Dear Ex-husband, I'm Better Without You!

Let's get divorced?

...

"Welcome home, honey," Lily warmly greeted her husband, Roberto, as he walked in through the open double doors that led to the living room.

Dressed in a simple white gown that barely reached her ankles, with her hair held up in a side-braided ponytail, she had her hands clasped in front of her. Her body slightly swayed from side to side, a bright smile tugging at the corners of her lips.

She had just finished preparing dinner for two not long ago. Although he had never eaten her food, she always hoped he would try it one day.

Usually, he would at least acknowledge her habitual greeting with a nonchalant hum. But tonight, he wore a grave expression and his steps were noticeably hurried.

Still, she decided to try her luck for the nth time, "I made dinner. Would you..."

"I don't care about your horrible food!" he snapped, causing her to flinch.

"H-have you even tasted it?" she asked, trying to mask the hurt.

"Food made by a person I don't like is naturally horrible. Don't ever bother me again," with that, he charged up the stairs, leaving her rooted in her spot, speechless.

'Why is he acting like this?' she thought to herself in puzzlement.

She ignored the curious looks of the housemaids who had been attracted by her husband's earlier outburst, making a beeline for the dining section. She would eat alone, yet again.

It had been barely two years since they got married according to their families' arrangements.

For her part, Lily had long had feelings for Roberto since high school; he was her senior back then. She had thought how lucky it would be if she could end up as his spouse.

Hence, when her father, whose company was facing some sort of crisis at the time, asked her to marry him in exchange for the survival of their business, she readily agreed, thinking she would be able to conquer his heart in no time.

Unfortunately, up to this point, he had not shown any affection towards her; the only time she had witnessed him smile was on television broadcasts. She felt like he viewed her as a jinx who could drain away half of his lifespan if he smiled at her.

The food had tasted bland in her mouth. She couldn't bring herself to eat much, so she had one of the housemaids, return the rest to the kitchen.

Then she dispiritedly scaled up the stairs with draggy footsteps, her gaze at her feet, her hand placed on the banister. A swirl of pessimistic thoughts threatened to overwhelm her but she ultimately succeeded in dispelling them.

Now standing in the hallway, she looked longingly to her left, descrying a golden metal door in the distance. That was her husband's room- a place she had never stepped foot in ever since she moved into this mansion.

Dejectedly, she whirled on her heel, intending to make her way to her bedroom, only to hear the door of her husband's bedroom emitting a creaking noise.

"He must not want to see me right now," she mumbled to herself. With that thought in mind, she made to quicken her walking pace.

"Lily," she heard him call out in a husky voice, leading her to stop dead in her tracks.

What did he want? Or had she done anything to displease him?

Lips pursed, she turned to face him. He had an unreadable expression on his face as he stood in front of his room, hands in his pants pockets.

"Come inside,"

His unexpected words caused her jaw to drop in disbelief. Had her ears heard wrong, or were they playing tricks on her?

"What...?" she asked him, her tone unsure.

"I said, come into my room,"

"Why?" she asked him skeptically.

"I've got something important to tell you. I was about heading downstairs to fetch you, but since you're already here, that saves me time and energy. Don't make me repeat myself,"

With that, he returned to his room.

Though puzzled, curiosity got the best of her and she took slow but steady movements forward. Finally, she stood at the threshold of his room.

From there, she could see the inside of his rather capacious bedroom. From the fancy chandelier in the middle of the room to the oversized TV hanging on the wall down to the furniture, it could be seen that he had great taste.

Her husband sat on one of the two pumpkin-shaped brown chairs and gestured for her to occupy the other. She soon perched on the chair, internally hyping herself up just to hold his gaze.

There was an envelope on the round glass table between them and she wondered what it contained or if it was related to what he wanted to discuss.

His throat clearing yanked her from her musings and he pushed the envelope towards her. "Have a look," he instructed.

"Okay," she picked up the envelope and opened it, taking out a document. But upon seeing the contents, her face turned pale and her lips parted in disbelief.

She stopped inclining her head, fixing her gaze at him, "Divorce Agreement? You want to end our marriage?" she asked, her voice shaky.

"Thankfully your brain is working fine. Here," he fished out a pen from his pockets, "Sign it quickly. As stated in it, you will be getting an alimony of ten million and a villa in Dove city," he said coldly.

"Why?" she questioned, putting the document on the table.

"We're just married on paper. Two good years with nothing to show for it. I don't love you, you also don't love me. It must be hard for you to pretend to be a good wife every day. So it's time to put an end to that,"

"I'm not pretending," she said, her tone emotional, "I married you because I loved you,"

"Save your love for someone else, Lily. I don't like you and never will. Don't waste my time, sign it and leave," he said, the annoyance in his tone unmistakable.

