Chapter 5 Five

"Lizzy!"

Pearl called again, in bed with her husband was her best friend, Lizzy.

She had met Lizzy three months after Julian's grandmother died. Lizzy was the only one she spoke to, someone she trusted and was very fond of.

She had brought Lizzy into the Reed's Villa and introduced her to Julian and his family. She trusted Lizzy, how could she betray her?

She stared as Lizzy seemed wasn't bothered by her presence, she kept moaning Julian's name.

Julian turned to look at Pearl, "Shut the door behind you, once you're done staring"

"Oh, don't be rude to her. Since she hasn't experienced it, she can just watch us" Lizzy said.

Without any word, he thrust deeper into Lizzy. They were lost in moments of their pleasure.

Pearl ran downstairs, screaming as she got to the party hall and all eyes fell on her.

"What's wrong?" Mrs Reed asked, disdain in her eyes.

Pearl gulped, "Julian, Lizzy"

"So?" Tricia asked.

Immediately, it dawned on her that everyone knew about Julian and Lizzy's affair except her.

"Why interrupt the party with your shouts?" Julian asked, walking down the stairs with Lizzy beside him.

Pearl opened her mouth to say something, but no words came out.

"I guess you know what's best for you" Lizzy said.

"Lizzy, I thought we were best friends. How can you do this to me?" Pearl asked.

"Best friends?" Lizzy scoffed. "How can I be best friends with you? Do you want to rub off your poverty on me?" Lizzy asked.

That was all she needed to hear, Lizzy never saw her as a friend. Did Lizzy approach her in order to get close to Julian?

Pearl turned to face Julian, "Julian, you can't do this. Lizzy is my best friend".

Julian chuckled immediately. It was like a stab straight through her chest. Finally, he stopped laughing, flinging a stable stare towards Pearl's direction.

"Apart from being stricken with poverty from birth, I never knew that you were also daft". Julian responded, not holding back the hatred in his voice.

A slight gasp escaped from Pearl's mouth as she was taken aback, the walls around her world crumbling right before her very eyes.

Her eyes were mixed up with a lot of emotions. She opened her mouth swiftly to speak but words failed her.

Finally, she said.

"You are cheating on me, Julian? Abusing and humiliating me wasn't enough. You had to do this to my face?" Her face was washed up with pain and anger.

The once silent hall was filled with sudden laughter that re-echoed through the hall.

Tricia took a step forward, Lizzy stopped her. "Just leave her to me" she removed her hand Julian's hand, walking close to Pearl until she could feel her breath.

"Just take a good look at yourself, my darling. You have nothing to offer him".

"How long did you think I was going to put up with this thing called marriage. I'm tired of pretending". Julian said.

Pearl looked right into his eyes, all she could see was anger and hatred.

"I know you never loved me, but we took a vow at the altar".

"Vow?" Julian asked.

"Those words meant nothing to me. There were just mere words, Pearl" he continued. "Wake up, my grandmother who brought you here is dead".

"It's time for you to be out of my life for good". Julian added softly.

Pearl took a deep breath, the longest and deepest she had ever taken all her life to reduce the pain that was floating though her eyes.

The humiliation was nothing compared to the pain in her heart.

Julian pulled Lizzy over to himself with much passion in his eyes.

"You know marriage without consummation isn't marriage,so he was never married to you". Lizzy said, not holding back the amusement that was written all over her face.

The words stabbed Pearl right in her heart.

"We've consummated our relationship for the past thirteen months," she added.

"A year and a month?" Pearl asked. How the hell did she not notice it? They were having an affair right under her nose.

Lizzy turned to face Julian, she kissed him passionately, his tongue went into hers.

Unable to bear the torture, Pearl's face reddened with anger as she took a few step towards them, hoping to break them.

Suddenly, people started laughing at her. She stopped in her tracks, as Julian and Lizzy broke free from their passionate kiss, staring into each other's eyes.

Pearl turned to face Mrs Reed, "You knew about this?"

