Folding her arms on her chest while crossing her legs, Audrey patiently waited for Shane to return after dragging Stephanie outside. “Gosh! What’s taking him so long?” she murmured when he still didn’t come back after several minutes. “Did he decide to drive her home or something?”
“I didn’t,” Shane said, walking towards her.
“Take a seat then. Stop wasting my time,” she retorted. She watched him settle on the couch in front of her. Between them was a small, round, glass table with envelopes on top. Audrey saw how Shane’s face turned pale after noticing the brown envelopes. “Check it out,” she started, ignoring the sudden tension in the atmosphere.
“What is this all about, Audrey?”
Shane’s question made her laugh, a sarcastic one. “Annulment papers, what else? I know, divorce sounds better but it's not legal in the country yet. Since annulment also means legal separation then we might as well sign the papers, so we could get over with this,” Audrey said, hitting the point instantly.
She raised a brow in amusement when he slapped his palms on the table. “Careful, Shane. That table is made of glass.”
“Why?” he asked, gritting his teeth.
“You might break the table and it would be troublesome to clean it,” she replied, nonchalantly.
“Why do you want to annul our marriage?! Shit!” Shane stood up and walked back and forth in front of her. “Tell me the fucking reason why Audrey!”
‘Wow! If you’re in Hollywood, you might have been long nominated for Oscar Awards. Your acting talent is so exceptional.’ Her thought made her giggle.
“You think it’s funny? Tell me why Audrey. You never came back in five years and now you’re going to ask me to sign the annulment papers. Bullshit!”
Audrey knew she was pissed because of Stephanie but hearing those hypocrisies from Shane made her feel worse. Even so, she tried to contain her emotions to end things between them smoothly. “I was expecting you to sign it peacefully. I don’t know why you’re so worked up about this but don’t you think this is the best for both of us?” She unfolded her arms and took a pen from her bag to sign the papers.
“I’m giving you three days to sign it. I know that you’re busy so the earlier the better. Let me know if you’re done, so I could let my lawyer follow up with the procedure,” she said while putting back the papers inside the envelope. “I won’t be having lunch so don’t worry about me and just make something for yourself. Since we’re still legally married, it would be rude of me to kick you out of the house. I hope you’d find a place to move when the annulment process is done,” Audrey explained. “It won’t be nice if paparazzi find out that you’re living in some random people’s house.”
“Are you happy?” Shane suddenly asked.
“Hmm?”
He took a step closer to her. “Are you happy doing this?”
Audrey furrowed her eyebrows with his question. “What made you think I’m happy when you haven't actually signed the papers yet?” she asked him back. ‘Why does he sound like he was the victim here?’
Shane smirked at her before pinning her down on her seat. What he did next surprised her. Audrey thought that her greatest humiliation was when she attended her wedding alone without her groom. She didn’t expect that having kissed his groom from five years ago was more humiliating.
Her first kiss was forcefully taken away from her at the age of twenty-seven. When she was twenty-two, she wished to offer it to the love of her life on their wedding day only to get abandoned in their wedding ceremony. Audrey couldn’t think of a single plausible reason for him to take her for granted whenever he wanted.
His lips moved like a fierce beast, shredding its prey into pieces. She expected her first experience to be soft and gentle with full of passion but what she got was the total opposite. She couldn’t move an inch as he crushed her rims until it bleeds. Audrey couldn’t withstand the stinging pain coming from her bleeding lips, she pushed him away from her with all the force she gathered.
(Slap!)
The loud slapping sound could be heard when Audrey’s palm collided on Shane’s cheek.
“How dare you?” she yelled at his face, tears brimming her eyes. “You were asking me why so let me tell you,” she sobbed. “First, the wedding ceremony. I know that you were busy back then, and so I was! You ditched me at our wedding. Yes, it wasn’t the love marriage we both dreamed about but I did my part. What about you?”
Tears flooded from her eyes as she continued. “Second, I got into an accident and you never even called me or at least sent me a message. Right, because you were busy again. How could I expect you to spare some of your time when you were too busy that you had to ditch your wedding and knowing your bride getting involved in a car accident on the day of her wedding without her groom beside her would just ruin your image. So why bother, right?”
Audrey took a deep breath. “Third, you have the nerve to tell me about not coming back within those five years, asking you for an annulment the moment I returned and made it sound like you were the one at loss to this arrangement when in fact, you could be finally free from any legal attachment with me that would possibly cause trouble to you and your career.” She laughed as tears kept flowing down her face.
He was just standing there, looking at her and bursting into tears. She wanted to give him another slap when he tried to open his mouth to say something but ended up zipping it. “Jerk,” she mumbled, grabbing her bag beside her before sprinting to the door.
“Audrey, wait!” he ran after her when he realized that she was leaving again.
“Don’t follow me! If you have a bit of conscience then sign the papers and give them back to me. With that, we can totally get rid of each other from our lives,” she said before running away.
