Grudge of the Vengeful CEO

Chapter 7 : Divorce

 Anna got out of a cab and entered an apartment building, feeling exhausted after a stressful day. She had dealt with a difficult old man, saved a man's life, and even received scolding from a friend. As she took the elevator to the second floor, she mustered the energy to ring the doorbell of Room 32.

A voice from inside asked, "Who is it?"

"Just a minute," the voice replied.

Anna wondered why this person always took so long to do anything. The door finally opened, and the person inside let out a high-pitched squeal, causing Anna to cover her ears.

"Anna, you're here!" the person, named Bella, exclaimed.

"Bella, can you just shut up?" Anna responded in frustration.

Bella tightly wrapped her arms around Anna, exclaiming how much she missed her. Anna complained that she couldn't breathe, and Bella apologized. Anna then asked if she could come inside or if her new room was at the entrance.

"Of course not," Bella replied. "Then why are you still standing here?"

"Come in, come in," Bella urged. "I missed you so much that I forgot to invite you in."

Bella made way for Anna as she entered the room. Anna headed straight for her room upon entering the house, but Bella intercepted her with a hand on her waist.

"Where do you think you're heading?" Bella asked.

"To my room, where else?" Anna replied.

"And who said you can enter your room?"

"Well, it's 'my' room," Anna asserted.

"You just arrived, and you won't even help me with dinner," Bella complained.

"Why are you always like this, Anna?" she continued.

"Like what?" Anna asked.

"Being lazy. I won't accept this. Put your luggage down and help me with the food."

"Okay, okay, give me a second, and I'll be with you," Anna agreed.

"You better, or else," Bella warned.

"I know, I know," Anna responded, shaking her head with a smile on her face.

Anna realized that only her grandfather and her best friend, Bella, had the audacity to treat her this way. Being an introvert, Bella was the only one who talked a lot when they were together, always trying to engage Anna in interesting activities.

Anna understood that this dynamic only happened when she was with Bella. "Anna Barlowe, I'm still waiting," Bella called out as Anna left her room, finding Bella still patiently waiting for her.

"Can you be less serious in your life?" Bella said to Anna.

"What did I do this time?" Anna asked.

"Never mind, let's get cooking," Bella replied.

"Oh, and did you get my darlings?" Bella inquired.

"No," Anna responded.

"What? You didn't?" Bella exclaimed.

"Of course I did. I don't want to be burned by you," Anna assured her, presenting the requested items.

"I knew I could count on you. I love you, baby," Bella said happily.

"Stop with the sweet talks and let's get cooking," Anna urged.

"I have some work to do," Anna added.

"Anna, don't tell me you came here with work?" Bella questioned.

"As a matter of fact, I did. We agreed no work when you come here. This is your vacation," Bella reminded her.

"The company is working on a contract, and I need to see to that," Anna explained.

"You're really stubborn. Then why did I convince Grandpa to allow you to come over? Isn't it for a vacation?" Bella retorted.

"You now know it's a vacation. It's just some important documents I need to see to," Anna defended herself.

"No, you came here for a vacation, and a vacation you will get. Promise me no office work while you're here," Bella insisted.

"Okay, fine. I promise," Anna conceded.

"Let's get to work before you start acting like my grandfather," Bella suggested.

"Sure."

They started cooking, and Bella asked about the accident and the person Anna saved.

"How is he now?" Bella inquired.

"I don't really know. The doctor told me he will be fine," Anna replied.

"So I guess he is now," Bella assumed.

"You always act like you don't have a heart, but it looks like you have one," Bella teased.

"Am I that heartless?" Anna asked.

"Girlfriend, you are," Bella replied playfully.

"So, are you going to check up on him?" Bella asked.

"Why would I do that? Just because I saved him?" Anna questioned.

"Of course! He might have a family. You don't need to bother yourself with him," Bella explained.

Bella looked at Anna with a mischievous look on her face.

"Was he handsome?" Bella asked.

"I don't know. I wasn't concentrating on his face. I went to save him, and I had no other purpose," Anna replied.

"You have a glow on your face, you know," Bella observed.

"Bella, please. I don't want to have this conversation," Anna requested.

Bella realized she had spoken out of line.

"Anna, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to remind you of anything," Bella apologized.

"It's fine. Let's just get this over with," Anna replied.

They worked in silence after that episode.

At Silver Hospital, Nagid was still receiving treatment. He wondered how an accident could happen on a free road. This had to be investigated, but first, he needed to be discharged.

Nagid heard a cry, which grew louder as someone approached his room. The door opened, revealing a saddened Emma. Behind her stood the rest of the Thompson family, excluding Kendrick.

"Honey, are you alright?" Emma asked with tears in her eyes.

Nagid pretended as if she wasn't in the room.

"Nagid, what happened?" Tony asked. "You're an expert in driving, so how could this happen?"

"I'm sorry, Dad. I wasn't careful," Nagid replied with a guilty face. "Sorry for making you worry. I understand, but you should consider your wife's feelings too. She can't bear it when something happens to you."

"Okay, let's give them some time alone," Tony said to the unusually quiet Cecilia, who was still upset with Nagid because Tony scolded her for her earlier behavior.

Emma wasn't left behind in her concern. "Let us leave you two alone. I will talk to the doctor about your condition," she said, pulling Cecilia out of the room.

Once they left, the room fell into a dead silence. Nagid closed his eyes, not wanting to waste his breath on Emma. Emma grew annoyed. This wasn't how things were supposed to be. Nagid had never treated her this way before, and she had never begged for his attention before. But now it seemed her earlier actions had truly hurt him. She had no other option but to make amends.

"Honey, should I get you some water?" she asked, but he ignored her.

"Honey, do you need some water?" she repeated, still met with silence.

"Nagid, I know what I did hurt you. But what did you expect me to do? After the incident, you've changed completely. You don't care about me like you used to. What did you expect me to do when the man who always yearned for my attention doesn't even care about my needs anymore?" Nagid smiled and looked at her with pleading eyes.

"You knew I've been wanting your attention, and you've been ignoring me. Babe, it's not what you think," Emma said.

"Then what do you want me to think? Before asking about what happened, you just started blaming me. Do you even care? And now that I've decided to not show as much affection anymore, you complain. I don't want it to be that way anymore," Nagid expressed.

"Honey, I was just thinking about my work. You know my dream has always been to be a model. That's why I kept my problems to myself, not wanting to stress you out," Emma explained.

"Emma, do you even consider me as your husband? Your dream is my dream. Your aim is my aim. Everything about you should be my concern. But you could tell your friends about your dreams and not me, your husband. Honey, you don't understand," Nagid said with pain in his eyes.

"Then make me understand," Nagid pleaded.

"All I've ever shown you is love and affection. All I've ever shown you is care and respect. But do you even care about me? Well, you don't. You only care about yourself. You didn't want us to be in the same room after we got married. I agreed. You didn't want children. I agreed. You didn't want to be seen in public with me to keep our marriage a secret. I AGREED. What more do you want from me?" Nagid expressed, feeling depressed.

"Honey, you need to give me some more time," Emma spoke as a wife who had realized her mistakes. "I do care about you, but I just need more time. Please," she pleaded.

"I understand, as I always do," Nagid sighed, his voice filled with resignation.

Emma felt relieved upon hearing his response. "Just as soft as always," she said, feeling a sense of pride inside.

"Emma, I want a divorce," Nagid uttered, his words cutting through the air.

The room fell into a heavy silence once again, as the weight of Nagid's decision hung in the air.