Chapter 2 Family Annulment

Ava pov

Storming outside the house I walked towards the gate filled with rage and overwhelming sadness.

Our gateman immediately opened the gate without asking a question, his face downward while I breezed past him.

Immediately he shut the door. I leaned against the wall, breathing heavily, fresh tears flowing.

Gosh! How did I get here? How could he do this to me? I thought he loved me, thought he cared about me. I thought he cared so much to endure with me. Although I knew within me that he still saw me as the girl his grandma forced him to love, I thought he would grow to love me. We visited the hospital a few times and the doctor kept on reassuring us that everything was okay, and with time we were going to have a baby.

He not only divorced me because of my childlessness, he slept with my best friend. While I cried to Annabel every day about the humiliation I was facing from his mother she was busy fucking my husband. No wonder he kept on sending me on business trips.

No! I can sit here and keep on crying over a lost cause. Annabel is carrying his child, he would never leave her and her baby for me.

I wiped my tears and sucked in any sadness that remained within me. I stood up and called a cab.

The cab came within a few minutes and I entered after telling him my parent's address.

Within a few minutes, we had already gotten there. Coming down from the cab I stood at the hell hole I have lived in since I was a child. My parents had been cruel to me; they only started treating me right after I got married to the Lockwoods. The Lockwoods were millionaires and therefore my marriage to their son brought great fortune and wealth to my parents

I knocked on the door and waited for some time before Miranda opened the door.

"Oh the barren whore is here," she said as she opened the door and stepped aside for me to enter, glaring at me.

I stood transfigured at the door. First I was called barren, now I am called a barren whore.

"Since when did I become a whore?" I asked myself because from all I can remember I met Derek a virgin and since my marriage with him no one had ever touched me.

Anyways what will I do? They were the only family I had. I decided to ignore my foster mother and stepped inside.

"Good day papa" I greeted and made my way to my room only to be stopped by my younger brother

"And where do you think you are going?" my younger brother.

I titled my head and sucked in my breath "I am going to my room" I replied

He chuckled for a while "Your room? Did your father build a room in this house?" He asked with a touch of sarcasm in his voice.

"Ben, what do you mean? Is this not my house again?can't I come here and be at peace with my family? Well Dad gave-

"Who the hell are you referring to as your father?" My father asked his words piercing through my skin

"But-" I began

"Well if you must know we are not your parents anymore I picked you up from the orphanage where your parents abandoned you and trained you only for you to become useless and shameless. After sleeping with different men you lost your womb and instead of telling him you tied him to your empty self" he shouted his voice filled with rage.

I stared at him, holding my tears within me. Surge of overwhelming pain rushed within my body as tears threatened to flow but I refused to cry. I refused to continue crying and being an object of mockery.

"And who told you I was sleeping with men?" I asked softly, trying as hard as I could not to break down.

"Oh, you think your secret will be kept forever. Well for you the person who gave us this information is under Derek's protection and she is currently carrying her child as you must have noticed from their engagement so if you want to lay your hands on her be ready for Derek's wrath" my mother replied her voice filled with contempt.

Immediately she told me it was Annabel who did this. I started laughing, so hard, shielding the rush of pain I was feeling. Annabel did not only say I was barren she called me a whore!

I watched as they stared at me, their eyebrows furrowed in confusion because everything that had happened today was too funny to be happening. After working my ass off for Derek's company ensuring that his companies stay on top, this was what I got. A divorce and a bad name.

There was a time when Derek had gone into huge debt. He had borrowed money to start up a new business and it had been unprofitable. The banks were on the verge of seizing his properties. I was the one who helped him. I made a deal with the bank and made sure we were able to produce twice our usual revenue to lay the debt. I am the unseen hand to his wealth and name but here I was called alone and dejected. He did not just divorce me, he got my friend pregnant.

"Since you are no longer a Lockwood, we don't find you useful. Sign this and leave" my father said and threw a document at me, it was wrapped in an envelope. I opened the document to see the content.

I stopped breathing, and my body went numb. I think I died and came back within that one minute.

FAMILY ANNULMENT DOCUMENT

OF MRS AVA LOCKWOOD

"What the hell is this father?" I asked in a low voice, as I tried to stabilise my hands that were shaking. Tears filled my eyes.I stared at him in awe and back at the paper. They were disowning me because of my divorce from Derek.

"Can you read? I want you to sign these papers and go. You are no longer part of this family. The papers will tell you the exact name you were bearing before we adopted you. That's your name from now henceforth"

"No, you can't. You can't leave me, not now when I need someone to be on my side. please" I pleaded. The tears I was holding finally dropped.

I knelt before the both of them "Father please, I have nowhere to go to. please ''I pleaded, holding his legs. Even though they had not been good parents to me since they gave birth to my younger brother they were my family. They are all I know. How do I go from here, where will I stay? How will I survive? I don't even have a penny in my account and just kept on using Derek's family account.

Eli, my elder brother walked up to me and kicked me hard. I fell flat on the ground. My senses are numb with pain.

"Now sign those papers and leave for good. We don't need you!" He shouted.

I stared at him, at my parents. For the past five years, I have been their favourite child. So all was just because I got married to Derek.

"Can I stay the night?" I asked with a low pleading voice.

"If you spend one more hour here, I will be forced to slit your throat or poison you. So just sign these papers and leave" he muttered with gritted teeth.

Chills ran down my spine at his threat, he was ready to kill me. My father was ready to kill me, he was ready to get rid of me. What was the need to beg people who wanted me dead?

Without further pleading. I signed the paper, looked at my new name

Ava pierce. I turned towards the door and left without sparing a glance at them. I boarded a cab and went to Derek's house to take my bags and sign the divorce papers. I am going to leave London and never return.