“I’m so stupid!” Audrey kicked a stone out of frustration. She was already far from the house but hadn't left the estate yet. “Why did I run away? For Pete’s sake, that was my house. Ah!” She pulled her hair after realizing what she did. “Aw!” she flinched when she felt the stinging pain from her brims. Since she didn’t want to go back until three days when she expected him to sign the annulment papers, Audrey took her time sitting on the rock while thinking about what she should do next. She planned to stay at Nathan’s place, so she called him to pick her up. Besides, she would need to try out some new recipes with him. It would be more convenient for both of them if they’re together. Convenient as in, someone would clean up after her mess in the kitchen. She waited for less than fifteen minutes before her phone rang. She answered it without looking at the caller ID. “Nate, that was fast. I’m heading to the gate n
‘Is it because of him?’ Shane couldn’t help but think about the reason why Audrey wanted to get an annulment. He could give her what she wanted but something was bugging him since he got to meet Nathan. There were so many questions he wanted to ask her. So many events in her life for years she needed to fill him in with. He was sure that Audrey would have stayed with him if that blonde guy didn’t come to pick her up. Seeing how she could smile when she’s with him, he chose to let them be. As for her request, he was afraid he couldn’t sign the annulment papers she was talking about. At least not yet. He needed to find a way to talk it out with her and as long as the problem he caused wasn’t settled yet, he didn’t have any plan to give in to her demands. Shane went back to his car and fumbled his phone. He checked his contacts to find someone to talk to. A heave of a sigh escaped his mouth when he remembered having no friends who’re not ce
Audrey’s eyes lit up when she stepped inside the door. She was in the same place a few hours ago, and she honestly thought it was a different room. Nathan did a good job of matching the white, black, and gray furniture and ornaments in his living room. The place looked bigger though she was certain it wasn’t that spacious before.“Whoa! I like it here,” she mumbled, striking an elegant pose on the couch. “How do I look?” she asked when Nathan passed by.“Like an idiot,” he answered without any doubt.“Ah! How could you say that to your boss? 50% salary deducted, amp!” Audrey snorted, flipping her head to the side. A clear glass vase caught her attention. There were no flowers in it, just red liquid. “What is this?”
That feeling when you were taking your time while enjoying the fantastic ride of endless good things in your sleep and then suddenly a loud noise banged your eardrums leaving you with no choice but to open your eyes and see what was the cause of such disturbance. Anyone would definitely feel bad, not to mention when it happened early in the morning.Audrey felt exactly the same when she was in the middle of munching a giant chocolate wall in her dream. Her mood drastically dropped from 100 to -1. Without opening her eyes, she roamed her hands on the side where her ringtone could be heard. She had no idea of who was calling her that early and she was ready to pull the trigger of her very own mouthchine gun."Good morning, chef Audrey. This is Secretary Lim of Gourmet Gold Enterprise," a man's voice greeted her from the other line."Good morning, how can I help you?" she responded.'Gourm
The gentle breeze and the sweet scent of budding flowers in the garden mixed in the air pulled a wide smile on Shane's face when he opened the window of the room after turning off the Aircon. The melody that the birds tweeted on the tree branches made the morning jolly and full of life.He woke up early to buy some groceries and fill his fridge. He had been living along in Audrey's villa ever since she left. He hired two or more cleaners in the agency to come and clean the house regularly. As for his meals, he learned to cook in the past few years.The food he cooked wasn't as excellent as those he usually had in restaurants but was enough to fill his empty stomach when he's home and starving. Although Shane still preferred to eat homemade dishes, he was unlucky to have no one to ask. And sometimes, Lucy would drop by, bringing him some warm soup."Let's take more of this, Nate." Shane halted from pushing his grocery cart when he heard Audrey's voice. With what
The furrow on Audrey’s face wouldn’t disappear even after they came back to Nathan’s flat. The latter noticed it and couldn’t help but ask, “What’s the matter, Auddie?”. She shrugged and gave him a small smile while saying, “Nothing,” as a response.“Are you still worried about that guy in the supermarket?” Nathan blurted out.Audrey squinted her eyes, putting down a bag of potatoes on the kitchen counter. “I bet I saw that guy somewhere though I couldn’t exactly tell where. He looks so familiar,” she murmured and went back to unpacking the groceries they bought.“Don’t you think it’s your husband?” Her mouth hanged opened on what Nathan said. ‘No way!’
Audrey was never been really confident when it comes to wearing dresses. She was more comfortable wearing her chef’s uniform. She felt like tripping every time she wore high-heeled shoes and long gowns. The first time she challenged herself was when she thought she’s going to have the greatest wedding in the century for she’s the bride of the groom she always loved. And after what happened on that day, she never got the courage to keep trying.Nathan would always tell her how she’s beautiful, and she remembered how she laughed it off. Having him by her side gave her courage to walked outside the closet with a giant ‘I AM PRETTY’ banner on her forehead. He made her wore dresses, not just the likes but expensive gowns personally tailored by famous designers using high-quality materials. Audrey never asked how Nathan managed to do that all f
Wearing a beige-colored sleeveless gown with only strings of artistic thread hanging on her left shoulder, its upper garment draping tightly her chest down to her torso, exposing her plump cleavage, with a knee-length slit on the right side of the flowing skirt, revealing her slender legs, Audrey was no doubt the star of the night. With the white and peach floral accents, skillfully hand-sewed by the tailor, added with blue rosebuds and dark green leaves, she was like an epitome of goddess stuck in between two seasons; a serene maiden, patiently waiting for the end of fall and a magnificent fairy of spring, adorned with flourishing flowers.‘Stunning,’ Shane believed as he followed the lady with his gaze. He held his breath for a while as he watched her strolled towards them. His subconscious intentionally ignored the blond hunk, walking by Audrey’s side. Her beauty was captivating, enough for him to be min