[Vivienne]

“Stop watching that!” Elijah yanks the remote from my hand and turns off the TV.

“Hey,” I try to stop him, but the screen is already black.

“This is not moving on, Viv. You should know that better than anyone.”

He’s right. I shouldn’t care about what happens in Caden’s life anymore. If the world thinks he’s a cheater and a manwhore, then maybe they are right. And that maybe is a good thing because now I have one more reason to divorce him.

A few hours ago, when he texted me and I told him what the media was calling him, he didn’t even care to deny their claim. He just stopped texting altogether, leaving me like he always did whenever he was done with me.

I was so mad at him that I instantly blocked him and his assistant.

I know it’s childish, but that’s all I could think of at that moment. I just wanted to do something to release this pain in my heart. And it helped. Somewhat.

“You’re right,” I say and get up. “I should stop wasting my time. Are the papers ready?”

He nods, arms folded across his chest. “Are you sure you want to deliver them yourself? I can send them through someone else and make sure they get to him.”

“No,” I shake my head because this is the one last thing I’ll do for him. “I can do it. Besides, I need to look him in the eye and tell him this is over. Only then will I be able to move on for real. I don’t want to hide behind you like some coward, Elijah. I want him to know that this is what I want, that I’m finally letting him go.”

The drive to Caden’s office isn’t a long one. When we reach his office complex, it only takes me ten minutes to get to the elevator and another five minutes to reach his floor.

I know he texted me last night that he would be leaving for Washington, but according to one of the posts on Instagram—who apparently knows my husband’s whereabouts better than I do—he returned a few hours ago, with his mistress by his side, obviously.

When the elevator doors swish open, the reception comes into view.

I walk straight to the woman who sits behind the desk and ask to see Caden.

The woman looks up from the screen of her computer and frowns, trying to recognize me.

But I know she can’t. Caden never made our marriage public, something I always thought was because of his parents. They never liked me, not even a bit, always trying to prove I was no good no match for their son. I tried so hard to change their mind, but couldn’t. They had made up their mind, I suppose. And they hated me even more when Caden refused to divorce me a few times when they suggested in the past.

“I’m sorry, but do you have an appointment?” The receptionist asks and I shake my head.

Well, I did inform Sasha of my arrival but I should know better than to think she would do me any favours in this lifetime.

“No—” I have barely said anything when she rolls her eyes and goes back to focus on her computer screen.

I grit my teeth. This woman clearly has no idea who I am.

I knock my fist against the marble desk and she glares at me, annoyance written all over her face.

I flash her a sweet smile, the kind that will surely leave her confused.

“Tell Caden Lawrence that his wife is here to see him.”

Her eyes widen, shock written all over her face. But then she recovers and scoffs out a laugh. “Nice try, but Mr Lawrence doesn’t have a wife. Now please, leave before I call security.”

I can’t believe my ears. This is what I get for being such a pushover all my life.

But I’m so done, so damn done with this life of humiliation that no matter how but I’ll put Caden in his place.

I’m about to lose my temper when a door opens to my right and a loud heels clacking sound fills the whole lobby.

I look that way and find Sasha walking towards me.

She looks shocked to see me here, but then the shocked expression changes into something ugly and vile.

“What are you doing here?” She hisses, her hands going to her waist.

I smile, not because I want to, but because I don’t want to give her the satisfaction of knowing she got to me with her attitude.

“I came to see Caden.”

“Well, he’s busy at the moment. So, leave before I call security.”

I almost laugh at her threat. “That’s it? Why stop there? Call my husband too. I’m sure he would love to hear you talk about security.”

She flinches at the mention of Caden as my husband and I smirk.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she says, her face turning red. She looks over my shoulder and puts a fake smile on her disgusting face. “This woman is crazy. Please escort her out of the building.”

Before I can react, two tall and bulky men appear beside me and grab my arms. Sasha and the receptionist both look satisfied with my helpless state. I grit my teeth, trying to yank my arms away from these men’s hold, but it’s useless.

