Chapter 3
Staring at her ring–finger and trying to fight back the urge of tears, Evelyn carefully pulled out the platinum ring with a stunning diamond on the table. When he had presented the ring to her, she had been so excited. Of course, the ring was worth thousands of dollars; it was the talk of the town, and she was a top–rated wife. The happiness that brought her could not be overlooked. But now, the whole charade has come to an end.
“I’m done parking, ma’am,” Megan announced as she gave Evelyn a sober look.
“We will get in touch in one way or the other, Megan. Don’t make me regret for doing this,” Evelyn tried to shun the pitiful look Megan was flaunting. She knew that was the middle–aged woman’s way of saying she was going to miss her, but she needed to stand her ground.
“Okay, I know… I’m just saying I’ll miss you.” Walking closer, she pulled Evelyn into a hug.
“I’ll be fine!” Evelyn felt she needed to say that over and over again to get Megan’s worries off her.
The sudden ring of her phone had her jolted as she made her way back to the table where her bag was. She wondered if it was Bryan, the driver she had called a few minutes ago, calling to inform her of his arrival. But glancing at the caller, her face pulled into a frown as she stared at the unknown number.
If she wasn’t mistaken, this was the same number that had always texted about Aurelia and Caleb’s secret affairs. “Hello!” She greeted, but then she met silence as the caller suddenly hung up.
“That was weird!” Evelyn muttered as she glared at Megan. If the person wasn’t a creep, who in their right senses would drop a call without saying a word.
The beeping sound of her phone reminded her that a message had just been delivered. Evelyn sighed as she scrolled through her phone and then clicked on the message sent.
“Don’t you get it, bitch? For how long do you intend to play the understanding wifey?” The text read, taking Evelyn aback. Just when she was trying to recover from the shock, a video popped in.
She felt her hand shaking as she clicked on the video, a wave of nervousness washing over her. Her heart was pounding heavily, and she could feel the adrenaline coursing through her body. Her breath quickened, and her palm began to sweat.
The video instantaneously came into play, picturing Caleb sitting shirtless on one side of the couch, and then Aurelia standing close to the mirror.
Evelyn felt her jaw tighten. So it was Aurelia that was behind the anonymous texts she had always received. “He is mine and mine alone,” the caption read.
Evelyn felt bitter. If there was anything she felt like at that moment, it was to beat the hell out of that bitch! The sly fox really knows how to play her game for sure. Staring down at her divorce papers, Evelyn felt bitter for ever losing to her. Well, the deed was done, and just like Megan had advised, if you love something, set it free… She already set Caleb free and was, of course, going to try to be fine without his help.
He should stick to his mistress; she doesn’t give a damn! Staring awkwardly at the contract, she canceled out the thirty percent offer that was bargained as alimony. She was going to do fine without him and without a dime from him. She promised
herself.
Minutes ago, she had just been broken, but now, she was shattered. Reaching a final decision to part with all reminders of Caleb was a challenging process.
She knew it wouldn’t be easy to let go of the things that reminded her of Caleb, but she knew it was necessary for her to move on. Some items brought happy memories, like the shimmering red velvet gown she had worn on his last birthday and the necklace he had bought for her on their first anniversary. Other items held painful memories that she wanted to forget. She was determined to move forward and leave the past behind.
The honking sound of the car horn was a reminder that her driver was there to pick her up already, and with the help of Megan, she was able to move just a few of her things to the car, leaving the maids who were on duty mortified. Of course, she owed no one any explanation, but she knew it would be up to Megan and Caleb to break the news.
Sparing one last glance at Ebony’sville, she muttered a goodbye as she got inside the car.
“One. Two. Three. Man! Are you sure you’re okay?” Lucas asked, referring to the glass of liquor that was down on the floor.
“Dude, this isn’t the you we all know. What’s going on?” Mason chimed in. They had been watching him all along, taking shots after shots.
Caleb, taking one more shot, ran his hand through his stubbled jaw, and then raked his hand through his hair. He felt so disorganized. He had thought after asking for a divorce he was going to be fine, but instead, he felt like there was something amiss; like a chessboard, he felt like there was a missing piece.
“I’m divorcing Evelyn!” He announced, with his gaze still fixed on his glass of liquor.
The room fell silent as Caleb’s words hung in the air. Everyone looked around at each other in shock, unsure of how to react. No one had seen this coming.
“This isn’t a joke, is it?” Lucas raised his brow, looking downcast.
“Caleb can’t joke over such things,” Mason spoke out. He knew that if there was anything to joke about, then it can’t be about divorce.
“We both know I was never in love with her and never wanted to get married to her in the first place… So what, why not?” Caleb defended. That was his main reason, but why was his heart aching this much?
“You both were so perfect together, the pictures, magazine front covers, and the beautiful dates you went on, how?” Mason wasn’t getting this straight. He knew Evelyn to be this beautiful, curvy, smart, and above all, submissive. Not all ladies can be like that. He could recall the countless dates he had watched them go on and how perfect they seemed for each other. Their relationship made him feel like he needed a spouse too.
“Those were just for the cameras, just to please my father,” Caleb insisted.
Another silence.
“So, what’s the plan forward now?” Mason queried. “You aren’t going to date Aurelia, are you?”
“Yeah, that was my plan before I was forced to get married to her,” Caleb’s response took his friends aback, as they stared at him with mouths widened.
“Wait! You don’t mean this, do you?” Lucas asked disbelievingly.
“Yeah, I think I do…”
“Do you realize that your decision is like choosing Sodom and Gomorrah over Jerusalem?” Mason asked again.
“It’s my choice and not yours.” Caleb staggered to his feet as he struggled to exit the bar.
“You wouldn’t mind me going after her then, would you?” Mason asked, causing Caleb to stop right in his tracks.
Turquoise eyes were shooting daggers straight at Mason. If eyes could kill, for sure, Mason would have been lying lifeless on the floor.
“You wouldn’t dare!” Rushing to where Mason stood, Caleb grabbed him by his shirt as he delivered a punch to his jaw, leaving Lucas to struggle between whose side to be on.
