Ex-Husbands, I'm Back

It was around 7 p.m., and the sun had since disappeared from the sky.

The gala party was underway, and tables and chairs in the large, beautifully decorated hall were arranged in close-fitting semicircles. Merlot wine sparkled in cocktail glasses, and the chandelier light reflected the glitter of jewelry from a blonde woman's neck.

The low-talking voices of the flamboyant-looking attendees persisted in the hall. And once in a while, the laughter of an amused guest would puncture the air in a rising and falling manner.

At various corners of the hall, waiters in black and yellow bore different trays on their hands, with their heads held high.

Lyra Daniel was one of these waiters; however, unlike the others, the smile on her face was forced and plastic. She ambled from seat to seat, nervously serving the guests around her. And sometimes, when they tried calling her attention to something, they would have to repeat themselves more than twice before Lyra would grasp.

"Are you a deaf young woman?" One of the guests even shouted.

"I'm so sorry, sir; pardon me; it's the music. Too loud." She pleaded, even faking a laugh to ease the tension in the air.

"Oh my God, can you see that? Where on earth did Mr. Douglass pick this Lyra woman from? She's so crude." One of the younger waitresses whispered to her colleagues while throwing quick glances at Lyra with muted disdain.

Another one chuckled and said,

"Wait, are you just noticing? The lady acts like she has got some nuts lost upstairs."

"Such a loser. That's why its not good to marry at a young age." The previous waitress muttered under her breath.

Lyra was still battling with her dissatisfied guest and had barely finished one table when a gruff, cheeky voice from behind suddenly yelled her name.

She turned around with a quick agitated swerve because she immediately recognized the voice as that of Kennedy Meyers, her boss at the fashion store where she worked full time as a patter maker.

His red-bloated face was staring at her with surprise and anger.

"So this is your so-called hospital, Hunh?" He barked, drawing the attention of everyone in the room in her direction with his loud voice that even stood above the music. Her colleagues were watching too, chuckling amongst themselves.

Lyra bowed her head in embarrassment, feeling like she was disappearing into thin air. She could feel the eyes of the other startled guests peering into her skin.

"Answer me! So you came to work part-time here, and you lied to me yesterday, claiming that you're not feeling fine? Now tell me, has your husband's sickness affected your brains too? Look, you better come to work tomorrow or you will kiss your job good-bye." Kennedy threatened his voice even louder this time.

Lyra, not knowing what else to do, fidgeted and bowed like a withering flower as she returned to her serving business. She held on firmly to the rising tears burning up her eyelids.

"Hey." Another voice called again from a corner.

Lyra turned once more in the same nervous manner she had before, but this time it was Douglass, the boss of the event center; he must have been around during the humiliation from Kennedy.

"Take a few minutes to rest; I will ask someone else to stand in for you." He waved.

Lyra curtsied to show her thanks before she made to leave slowly, avoiding everyone's eyes.

Shame was not just all she was feeling now, but also fear. She was afraid that she wouldn't get her full payment from Kennedy, not after his unexpected discovery.

And this was not the right time for all that, because she really needed money. It wasn't like getting the full payment was even close to the amount she was trying to raise, but it was so much better than getting half or, worse still, nothing.

She dallied out of the hall and into the balcony, leaning against the wall lazily, before she finally let out the tears that had been building up in her eyes for the past few minutes. Lyra was still weeping with her face against the wall when her phone suddenly vibrated on her palms.

She sniffed and reluctantly checked, only to see that her best friend Aria was calling.

"Hello," she said weakly, sniffing right after she answered weakly.

"Your voice? Have you started shedding those tears of yours again?"

Lyra sniffed for a second time without answering.

"Lyra, I told you before that things were going to be fine. Felix will survive this. Just... Just have some faith."

"I don't know what to do, Aria; Felix is slipping away from me. I'm...I'm helpless." She whispered in despair, breaking into fresh tears.

"Oh my God, stop all these Lyra." Aria's heartbroken voice cooed from the other end of the line.

Then, after a small pause, she said,

"Are you good now?"