“Get off me!” I yell when one of the men starts dragging me towards the elevator.

But Sasha only smirks, crossing her arms across her chest.

“Don’t come back here again. Otherwise, you’ll get to taste my wrath. Do you understand?”

I glare at her but she’s not paying attention to me anymore.

The guard continues to drag me to the elevator.

I try to struggle again, but it’s pointless. These guards are bigger and stronger than me.

“What’s going on here?”

Everyone freezes.

I look towards the direction of the voice and find Caden standing at the end of the corridor.

He stands there, with his perpetual scowl, looking so handsome and pissed off that I can’t help but stare at him.

“Caden!” Sasha runs towards him and grabs his arm. “I tried to stop her. Look, she’s creating a scene…”

I roll my eyes. “Stop lying, Sasha. Everyone here watched how you tried to throw me out of the office.” Then, I turn my gaze to Caden, who’s still glaring at me. “And will you please tell your people who I am and ask them to let go of me?”

Caden glares behind me. “She’s my wife, you idiots. Let her go.”

“What? Mr Lawrence is married? Since when?” The guards murmur, looking all surprised, but not before muttering apologies for their behaviour and rushing away.

I rub my arms, facing the receptionist who looks like a fish out of water. Nervous. Embarrassed. Not sure what to do with herself. When her eyes meet mine, she comes skipping out of the desk. “I’m so sorry, madam. I hope you’ll forgive me. I was just trying to do my job.”

What she was doing was trying to humiliate me, and I wouldn’t be surprised if she had done that to someone else as well. As much as I want to teach her a lesson, I ignore the feeling. She’s not my concern. I have come here with only one thing on my mind, and that’s the only thing that matters to me anymore.

Caden walks over to where I stand and stops right in front of me.

He looks angry, but I don’t care.

I stare back at him, not backing down.

“In my office. Now!”

[Vivienne]

Without waiting for my response, he grabs my wrist and pulls me with him.

I stumble a little, but somehow manage to keep my balance.

But Caden doesn’t slow down, not even for a second.

He drags me with him until we reach the end of the corridor and enter his office.

When the door shuts close behind us, he throws me into the room and I stumble on my heels, crashing against his desk. For a second, something passes his face, his features soften, but by the time I blink, that expression is gone and he’s back to scowling.

He walks around the desk and takes a seat, his gaze never leaving mine.

“Why are you here?” He asks, his voice calm but I can hear the rage underneath.

“I came to give you this.” I take the envelope from my purse and throw it on the table.

Caden doesn’t even glance at it.

“I told you I’m done with you and here’s the proof.”

He stares at me, his eyes darkening. “You want a divorce? Is that it?”

I nod my head, proud of myself for not cowering under his gaze. I might look tough on the outside, but inside I’m trembling like a leaf.

His eyes fall on the envelope, his jaw ticking. Then he grabs it and tosses into the trash bin under the desk.

I gape at him, completely baffled by his actions.

“Go home. We’ll discuss this later.”

I can’t believe him. I’m here to give him what he had always wanted and this is how he reacts?

I cross my arms and glare at him. “No.”

He narrows his eyes. “Excuse me?”

“I said, no. Are you suddenly deaf?”

He doesn’t like that, not my words, not my tone, and that’s obvious by the way he’s looking at me right now. He gets up from his chair, his mere existence taking up so much space the room suddenly feels small.

“I have another meeting in ten. I truly have no time for these stupid games of yours. So, just do as I say, and leave. I’ll come home tonight and we can talk over dinner.”

Is he even listening to me? I shake my head, stepping away. “Sure, but you’ll have to do that dinner thing alone. I have already moved out. You won’t find me there.”

His brows furrow and swear to God I have never seen someone so angry.

A part of me wants to reach out and appease him, to tell him that everything is okay, but another part of me wants to be selfish and see how far I can push him.