She rose from her seat, a determined look on her face, "No, I will not,"

"What did you say?" he asked, a deep scowl already creeping onto his handsome face.

"I will not sign it, Roberto," she took the document and tore it to shreds before throwing the pieces at him. "I got into this marriage of my own accord and I've decided to be with you no matter what," she howled.

He nodded sagely, "I see," he rose and walked towards his bedside cabinet, crouching down to pull out the lower drawer. Then he returned with a stack of documents and placed them on the table, "I anticipated this, so I've made several copies. You can't walk out of here without signing one of them,"

"Why are you doing this to me?" Lily's shoulders racked with sobs, "Why can't you put in effort like I do and see if we can make this work? At least give 'Us' a chance for three months,"

Roberto shook his head, "My heart can never beat for you,"

Lily then recalled something she had seen in a news article. Miriam Walker, his childhood sweetheart was back from the States, now a famed artist with her works displayed in some world-renowned art galleries.

"Is it because of her?" Lily asked, unable to mask her pain.

"Who are you talking about?"

"Miriam Walker,"

"Yes. I want to make her mine, you are in the way," he said coldly.

At that, she sniffled and shrugged, "Alright. Since it's like that, I'll sign,"

She took the pen and signed one of the documents, throwing it to the floor along with the pen before making a pivot.

"Don't worry, I've already explained to your father. He was more than happy when I offered him some millions as compensation,"

His words made her freeze, then without turning to face him, she responded, "I don't care about him. The both of you can go to hell for all I care!"

She stalked out of the room, slamming the door hard behind her.

The next morning...

Lily came out of the room that had been her sleeping chamber for almost two years now. She forced herself not to take another glance at it as she lugged her two grey suitcases along the hallway, heading for the stairs.

One of the housemaids who caught sight of her approached her and bowed her head slightly in respect as she said her greetings.

Lily acknowledge her and continued pulling the suitcases forward. However, the maid caught up to her and Lily raised a brow in askance. "What is it, Wendy?"

"Madam, please let me help you with your luggage," the latter offered.

Lily smilingly refused her assistance, "I'll be fine on my own, dear. No need to worry,"

Her smile couldn't fully mask the bitterness and the sorrow consuming her from inside. Although the maid noticed this, being a smart lady, she chose not to pry.

"When will you be back from your trip, madam?" Wendy voiced out her curiosity.

"I'm never coming back here. You and the others should take care," Lily responded before continuing her walk.

"Take care, Madam," she heard the maid say, but she didn't say anything in response.

Finally out of the mansion's huge golden gates, Lily headed to the community bench that was some distance away and sat on it. The ride she had booked would be arriving soon.

Her phone suddenly rang, yanking her from her musings and she reached into her bag, fumbling for it. Fishing it out of her bag a moment later, she frowned on seeing the caller. But then, she still answered it, turning on the loudspeaker function.

Her father's voice echoed from the phone, the thrill in his tone was unmistakable and it left her feeling grossed out.

"Lily dear, I heard what happened. Don't be too sad, okay? There are many fish out there in the sea. I'm waiting for you to come home. I've found three eligible bachelors in the elite circle. Although they aren't as rich as Roberto, any one of them would still make a good husband for you,"

"Mr Nelson Aaron Quinn," she called out his full name, her tone rather calm.

But her father wasn't.

"What did you just call me, Lily?"

She replied, her tone indifferent, "Whatever your ears heard, that's what I said,"

"How dare you call me by my full name? Are you out of your mind?" he thundered.

"That's the only thing you worry about," said Lily, her eyes already misty, "You only care about yourself, your business and your happiness. But what cost? My well-being and my happiness!"

"You are my daughter, it's your duty to contribute to the family,"

"No, you don't consider me your daughter. To you, I'm just an item you can use to exchange for stability in the business circle, right?"

"I've invested a lot in you from infancy till you turned an adult. You aren't a son, and since you'd naturally end up in a man's kitchen, what's wrong with me selecting a good man for you? Besides, how much alimony did Roberto give you? Did he give you any property as well? I could make do with some extra funds for a project I've been considering embarking on,"

"I wish you weren't my father," Lily seethed.

"You ungrateful girl! Did I do wrong by not insisting for your mom to abort you? I didn't want a child at that time, especially a female one, but your mom convinced me to let you live. And after everything I've done for you, you're telling me this nonsense?"

"This is the last time you'll ever call me," she apprised him, "From now on, I'm no longer a member of that damned family, and I'm no longer your daughter,"

"You stupid girl..."