Mrs Reed pretended not to hear Pearl. She just snapped her fingers and a young man walked towards them with an envelope in his hand.

He handed it over to Julian, who thanked him. The young man stood afar waiting for the next order.

"Here" Julian said nonchalantly, handing over the envelope to Pearl.

Pearl collected this envelope, her hands trembling. She brought out the content of the envelope, she let out a sudden chuckle as her eyes skimmed through the first headlines of the paper.

She quickly brought out the whole paper from the envelope. She looked at Julian, "Is this what you want?" She asked.

In her hand was a divorce agreement with Julian's signature already on it, showing how badly he wanted her out of his life.

"Sign it already and leave" Julian said with a frown on his face.

Her eyes darted through the hall, her gaze fell on Lizzy. She felt betrayed by the only person she thought cared about her.

She had never imagined a day like this would come quickly, where she was going to be divorced publicly.

"And what happens to my company?" She asked.

"What company?" Mrs Reed asked, fuming with anger. "Just sign it and leave".

Pearl knew that there was no need holding onto someone that never loved her. It was best to leave.

Staring at the documents for a while, she looked at Julian, then Mrs Reed, Tricia, Lizzy,and back to Julian.

"You will regret this". She said softly.

There was an uproar of laughter throughout the hall as everyone found her words amusing.

"How? Will you rob a bank?" Lizzy laughed at Pearl's stupidity.

"You will regret this". Tricia mimicked Pearl. "And she's wearing a maid outfit".

"Maybe she's a hidden billionaress" one of the guests said, making everyone laugh even harder.

Mrs Reed chuckled, "I never knew I was living with a comedian for three years".

"This is the dumbest thing I've heard in a while". Julian added. "Just sign and leave, we have a party to continue".

"And an important announcement to make". Lizzy said, happily.

Without making another comment, Pearl collected pen from the young man who had brought the envelope, she signed it swiftly and handed it over to him.

There was pain in her eyes as rushed upstairs.

"Hey, where are you going?" Tricia asked, making Pearl stop.

"If you have plans to go pick up anything, you better abort such plans" Mrs Reed said.

Pearl rushed down, running towards the entrance of the hall, amidst the laughter from the guests.

"That dress isn't yours, it belongs here". Lizzy said, walking towards her.

Pearl turned to look at Lizzy,she never imagined Lizzy would be this heartless.

"But..."

"Strip!" Lizzy ordered.

Pearl hesitated, hoping someone would stop Lizzy from humiliating her further. Lizzy took calculated steps towards her and tore the dress revealing her bra and shorts.

Pearl stood frozen, her face flushed as the cameras flashed, capturing her mortified expression.The rapid-fire clicks and bursts of light made her squint, her eyes darting around the chaotic scene. Her shoulders slumped, and she tried to shield her face with her hands, but the cameras kept snapping, capturing every moment of her embarrassment.

"Now, leave!" Lizzy barked, not moved by the flashes of camera lights on Pearl's naked body.

Suddenly, her legs were too heavy for her to move, She wished the ground would open and swallow her immediately. This humiliation was too much for her.

As it her legs heard her wishes, they moved. She turned to leave when a dollar note was thrown in front of her.

"Hey fool, get a few used clothes on your way. You stink". One of the guests said, Pearl the money was that person.

Others produced a dollar note each from their pockets and bags throwing it at her feet.

The thunderous laughter of everyone present echoed across the hall, Pearl couldn't control the tears that flowed down her cheeks, as dashed out of the hall without turning back.

As she stepped out into the rain-soaked night, the droplets stung her face like a thousand tiny slaps, echoing the burning sensation of humiliation still on her cheeks.

She was cold and naked, she ran out of the villa into the dark, deserted road.

As she approached the intersection, an oncoming car's light illuminated the rain-soaked pavement, creating a blinding glare. She shielded her eyes, but it was too late.

Another car trying to cross over to the other side lost control, trying to avoid getting hit by it she suddenly ran across the road. Bang!

She flew over the bonnet of the oncoming car, she slid off, landing hard on the wet pavement.

And then it all went blank!