Chapter 4 Crippling loneliness

• Becca stared at the woman in surprise, but did not say anything. She still believed that Ryan would come around and stop this inexcusable behavior. In the meantime, he could do whatever he wanted, and when he came back to his senses, she would be right here waiting for him to come and apologize for all this rubbish that he was doing now.
• “That’s okay, Margie. You don’t have to worry about me. I can stay alone. It’s no big deal, actually.” She informed the woman, but this was a big, fat lie. How on earth was she going to stay alone in this huge house all by herself? Was she going to be the one to lock the gates and tend the garden and other stuff too? Supposing it was only cooking and maintaining the house, she could have done those without any stress, but she could not very well do everything in the house, and most importantly, she could not live there all alone… or maybe she could in the meantime. She had no doubt that Ryan was going to come to his senses soon and see how much of a jerk he was being.
• All the same, she was going to start looking into hiring a security man, at least. Margie looked unsure, but there was nothing that she could do about any of this, so a few hours later, she left with the other servants, leaving Becca all alone in the huge house. Now that she was alone, her earlier bravado was failing her dismally. Although she was never one to believe in superstitious nonsense, Becca found that she was terribly scared of sleeping in the house.
• The house seemed so still and quiet that she began to imagine that she was hearing strange sounds coming from some parts of it. She turned on the television and increased the volume, but still, she felt very uneasy being all alone here. Deciding that she was going to check into a hotel for the night, she went about gathering some of her clothes, all the while feeling extremely sorry for herself. Heaven knows that she did not deserve this ill-treatment at all.
• She was just zipping up her small overnight bag when her phone rang shrilly in the empty house, causing her to jump about a foot high, her heart slamming against her ribcage painfully. What the hell was the matter with her? She saw that it was Ryan who was calling, and the tempo of her beating heart increased until she was sure that it would beat right out of her chest. Perhaps he was having a change of heart? She answered the call, trying to keep her voice from trembling.
• “Ryan?”
• “Where are you?” He asked without preamble.
• “Um … I’m at the house.” She answered, hating herself for sounding so pathetic, but she could not help herself.
• “I did not receive the signed papers. I was expecting you to send them over with the servants. I hope you saw my note. You’re playing with fire here, Rebecca. This is only just the beginning.” He said into the phone, causing any hope that had been blossoming in her chest to die a quick death.
• “Is that the reason why you’re calling me?”
• “Yes, actually. I’m trying to make this as short and uncomplicated as possible, but if you want the process to be hard and difficult, it’s your call. Goodnight.” He said and ended the call. Becca successfully resisted the urge to burst into tears again. She was usually not such a crybaby, but the events of the day before had turned her into one.
• The impersonal call had drained her of whatever energy she had left and the thought of having to drive over to a hotel and go through the process of lodging did not hold any appeal for her, but the thought of remaining all alone in the still and quiet house was even less appealing, so she picked up her overnight bag and headed outside, only to see that all the cars were gone from the garage.
• Becca walked around the garage in disbelief, wondering if there was an end to what Ryan was willing to do to punish her for something she did not even know about. Her old jalopy was the only car that was left in the garage, whereas before now, Ryan had always made sure that she had her pick among four different cars to drive herself anywhere, if she did not wish to have a driver take her.
• Becca did not even know if this car was still good. The last time she had driven it was a few months after she had first gotten married to Ryan, meaning that it was almost two years ago. Ryan had always complained every time she drove it, saying how it did not speak well of him that his wife was driving such a thing when he had all the money he could use and more at his disposal and had kept on buying her cars until she had told him she didn’t want them anymore.
• However, she had requested that her old car be kept in the garage for sentimental purposes. She had bought it herself from her meager savings when she was in college, so it was quite dear to her. Now, this was the same man who was treating her this way. As she had suspected, the car refused to start and after trying to put it on for a while without any success whatsoever, Becca went back into the house dejectedly, deciding to sleep there after all. She put on every light in the house on, but for some reason, could not bring herself to sleep in the bed that she had shared with Ryan. So she made herself comfortable in the guest room in which she had slept the previous night but did not sleep a wink that night, and it was only when it was almost dawn that she finally fell asleep.
• ***
• Ryan Harris ended the call with his soon-to-be ex-wife and rubbed his fingers across his forehead wearily. He was so tired as he had not gotten a good night’s sleep for the last three days. If only Becca would just sign the goddamn papers so that everything would be over and he could start afresh.
• As he had told her over the phone, she was playing with fire by refusing to give in to his demand, and if she continued this way, making them drag the process of the divorce needlessly, he was going to make sure that she rued the day that she was born.
• He could not believe that he had been married to her for going to three years, and yet, he had not known that she was such a two-faced devil. It absolutely galled him to think that all this while, she must have been laughing at him behind his back, apparently taking him for the world’s greatest fool. Even now, she still pretended that she loved him, making sad faces and bursting into tears as though she was such a saint, but thankfully, he could now see clearly through her to the deceitful liar she was. Well, never again. To punish her, he did not intend to give her closure. She would always wonder why he had changed so suddenly, and that was a small consolation for him.
• He successfully tamped down the guilt that stirred up in him for taking away all the servants and leaving her all alone in the house. If he was going to be strong and deal with her in the way that she deserved, a guilty conscience was the last thing that he needed. He needed to teach her a huge lesson, and he had only just started. She would see what he was capable of in the following days if she still refused to sign the papers. He was Ryan Miller, one of the world’s hottest billionaires, and no one, least of all a woman whom he had married, was going to make an utter fool out of him and go scot-free.