Lyra nodded, forgetting that Aria could not see her. "

"I think so." She replied finally.

"Alright, wipe your tears now. I will bring you guys some food to the hospital later tonight." She said.

"Thank you, Aria." Lyra appreciated struggling not to break into another round of tears.

"Thank you for everything." She said again.

"Have faith, my dear friend."

Aria muttered before finally hanging up.

Lyra wiped her face with her palms after the call, feeling a little more encouraged.

She decided to take a little walk around the balcony area, feeding her eyes with the beautiful sights and captivating structures of the outside premises, like the pool and automated walkway.

Lyra was close to the parking lot when she started to hear the fervent voices of two men talking from a distance.

Lyra stopped when she caught a glimpse of the people talking.

It was the popular billionaire heir, Dante Cooper, and someone else she did not know; she instantly dove and hid behind a wall. However, from that position, their conversation was still audible.

"Are you saying she wants more money even after being offered a million dollars just to act as my wife for just two years? You know what? Get me another person; she's too greedy. If not for my grandmother, I wouldn't even be in this mess." Dante's voice was irritated.

"But what about Amara? Your girlfriend, why not propose to her?" The other man's voice suggested.

But Dante's response was a short, dry laugh.

"Does Amara look like a material wife to you? Come on, man, that girl is greedy too. I can't play such games with her. She's too smart, and my grandmother will never accept her." Dante added further.

"So you're saying we need a candidate that fits the earlier description." The man said.

"Exactly." Dante affirmed his voice, rising up a little.

"Just like I said before, A poor lady. At most 24 years of age, and should be someone in desperate need of money." Dante emphasized.

Suddenly Lyra's phone rang out from where she was, making her jolt for a second before she quickly tapped on the silent button, turning around to hurry out of the car park area towards the balcony to answer her call before any of them could see her.

She picked up the call the moment she got there, and the next voice she heard was that of a staff member in the hospital. Felix had been admitted.

"Your attention is needed here urgently, madam. Your husband just went into another shock."

"What? But.. but..." Lyra stammered in agitation, but before the words could come out of her mouth, the call had been put to an end.

She staggered about after dropping the phone and almost stumbled against a stone. Then, in a fresh frenzy, she ran to where she had kept her bag on the balcony, grabbed it, and turned around to dart towards the gate carelessly, not bothering to take off her uniform.

"Lyra! Lyra!"

Her boss suddenly came out to yell her name from behind.

But she wasn't bothered to stop; instead, she increased her pace.

"Is that it? Fine, then just kiss your entire salary. Goodbye!" He shouted again.

Lyra jumped out of the taxi the moment the gray-colored taxi she boarded parked in front of the hospital gate.

She flung the driver's payment at him in a rush, waving and blurting the word "sorry" at the same time as she was running.

The driver himself looked momentarily flustered by her craziness but later shook his head indulgently before driving off.

On getting to the second floor of the hospital, where her husband's ward was, Lyra pushed at the door forcefully and leaped in, making the cleaner and the two nurses she met there flinch slightly at the sight of her.

Felix was lying on the bed with his nose strapped up in an oxygen mask while being connected to some sort of machine. Beside it, an electrocardiogram was taking the readings of his heart. Lyra stopped to stare at her husband with a weepy expression, whispering, "Felix, oh Felix."

"Calm down, madam." One of the nurses said:

The doctor walked in through the opened door the next moment.

"Doc," Lyra immediately turned to him with her reddened eyes and held out her hands. He stopped too to stare at her with a tightened face, shaking his head pitifully.

"Madam, you have to get the money ASAP. His time is running out. We need to commence an extremely vital operative session on him as soon as possible. If not, he might not make it."

"Oh my God," Lyra muttered, her hands now hanging vaguely.

Her last few moments with her boss at the event center flashed before her eyes again.

"How on earth was I going to cough out five hundred thousand dollars? How?"

She reasoned desperately, feeling like her head was spinning.

All the money she had initially saved to establish herself after her fashion school has been exhausted by this same treatment, yet there is no headway.