Lily cut the call and blocked his number. She set her lower jaw, trying hard to mask the hurt she felt inside, but she ultimately failed as a tear rolled down her right cheek followed by a few more.

Her perfect makeup was ruined now, but she didn't care anymore. Her shoulders racked with muffled sobs as the scene of last night replayed in her head.

After leaving her ex-husband's room, she couldn't sleep last night. She tossed and turned in bed and had later ended up in the balcony, her hand on the railing, staring at the sparsely starred sky till daybreak.

The honking of a car that just pulled over at the curb soon drew her attention.

"Hello, are you Miss Lily Quinn?" The driver, a young man, barely in his thirties, inquired.

She quickly dried her face with a hanky and sniffled before replying, "Yeah, that's me,"

"Can you please assist me with my luggage?" she requested in a polite tone.

"Sure thing," the man got down from the vehicle to help her out. Soon they were on the way to the airport and after 2 hours of waiting, Lily boarded a plane headed for her destination, WhyteVille.

Her father, being the stubborn man that he was tried calling and texting her using different numbers, but she ignored it and eventually discarded the sim. She was now in a new land and here, she would start a new life.

Back then she gave up her studies just because she was too excited to be Roberto's wife. Now she would continue with her studies and pursue her dreams.

***

Five years later...

A raven-haired woman descended the steps of the plane that had just touched down at the runway, taking a moment to appreciate the clear sky above her.

The plain and slightly loose thigh-length grey gown she was clad in, did little to hide her curvaceous figure, and even though she was donning glasses like many others present, she couldn't avoid drawing attention.

She walked into the arrival concourse and headed to the baggage claim area where she finally identified her luggage.

"I can't believe I'm here again," she mumbled to herself as she clasped her fingers around the handle of her black suitcase and lugged it along, soon mixing into the array of people miling about the terminal.

Suddenly, someone tapped her on the shoulder from behind, causing her to freeze in her tracks. She turned to see an unfamiliar young man wearing semi-formal clothing and lugging a suitcase of his own.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bother you," he said with a sheepish smile.

"Anything the matter?" she asked, her tone colder than she had intended, but that didn't dissuade the young man.

"I wanted to ask if you're single," he said bashfully, rubbing the back of his neck, failing to hide his nervousness.

"Guess,"

"I'll take that as a yes?" he asked, his tone unsure.

"I'm not interested in kids," she said, sashaying away from the stunned man.

"I'm not a kid. I'm already in my 20s," he said as he rushed to interpose himself in her path, but she quickly sidestepped him.

"Not interested," she stated with a stern look, increasing her walking pace, leaving the man transfixed in his spot.

Outside the terminal, she came across a bald man wearing a black suit, hands clasped behind him.

"Are you Lily Shawn?" he inquired.

She took off her sunglasses and smiled warmly, "Yeah, that's correct,"

Roberto was on his office, perched of his luxurious swivel chair. On his desk were stacks of documents waiting for his attention. One was currently in his hand but he just couldn't focus on it.

"Damn it," he couldn't help but curse, adjusting his tie as though it was suffocating him.

A knock on the door drew his attention and he put down the document in his hand, his eyes flickering towards the door.

"Come in," he invited, trying hard to mask his annoyance to no avail.

The door was pushed ajar from the outside and a tall young man donning a buzz haircut and wearing a dark grey suit entered the office. He adjusted the prescription glasses resting on the bridge of his nose, his eyes fixated on the one seated behind the desk.

He walked to Roberto with a purposeful stride, his expression solemn, "Sir, the Fawn corporation have suddenly backed out from signing the deal,"

"What's the reason?" Roberto asked his assistant, internally grappling with the urge to pound hard at the desk.

"Their manager demanded that we need to get an esteemed designer to work with us,"

"Which one?"

"Her stage name is Peony. But from what I've been able to ferret out, her real name is Lily Shawn. But I couldn't find any pictures of her, nor any other valuable information,"

"Lily Shawn," the name rolled off his tongue as he got lost in his musings.

"Lily..." He mumbled again.

That name brought back a memory. One that he had never cherished because of his stupidity.

"She's based abroad, in WhyteVille to be precise. But Fawn corporation's manager told me the information they got was that the woman would be arriving at the airport today,"

"How are we going to find her when we don't even know what she looks like?" Roberto felt his frustration spiking.

And even if they did find how, how would they convince her to come work at their company?

At that moment, the secretary's phone rang and after excusing himself, he went to a corner to answer the call.

"Alright sir, I'll check,"

Soon, the secretary hurried to his boss to show him the picture on his phone screen.

"Sir, it seems she has arrived. She shared an update on her Blistagram account minutes ago. The background looks familiar though," he said, racking his brain for more clues.