“Home, Vivienne. Now.”

“No.”

“Vivienne—”

“I said, no.”

I turn around to leave when he grabs my arm and whirls me back.

“Let me go.” I try to yank my arm away, but his hold only tightens. Then, he presses the intercom and the voice of the same receptionist comes through the device.

“Sir?”

Caden looks at me, his eyes full of promises.

“Send two guards in to escort Mrs. Lawrence home, and ask them to stay put until I arrive.”

There’s a long pause from the other side before the receptionist finally blurts out. “Yeyes, sir. Ri-right away.”

The call disconnects.

“What’s the meaning of this?” I ask him, but he only takes a step forward, and keeps on moving until my back is pressed against the edge of the desk and I almost gasp.

Caden puts both his arms on either side of me and leans down, suddenly too close for my liking. “Exactly. What’s the meaning of this?”

He’s probably talking about the divorce papers.

I scoff, meeting his gaze, not wanting him to see how much his existence or this proximity affects me. “if I didn’t know any better, I would think you’re upset.”

But he clearly isn’t. He’s probably just trying to make sure I’m not setting him up somehow.

His dark eyes darken some more and I find it hard to breathe. “Oh, so this is just another way you have come up with to get my attention. Is that it?”

“God, you’re so arrogant. You really think that highly of yourself, don’t you?”

He smirks, bringing his hand up and tucking a stray hair behind my ear. I try to jerk my head away, but he puts his palm on my neck and holds me in place.

However, before he could say something more, there’s a knock on the door and just like he asked for, two guards entered the room.

“Take her home and make sure she stays there,” Caden instructs them, without breaking our eye contact.

Then, he leans even closer, so close that his lips almost brush against mine.

I shiver, not liking the way he’s looking at me.

“And if she tries to escape, tie her up and wait for further instructions.”

I freeze at his words, my eyes wide as saucers.

Did he just say what I think he did?

I look at the guards, hoping they would refuse, but they only nod their heads.

Caden steps away and I immediately straighten up, rubbing my arms.

“Leave.”

I look at Caden and then at the guards.

They take a step forward and I take two back. “No. I’m not going back to that place.” I turn to face Caden. “You can’t force me.”

He gives me a bored look and my stomach sinks.

“Don’t fight this, Vivienne. It will only make things harder for you.”

I hate that I don’t have a choice. I hate that I’m being forced to go back to that place that I once called my home, but it’s not.

Tears burn my eyes and I hate it. I can’t believe I went crazy for this man. I can’t believe I thought he was the love of my life.

I feel so stupid right now. So, damn stupid.

I grab my bag and walk towards the door, refusing to look back at Caden.

But before I could reach there, he called my name and I stopped, still unable to look at him.

“We’ll talk about this tonight.”

“No. We won’t. You just proved my point. I don’t want to be with a man who treats me like this. I deserve better, Caden. I deserve someone who will love me, cherish me, and protect me. And you…you’re just a selfish asshole.”

I turn to leave, satisfied with the look on his face.

Maybe now he would know I’m not the same Vivienne he knows. Maybe now he would realize that I can live without him, and that I don’t need him.

The guards follow me and I head towards the elevator, not wanting to be here a second longer.

We walk past the reception and while the receptionist still looks guilty and embarrassed, her head hung low, Sasha doesn’t shy away from giving me her best death glares.

I ignore them though and head straight for the elevator.

While we wait, Sasha comes to stand next to me and whispers into my ear. “Don’t worry. I’ll make sure he signs those papers and gets rid of a cheap whore like you.”

“Watch your mouth!” I’m so angry after how Caden behaved that I don't have the patience for her crap.

I whirl around and slap her across the face.

Everyone in the lobby gasps.

Sasha’s hands fly to her cheek and I can see her skin turning red. “How…how dare you? You bitch—”

She tries to do the same. Her hand comes flying towards my face. But before it makes contact, someone catches her wrist in mid-air.