Filed To Story: The Lingering Kiss of Farewell Novel
And there it was. She’d not been wrong, and she just knew that one question she’d stupidly asked him had brought this about. Why oh why couldn’t she have kept it to herself? Said nothing and ignored her need to have a baby with the man she loved. Monumentally stupid, she told herself as she stood there staring at him. Wondering if telling him she was sorry and hadn’t meant it would work to keep him by her side. Though it was only a fleeting thought, she knew he’d made up his mind. Her eyes moved to Wil as he opened the envelope he was carrying and pulled out the documents inside it. It wasn’t just a simple piece of paper, it looked to be quite extensive. She could well imagine there was a non-disclosure agreement there as well, for her not to ever talk about their marriage contract.
“It’s a no-contest divorce as per our marriage contract,”
Cal stated.
“I have also organised for you to go overseas on a holiday. You’ve not been able to take a vacation in the past three years, that we were married. I’ve accounted for that and an all-expenses paid trip has been organised for you, as part of the divorce agreement.”
Rin She raised an eyebrow at him now, at those words of never having taken a vacation. She’d often gone away with him to those exhibitions and conferences. That were about computer engineering and software releases or game creators looking for investments; things that he wanted to get in on or try and buy the rights to, if a small company was looking for backers. Two or three days in his company, four or five times a year, where they would stay in a five-star hotel, eat all their meals together, have s*x every night and sometimes in the morning, a few times in the afternoon even. Rin counted all of them as being away on vacation, little mini-vacations with him, but he did not she now knew. She heard his phone ring, and he pulled it from his jacket pocket to look at it.
“I’ve got to answer this,”
He stated and turned to go, but then pointed to the papers as she took them from Wil.
“Sign that.”
He told her and walked away to take his call. She watched him go, just walked away uncaring that her heart was filling with pain inside her chest. She doubted that man even knew she was in love with him. There would be no convincing him not to get a divorce, and she knew it, he’d already walked away dismissively. She turned her eyes away from him and his retreating back and looked at the papers. Ignoring the pen that Wil was now holding out to her, to use to sign the papers like Cal wanted her to; she wouldn’t sign anything without reading it. She stood there and flipped through the vacation that had been planned out for her. Her passport was attached to the holiday plans, something he kept in his office safe, for when needing to make impromptu travel arrangements which needed her passport details. She’d not had one until they’d gotten married. He’d organized it because at times they’d have to go overseas. Yes, there was a first class plane ticket, a couple of layovers to get there, but first class the entire trip. There was five-star hotel accommodation at all the places she would stay and chauffer-driven transfers to all the places she was to visit. It was quite extensive and there were plenty of tours to attend, all in Italy, a place she did actually want to go. Though those tours she thought were more things for couples to do, she wondered if his secretary had planned this with the thought that they would be going away together, instead of it being a parting gift for their divorce. She moved to the actual divorce papers. Just two pages long. She was to get the house she now lived in and four million dollars, the day after the divorce was finalised in six weeks’ time. She frowned at that, they’d never really discussed a settlement. He’d just told her she’d be given compensation for the time she spent as his wife. She turned to the last page of it, and she could see that he’d already signed and dated it. He’d not only had it drawn up but made sure this would be over quickly as well. She’d heard his tone and the way he’d pointed to the papers, he expected her to do it right now while he stood there waiting. Or Wil stood here, Cal had already walked away uncaring. She looked at her husband of three years, as he still walked away across the lawn, was talking on the phone. That call was more important than even saying goodbye to her. She understood that he was a busy man, but one would think he could give her his undivided attention for the few minutes it would take for her to sign these papers; She really did mean nothing to him at all. Her eyes moved to Wil as he cleared his voice, and he held that pen out to her once more.
“Please sign it Marrin.”
He used her full name, just like she was the only one to call Calvin, Cal. Cal was the only one to call her Rin. It was seen as intimate and something that they did as husband and wife, was personal and private just for the two of them.
“You really expect me to sign something, I’ve barely glanced at. I’m not that stupid, William.”
She stated,
“I’ll sign it after I’ve read through it properly and made sure everything is in order.”
Wil stared at her now, looked a little shocked to her.
“I deal with contracts all the time, and I’ll compare it to the marriage contract make sure it’s all sorted out properly according to that. Calvin can suck it up, it’ll be all of one extra day of waiting. If he’s that impatient to divorce me, he should have sent it to me last night when he signed it and came to collect it this morning.”
