Chapter 5
Once he’s gone, I take off my ring and put it on the table, right on top of the divorce papers that I’ve been processing for the past week.
My bags are already packed, tucked away in the bedroom where he can’t see. My plane tickets are ready, and my new life is waiting for me.
If Derek paid more attention for the past week, he would have noticed that I was getting ready to leave. He would have seen that my belly hasn’t grown in four months that I’m supposed to be pregnant. He would have seen that I don’t get sick or even need check–ups.
Yet he didn’t. He never paid me any attention. He always spared no effort to get rid of me and get close to the woman on his mind. Since then, I didn’t mind give him the freedom he longed. for.
The journey from America to Europe was long and tedious, but it gave me enough time to look back at my relationship with Derek. And ultimately, our demise. My phone has been off, and when I finally have connection, I see that my phone is flooded with texts and calls.
Derek seems to be going insane. He keeps asking where I am. and why I’m not home during this time. I don’t even know what time it is there back home. But I don’t care.
Except that he seems to have reached out to Joana, because.
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she says, “Have you seen what’s going on? Derek reached out to my assistant. Are you alright?”
There’s another one, and it says, “Hey, if you need to sort things out with your husband, I can call the headquarters and tell them that you’ll be delayed. You can go back to settle everything and just give me an update when you’re ready to push through.”
I log online to see what’s going on with Derek, and I immediately see a video.
It’s from a woman who seems to be an influencer. It’s a video of a man and a little boy and an old woman who seems to be the ‘grandma. They’re all happy and thriving.
It’s peaceful, the vibe of the video. It’s also pretty ordinary in a very comforting way.
The only problem is that the husband in the video is Derek and ⚫ the mother–in–law is Lucy.
The caption says, “Finally, after everything that happened, you’re back to me. You’re mine again.”
The puzzle pieces rain down on me. I was nothing but a side character to their grand love story, just like what his friends said. Even though I was over it, it was still a painful line to read.
And Derek is calling once again.
I pick up, just for the hell of it. I’m surprised to hear the sadness in his voice. “Georgina, please we need to talk. Nothing is what it seems. You just have to trust me on this. Vivian just made a dumb video and some fucking account reposted it with that caption. It’s not her.”
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I don’t say anything.
“It’s online bullshit,” he keeps saying. “I came home and I saw that your clothes are gone. I saw the divorce papers too and you have to know. I don’t want to divorce you. I don’t want to lose you. Please just come home. I need you in my life.”
I finally sigh. “Derek, you can’t keep doing this.”
“What?” Derek asks. “What do you mean? What am I doing wrong?”
“I left the papers on the table, and you can take the time to read it,” I say. “If you want to add some clauses, just contact a lawyer. If not, just sign it. I don’t want any drama. I just want to end this peacefully.”
“No,” he whines, and for a moment he sounds like a cornered little boy. “Georgina, please. I know you still love me. I know I love you. You’re just mad but this will all pass when I do something about it.”
“Derek,” I whisper.
“I will stay away from Vivian,” he declares. “We can move to a different state. I can resign as a partner from the start–up. We can start over with our baby. We can go back to the way it was.”
“No, Derek,” I say with exhaustion. “Just. no.”
“I’m begging you, Georgina.” He starts to sob. “I want us to be a family. Please, for our baby..”
He starts to cry, and my heart clenches with an emotion that I can’t name. Coldness washes over me, and I realize that I’m
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also weeping silently.
But when I speak again, my voice is as cold as ever.
“We don’t have a baby anymore, Derek. When I saw you put that ring on Vivian’s hand, it’s over. I got an abortion. I knew I couldn’t start a family with someone who doesn’t love me.”
Silence falls from the other line. I wait for Derek to speak, but he hangs up the call.
I take in a big breath. I feel lighter, like I was reborn.
* *
The news of me divorcing Derek and leaving the country quickly spread among our friends.
Those on my side immediately knew that it was Derek’s fault, and they made sure to have that heard. However, his own friends have been unusually quiet. I thought they would start some kind of smear campaign against me.
Only Victor was active on social media, posting photos of them hanging out and drinking, partying in the same house.
Below his posts, Vivian’s comments are plenty. “Back to the good old times. More to come!”
She writes this at three in the morning.
I used to worry about Derek and the bad stomach he gets when he takes too much alcohol, but now I don’t feel anything. He can do whatever he wants. I’m sure he’s happy that the mask is off and he can finally do what he wants.
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I remember when I used to call him and text him nonstop. I was more assertive at first, more casual, knowing that he would listen to me. But when he listened less and less, I became more anxious. The calls got more frequent, and that’s how I became Fatty to his friends.
Now, he’s the one becoming more anxious.
“Georgina, we can try for another baby. Just please come home an forgive me. I can’t live without you.”
Can’t live without me? When he’s out almost every night being happy with his friends?
Who does he think he’s fooling?
Maybe he’s just drunk when those messages came in. Either way, I don’t care.
He wanted freedom, and I gave him that.
Since everyone wanted him to be with Vivian anyway, what else is stopping him from giving them what they want? From giving himself what he wants?
Days pass, and my marriage problems don’t affect my work at all. In fact, it pushes me to be better. I work hard, and soon enough, the executives of the company notice that. I do a good job in the assignment in only a month, and that’s when I get named partner.
Now, I’m one of the Big Three of the R&D Group.
It’s our celebration party tonight, and I’m just in the corner drinking. I know I probably got too much now, but it’s alright. My
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partner, Alex Betancourt, is here and he’s not letting me out of his sight.
“Maybe five cocktails are enough” he tells me with a smile. “God knows I don’t want to carry you home.”
“I know you want to carry me home,” I joke with him, and he smiles.
He’s also American. Tall, handsome, and such a gentleman. He’s so far from Derek that it’s almost astounding. He’s sitting next to me now, offering me water and taking away my last cocktail.
He cares for me. I know he has feelings for me. I see the way he looks at me now and I don’t quite remember being looked at
that softly.
But I can’t start a relationship like this. Not so quickly.
“Maybe we should go home,” he says.
I open my mouth to answer, but that’s when I get a call from an unknown number. Frowning, I answer it. “Hello?“.
But there’s nothing but silence on the other line.