Chapter 2 The Familiar Stranger

• |Aria’s POV|
• I woke up with my heart drumming wildly against my ribcage. Beaded sweats started dropping from my face and my palms became sweaty. A puff of breath escaped my lips as I remembered the horrific dream I had just had.
• With a sigh, I sat up and swung my legs over the side of the bed. As I reached for my phone, my eyes fell on a single, sealed envelope sitting on my bedside table.
• A wave of dread washed over me immediately after I recognised the handwriting. With trembling hands, I tore open the envelope and pulled out a single sheet of paper.
• My heart pounded as I read the words, My mind racing. “No, No. This was supposed to be the horrific dream.”
• The letter was a divorce decree, finalizing the end of my marriage and most probably the end of my life. I felt a cold numbness creep over me while I reread the words, the reality of my situation sinking in.
• Tears welled up in my eyes, and I let them fall freely, my heart heavy with sorrow and disbelief as I replayed yesterday’s events, my heart clenched painfully making me wrap my hands around myself, feeling an invisible knife being twisted in my heart.
• I stared at the full-length mirror, my sunken yet puffy eyes indicating that I had cried myself to bed last night and that maybe all this was not a dream after all.
• “N-no. It has to be a misunderstanding. He can’t divorce me.” I concluded, my heart searing with pain.
• ‘I need to go to his office. Maybe when I get there, he will admit this is just a threat and doesn’t mean it.’ I reasoned as I went to pick up a dress in his favourite colour. I couldn’t help but straighten the black tailored suit, hoping he would be a bit pleased at my choice.
• Before long, I was dressed and I picked up the envelope, heading out.
• “Jared,” I called out to my driver.
• “Yes, Signora.” He answered, rushing after me to the garage.
• “Jared, please take me to Ace’s headquarters,” I informed.
• “Yes ma’am,” He bobbed his head while opening the door for me, and the next moment, he hurried into his driver's seat before turning on the ignition.
• My face began to tense up again as I dragged in a laboured breath, a sniffle escaped me as I met Jared’s worried face looking at me through the rearview mirror. I should at least be sure of this before wallowing in self-pity.
• The ride to the headquarters was as silent as a corpse being transported in this sports car. All I could think of was how he got the recording of me explaining the script to my best friend.
• ‘And to make the situation worse, I can't find the original recording on my phone. It was as if that part of our chat was mistakenly deleted.’
• I flinched as Jared’s startling voice snapped me out of my train of thought. “Signora. We are here!”
• “You can do this. I am sure it’s just a misunderstanding.” I whispered to myself before straightening out the invisible crease on my dress.
• Walking into the building was a bit strange because I was not allowed to meddle with Ace’s business affairs. He said he would love me to be a stay-at-home wife, I honestly don’t mind because that means I was doing something that would make him happy.
• The Elevator dinged, and immediately some workers came out wondering who I was.
• Do they know me?
• ‘Uhm, not sure. They might think you are one of the flings that regular the top floor.’ My subconscious chipped in.
• I entered the elevator and tried to bury whatever was coming to my head because some part of me knew it was true but I have always believed that Ace would warm up to me.
• ‘I guess the warming up you meant was getting a divorce letter, right?’
• “Hello, Good day ma’am. Who are you here to see?” The doe-eyed lady sitting behind the secretary chair questioned.
• Lifting my lips to give her a warm smile, a contrast to my inner turmoil. “I am here to see my husband, Mr Ace Kings.”
• Shaking her head erratically. “Uh- uhm. You are his wife. Oh my goodness.”
• “Mr Kings is in huh a - Yes, a very serious meeting and he asked me not to accept any visitors for him.” She rambled, looking at her pointy heels like it was the most interesting thing.
• “Oh sweetheart, I am not a visitor. I am his wife. And I can wait.” I reassured her.
• “Uh ma, it isn’t advisable to wait. The meeting is going to be a very long one ma’am.” She advised while scratching her nose, an obvious body language that she was hiding something.
• “What is your name?” I demanded, my voice cold and unwavering.
• “Mirabel, ma’am” She stammered, chewing on her fingernails as she looked elsewhere other than in my direction.
• “Do you mind telling me what my husband is doing in his office?” I seethed, slamming my hands on the table.
• “Uhm- uhmmmm,” She stuttered.
• Desperate to find out what was going on, I moved away from her, with anger brewing in my veins. “You know what? I will find out myself.”
• I walked further away from her despite hearing her screams of protest. Reality started dawning on me that my subconscious might be right.
• Especially nowadays, he doesn’t come home often, always claiming that work is holding him down and he is busy.
• ‘Yeah, he is busy burying himself in other women’s private parts.’
• Standing by the door of his office, my fingers trembled as I raised my hands to knock on the door. I hesitated before finally summoning the courage to knock. Three sharp bangs that seemed to drain me of all the heat in my body.
• Straining my ears and leaning on the door, hoping to get a glimpse of what might be happening, the door swung open and I saw my husband in a white robe.
• Wait, what? White robe? In his office?!
• My eyes raked down his chest which glistened. Even though I had seen him yesterday, he still looked like he walked straight out of Armani’s model shoot, and my anger slowly dissipated.
• My breath seized as I met his cold hardened gaze, his fury palpable.
• “What are you doing here Aria?” His voice was sharp and condescending.
• Peering over his shoulder and trying to see if he had company “Why are you in a robe?” I retorted with a question of my own.
• He shrugged, taking long strides to his desk before grabbing the scotch bottle and downing it.
• “I owe you no explanation of what I do with my life.” His voice was laced with irritation.
• His gaze hardened as he glared at me “Now, why are you in my office?”
• “I-I ca-came here, concerning the letter on the bedside table, I don’t understand what you meant.” I stuttered as my eyes searched every corner of his office, purposely avoiding his gaze as his tone drowned all my confidence.
• Shifting his muscular body to block my wandering eyes, He answered “Is English that hard for you to comprehend?? What is there that you couldn’t comprehend?”
• Noticing his intentions, the surge of strength, and the possibility that he might be cheating on me, coupled with the frustration of trying to impress him for three years and still not being good enough, I shoved him apart.
• My eyes darted around but the room was empty, however, the smirk on the corner of his lips made me believe otherwise.
• “I am not interested in this unfruitful marriage anymore, I want to get divorced.” He repeated.
• Desperation flowed through my veins as I clutched his hands, pleading, hoping my worst nightmare wouldn’t come to reality.
• My voice trembled as tears threatened to resurface. My lips quivered as I clutched the robe “Please, we can fix this. Let’s not take this critical step.”
• Just as he was about to give me a reply, I heard the sound of water rushing from the tap in the bathroom as the door made a faint sound.
• I froze as my heart plummeted in my chest, my worst nightmare was becoming a reality. I know I shouldn’t turn around, but the urge to see who is convincing him to make such a drastic decision was more controlling.
• ‘Wait’
• My trembling hands flew to cover my mouth as I turned around.
• My teary eyes flickered from the female figure standing half-naked in front of me to my husband and then I looked back at her, my eyes growing wider each second and my legs losing their balance.
• “No…no…..no..no.” I whimpered as my voice lost all its strength.
• It was someone I knew all this while??