She told him and turned and walked away. She heard William sigh but didn’t look back at him. Yes, she had noted that Calvin had signed it yesterday. She would look at it with her marriage contract right there. Right this minute, however, she needed a moment to keep her composure and not fall apart in front of either of them, so she walked away as Calvin himself had done. She would do as she stated, and she would sign it; her word was good. She just needed a minute, and didn’t want to do it in front of either of them, so she went and sat up there on the cliff to take a moment for herself, like she always did. This was it. She was getting divorced, he’d move on and away from her, and she’d be stuck somewhere between still loving him and hating him at the same time. Hating him for his uncaring manner in the way this was delivered. Why couldn’t he just take ten minutes out of his day to sit down and show her himself, explain it and sign it with her at the same time? She turned and looked down to the house. He was already at his car, and she watched them get in and leave, and felt tears fall down her face. That was it, and she knew it. He was gone, never to be seen here in this house again. He’d just left her without even so much as a thank you for helping me out, or it was nice being married to you, not even so much as a goodbye, Rin. He just drove away and was gone. She looked down at the papers in her hand and crumpled them a bit. She had to take a few steadying breaths in and out and she told herself
“You knew this was coming, suck it up princess. It was a fairytale inside your own head.”
She sat up there for a long time, before finally getting up and returning to the house. A house he’d only ever come to, in order to climb into her bed and sate his s****l needs. Not a house he’d ever come to just to unwind and sit and talk. No, he had a full social group of friends in the city for that. Rin sighed as she collected her laptop, and went inside. It was apparently her house now. A snort of derision came from her. It had always been her house. He didn’t live here, only she did. He’d bought this place for her to live in. He had asked her just once before they’d gotten married,
“what type of house do you want to live in.”
She recalled staring at him that day, and he’d nodded.
“Just tell me I’ll make sure you have a comfortable home while we’re married.”
She’d not really ever thought about having a home of her own and had shrugged
“something with an ocean view.”
And this was the house he’d found. It was called Cliffside Manor, because that was exactly what it was. She read through the divorce papers properly as she sat and tried to eat lunch. She wasn’t all that hungry but should eat, couldn’t get sucked into that, mentality of I’m not going to eat, and let herself just wither away because the man she loved didn’t love her. No, she was better than that, stronger than that. She’d learned no one loved her even as a child. This was no different to that. She’d just stupidly deluded herself into thinking it was real was all, when even she knew it wasn’t, even knew why; because love was something she craved, family was something she as an orphan had always dreamed of having one day.
Rin She walked into Wil’s office the next morning at 9am and stood staring at him. He smiled up at her as if nothing in the world was wrong,
“Good morning Marrin.”
“Is it really?”
she stated right back to the man, who had tried to dupe her into signing her life away.
“I’ve made amendments to the divorce papers. Calvin will either like it and lump it or we can go to court and make it messy,”
she stated as she leaned over and put the papers on the desk.
“What?”
Wil frowned,
“that divorce is in order, you get everything you’ve had for the past three years.”
“Do I now?”
she stated, and turned the page to where it stated everything would be given to her the day after the divorce was officially finalised. Which was the day after she was to fly out to Italy.
“I don’t think I’ll get anything with that statement.”
“Of course you will. It’s a legal and binding document.”
“Oh, and just when will I be living in the house, seeing as Calvin had decided to send me away overseas to never come back.”
“What are you talking about Marrin, I don’t understand.”
He huffed.
“Oh don’t you, I’m not some dumb bimbo, that I can’t see that holiday he has given me, is one way. There is no return ticket, just a month in Italy with no return to the states. He’s sending me away for good. So that house, just when would I live in it if I’m not to come back. I guess he never thought I’d really look at the planned trip.”
“Marrin, that is not what is going on here.”
“I believe it is. So, seeing as he wants me gone, I’ll go, but I have three conditions for him to be rid of me. If I’m to disappear from my life and my friends, as he so clearly has decided that this is in his best interest, I guess.”
She turned to the page of amendments she’d created.
“One, I want that house value in cash, he can keep the house. Do whatever he wants with it,”
she stated flatly.
“It’s just a house to him and to me, it’s not a home. Its only value is money to him. So, cash instead of the house, and I want the settlement date to be one week prior to my leaving, to make sure he doesn’t just conveniently leave me broke, in an unknown country unable to support myself.”