And now, just a few minutes ago, her boss had told her to forget her already meager salary, so how was she going to do this?

The doctor examined her face for some time, and his expression was apologetic and determined at the same time. He felt sorry for her but also needed her to do what was to be done.

Finally, he turned around to excuse himself while the nurses tagged along, closing the door after them and leaving only Lyra in the ward.

Lyra stood transfixed in one spot, struggling not to cry. Then slowly, she ambled over to Felix's bed at the corner and stooped ploddingly until her buttocks rested on the vacant space.

"This can't be the end." She muttered, biting her lips and finally letting the tears run down her cheeks.

Then, in that state, her mind started to travel back to the years before. When Felix and she first met.

Their first encounter had been at the fashion college, and they had both gotten admission at the same time.

Their story was an unreal sensational love-at-first-sight story.

Lyra was still in her sober, reflective state when the door suddenly opened with a creak, breaking into her thoughts.

She threw a startled glance at the door, only to see her best friend Aria walking into the ward, bearing a food flask in one of her hands.

Once Aria was close to the bed, she stopped to shoot a glance at Felix, her face breaking into a sober squash.

"Oh dear." She whispered, proceeding to join Lyra on the bed and throwing her free arm around her. Lyra started to cry again.

"It's all alright." Aria cooed, rubbing her on the back.

"It's a battle; I'm scared too, but we will fight this; together, we will come out stronger." She comforted Lyra.

Lyra sniffed intermittently and finally nodded to acknowledge her friend's words before whispering.

"Thank you, Lyra. Felix and I...we can't thank you enough."

"Hey, Shhh." Aria hushed, keeping her hand on the other's back. They hugged, and both remained in each other's embrace for a few seconds.

After a while, they finally disengaged. Then Lyra got up slowly and straightened her rumpled skirt weakly.

"Please keep watch over him for me. The doctor said we're running out of time. I need to go pay his family another visit. I don't have a choice."

"We will overcome this." Aria nodded, fighting tears herself.

Lyra looked away.

"I'll be back." She mumbled once more before turning to leave.

Lyra hails another taxi outside the hospital.

"Anderson Street," she said before jumping into the golf car and zooming off into the stretching distance.

On arrival at the estate, she banged on the gate forcefully to draw the attention of those inside. The gatekeeper came out looking disturbed and as if she were unfamiliar to him, even though he very well knew who she was.

"Please let me in." I need to see grandmother urgently. I beg you."

"Lady, we don't receive visitors at this time."

Lyra looked at her watch again.

"But it's not even 10 p.m. yet," she pointed out tearfully.

"Madam, I value my job; kindly go away." He maintained.m with a furrowed brows.

"A life is at stake, young man. Could you just, in God's name, open the gate?" She raised her voice without meaning to.

While they were still debating, the bright light from an approaching land cruiser shone on Lyra's face and faded again. The car stopped, and the driver of the car immediately rushed out to open the back door, letting out the chubby, expensively dressed figure of Felix's grandma. Her ears and neck were glittered with diamond rings and laces.

"What are you doing here?" She bellowed at the same time as she wobbled towards the gate from inside.

Lyra opened her mouth to explain what happened, but the woman barely let her finish before she interrupted by asking:

"Is that all? Since Felix decided you're his best choice for a wife, then he can go die for all I care."

She barked, then, for a moment, she stopped again to wrinkle her face in disbelief.

"Wait, you've really got some nerve there, young woman. I wonder how you were even expecting this family to part with such an amount just because of that ungrateful bastard! Was it a sin to raise him and try to bring him out of poverty? Instead, he chose to marry a nobody like you, even when he had an offer to get married to a minister's daughter. Such a bloody waste of resources. Look, you better leave my property right now or I will release my dogs to finish you off."

Lyra stepped back from the gate, shaking like a leaf. Her eyes were red, and her heart sank in sorrow.

"There was almost no way out for Felix now. He had abandoned everything just to be with me. He sacrificed everything for his inheritance on the altar of love. There was no way I was going to let everything go for nothing. I won't let him die." She thought with resolve. She shook her head bitterly again as she disappeared back into the cover of the night, thinking of the next step to take.

