my friend replied as she was nodding sadly, and we hugged once again. I cried in her arms once again, and then we grabbed my things and went to the taxi rank, where I would leave for my new life.