Not long after he exclaimed, "I know the place! It's Pine Quill Hotel & Suites, sir,"

Roberto took the phone and saw the raven haired woman wearing sunglasses and bright red lipstick.

Maybe it was his delusion but he oddly found her familiar.

But then he shook away that thought. His ex-wife had blonde hair not black and she never sported this cold look.

Since he couldn't get himself to focus on these mounds of papers, he decided he might as well shoot his shot at winning this designer over.

He rose from his seat, "Let's go to there then,"

Internally though, he couldn't help feeling resentful towards Fawn Corporation. A big company like them couldn't do it, why throw the task on him?

Or did they have second thoughts about the collaboration and decided to use this format to make him look incapable?

No matter what he would prove them wrong.

On the way to the parking lot, his phone rang and he fished it out of his pants pocket.

A shrill, angered female voice rang out from the phone the moment he pressed the answer button.

"Roberto, why have you decided to embarrass me like this? Why did you not send the money? A measly ten million, Roberto, why is that so hard for you to give, huh?"

"What do you even need it for, Miriam?" He asked with a deep frown etched on his face.

"I need to buy the latest 'VJ' bag that just came out. You know it's my favourite brand. And there's a dress that really caught my fancy at that clothes store we visited last month. It's still available. It's designed by the legendary Peony herself. I want to be the one wearing it!"

Roberto felt a headache coming on, resisting the urge to facepalm, "Most of the clothes you bought last month, you haven't finished wearing them. And I bought you a bag last month as well. You know how the company is at the moment. I can't casually throw away that kind of money on trivial things,"

"Roberto, did you just say trivial? I had boasted, no, I had sworn to my friends that I would be wearing a Peony creation to the event tonight!"

"That's your own problem, Miriam. Deal with it,"

"You... How can you say such a thing? Aren't you my husband? Isn't it your duty ti make me happy, to provide for me whatever is my desire? What's gotten into you? Don't use the company as a cover up. I'm suspicious now. You're seeing someone, right? You're having an affair, aren't you? Who is she? I'm going to hack her into a million pieces..."

Furious, Roberto cut the call, teeth clenched.

He so wanted to hurl his phone to the ground, stomp on it and yell out his rage. But as a CEO he had an image to maintain out in public.

Paparazzi could be lurking anywhere and he didn't want to find himself looking ludicrous on the news and become a laughing stock in the industry.

He returned his phone back to his pants right pocket, his chest heaving from all the pent-up ire.

Why did he marry this big spendthrift, this uncaring woman?

After divorcing his former wife for her, it took him three good years to woo Miriam.

She finally accepted to be his wife when he proposed at one of their dinner dates. He thought he was the happiest man alive when she was finally pronounced his wife at the altar.

Everything was going great for the first year but this year she had done nothing but frustrate him.

He couldn't even touch her in bed without paying a fee which made him wonder if he had a wife at home or a hooker.

Before they got married, she had told him she wanted to be a housewife and raise their kids, but recently she started hanging out with some hypocritical friends and turned into a woman he just couldn't recognize.

Whenever he wanted to discuss with her, she would tell him she was tired.

He had turned into a bitter, frustrated man barely two years into his marriage. Now he often recalled how it was with Lily; he had peace of mind back then.

He regretted throwing her away because of Miriam, he often found himself dreaming about hugging his ex-wife in a cozy home.

It's really true when they said, only when you've lost something would you know it's true value to you, only then would you pine for it.

"Sir," the secretary tried to get his boss' attention for the nth time. This time it finally worked.

Without saying any word to his subordinate, Roberto walked towards the jeep and sat in the backseat. The secretary then closed the car door and rushed to the assume his position in the driver's seat.

...

Pine Quill Hotel & Suites

Roberto and his assistant were headed to the lounge, for that was where their target currently was.

On entering there, they found her seated at the furthest table with one leg draped over the other as she drew on her tablet.

She wasn't wearing sunglasses like in the photo of earlier. But just from her side profile, they could see how elegant and sophisticated she was. She stood out amongst all these people, like an ethereal being.

For the first time, Roberto started to feel nervous and inadequate. He started having second thoughts about approaching her.

Pessimistic thoughts swirled in his head but he quickly cast them aside, steeling himself to meet up with the mystery lady who was key to him bagging that deal.

They soon stood in front of her but she didn't seem to notice. She seemed totally lost in her own world.

A brief glance at what she was drawing filled him with awe. She was extraordinarily talented!

"Hello, Miss Lily Shawn," he said warmly in a bid to get her attention.

"One more minute..." She said, "No, gimme five," she quickly added without raising her head.

"Sit down if you feel like it," she offered seconds later, her eyes still glued to her device.