When she returned to the hospital a few minutes later, she stopped in the front corridor to think after her mind instantly brought up the last conversation she eavesdropped on before she ran off to the hospital.

"Yes, Dante's Cooper's conversation."

She bent her head to one side, remembering the amount he had mentioned and the requirements attached. She met all of them.

"I am just 21 years of age." She mumbled

"And also extremely desperate for money. But was it possible for Dante to marry me even if he found out I am legally married to Felix? Maybe I should discuss this with Aria. But Aria was too strict in her thinking; she would never allow me to do such a thing. What in God's name could I do now to save Felix?" She reasoned, searching her thoughts once more for a solution.

Lyra woke up next to Felix in the morning. Her bones and joints felt stiff, and her eyes were bloodshot due to the lack of sleep the previous night. The movement of Felix's arm made her turn abruptly toward him. His eyes were open now. Which gave her some form of relief. Even though his oxygen mask was off, perhaps the doctors had come in the night.

"Felix." She whispered with a low, concerned voice. He stared at her with frail eyes but seemed too tired to talk, so she reached for the cupboard and grabbed a bottle of water, helping him sit up a little before guiding the bottle to his mouth.

After he had his fill, she felt encouraged to go out again and continue her search for the hospital's balance before his condition started to deteriorate again. She got up slowly.

"Felix, I will go and call one of the nurses to look after you. I need to run along now to put one or two things together for your upcoming surgery."

But before she could turn, Felix had muttered her name softly and tiredly.

"Lyra... I'm sorry. I'm really sorry for putting you through all this stress. I wish I could just die." He said with his face painfully folding up in anguish.

"Shhh." Lyra shushed him gently.

"Don't ever say that. You're not dying, Felix. I'm not losing you. I mean, how do you want me to survive if you die? You know I can't do without you, sweetie. If you die, then I die too."

She sniffed, blinking excessively as she battled to fight fresh bouts of rising tears.

"Shhhhh." It was Felix's turn to hush her down, shaking his head feebly on the bed.

"Never say such a thing again, dear. You're good, and you're beautiful. You will always see who will marry you again."

Lyra swallowed, feeling momentarily angered by his words.

"Why will you say that, Felix?" She questioned me this time with dimmed eyes and a small voice.

"I know if I am the one in this position, you will certainly do more than this. So hang in there; we will fight this and win. Hang in there, Felix."

She repeated going over to his bed to lean on him and kiss his forehead before she eventually turned to leave.

After her exit from the hospital, Lyra boarded a cab to the house where she lived with Felix, a small, compact house attended by a green lawn and an even greener garden behind it.

Lyra hurried in, took her bath, changed into one of her best dresses, put on a necklace, and stood to gaze satisfactorily at herself through a medium-sized mirror before marching out of the house, heading for the Cooper's Group head office.

The moment she arrived in front of the company's automated 4-foot gate, All the adrenaline rush and bubbling energy she felt on her way here suddenly died down. She looked around vaguely, not knowing what her next step should be.

She was clueless. After a few minutes of standing there aimlessly, the gatekeeper suddenly appeared from nowhere with a knowing face, gesturing at her casually.

"You came for the cleaning job interview. Isn't it?" He asked with a willful smile.

"Cleaning? Oh yes, for the cleaning job. That's why I came."

She stammered in a subdued frenzy while the man wrote it off as the usual first-timer's nervousness.

He opened the gate with the same smile.

"Go on; the others have started." He informed her calmly.

"Oh yes, yes. The others," she blabbered again before rushing in, still questioning herself inwardly about what exactly she was really doing. Then, resignedly, she willed her legs to take her to just where she needed to go.

She entered through the glass sliding doors and roamed around the crowded first floor of the building for a while, brushing past company staff and customers like some sort of lost fugitive.

Then, instinctively, she decided to head toward the elevator at the rear end of the hall. But to Lyra's unexpected shock and apparent good fortune, Dante Cooper himself was right inside the elevator the moment she got in. And in that same instant, the hoistway doors slid closed, leaving only the two of them in the secured compartment.

An uneasy silence fell. She could feel Dante's curious eyes on her skin while the rate of her heart jumped to severe degrees. She stared intensely at her footwear for a moment, counting from 1 to 5 in her mind. On her fifth count, she threw caution to the wind and finally blurted out the purpose of her mission.

"I will marry you!"

Dante appeared to gasp in surprise, then he looked around unnecessarily to be sure she wasn't referring to someone else behind him, even though it was already obvious there wasn't.

"What did you just say?" He asked, drawing his ear closer to her.

She lifted her face toward him now, looking a little less tense.

"I will marry you." She repeated, biting her lip.

Dante screwed his face in confusion when he was sure she had actually said what he initially thought she said.

"Marry me? Eh, how did you know I needed a wife?" He stuttered.

Lyra bowed again, taking her eyes away from him.

"I heard you yesterday at the gala party."

"Oh." He exclaimed faintly.

"So was the rat with the ringing phone eavesdropping on our conversation?" He queried rhetorically, then paused to let his face settle on her again.

"And why should I marry you?"

Lyra immediately looked up, staring at him with passionate eyes, hoping they were convincing enough.

"Because I'm poor and desperate and need that money." She recited, recalling all the requirements the business executive had earlier listed.

"For what?" He asked further with a shrug.

"My hus-I mean, my brother-is sick and needs money for surgery urgently."

Dante observed her in silence, looking a bit unconvinced, particularly because he felt she seemed too desperate. He was almost at the point of rejecting her when his phone vibrated in his pocket. He brought it out and saw his grandmother's ID flashing on the screen.

He picked up, and she was calling yet again to remind him of something he was sure he must have heard over 20 times just this month alone.

"Bring that girl home, son, and get this over with. Otherwise, you're going to stand no chance against Lucas. He's taking over that position of yours if you don't sit up." She said.

He let out a tired sigh, palmed his face, and turned to face Lyra, looking defeated.

"Follow me." He said after the elevator came to a stop. He walked through the sliding open doors while Lyra dallied behind him as they made for his office.

Dante's office was a large, exquisitely furnished, and airy working space with all shades of gray.

"Sit down and read through that."

He gestured at the guest seat and the document lying on the table next to it.

Lyra picked it up and schemed through it carefully. The core term stated that $500k would be paid immediately after their wedding, and the balance of another $500 would be paid once their divorce was completed.

She nodded to acknowledge that she was done, and then Dante nodded back and handed her a card containing his personal phone number.

"You can take it home, go through it carefully, and keep in touch." He said.

Immediately after she got out of the company building, it felt like large scales had fallen off her eyes.

"What have I done?"

"Why would I do something like this? I can't leave Felix because of money. I would rather sell off my parent's house than get married to another man for the sake of money." She concluded finally and ambled towards the roadside to flag down and enter a taxi that zoomed towards her parent's house.

However, on arrival at her destination, the first sight she caught was that of a large banner taped to the central wall of the building. And on it was written one letter word in block letters.

"SOLD" Underneath was a list of phone numbers to call for more inquiries.

Lyra gasped and stepped back in disbelief, instantly bringing out her phone to call one of the numbers. And when she did, the buyer rudely informed her to direct her questions to her aunt before hanging up. Then, when she did just that, her aunt's response was so much harsher.

"What house are you talking about? After you killed my brother and his wife, you dare call me to vomit? You're so useless." She fumed and ended the call.

Lyra returned to the hospital looking empty, and when Felix saw her sorrowful expression, he attempted to talk but started coughing. She quickly steadied him back down and dropped the document on the couch, then she got up to her feet and muttered.

"Let me get you some water."

When she got back, Felix was already halfway through the slip. Lyra stopped to fumble with her hands nervously as she quickly tried to explain to him that she had only collected the file out of anxiety and had no intention of following up with the deal. But Felix's next response broke hearts.