Chapter 7

"Here, sign it," Cassandra declared smugly as she brought out a stack of divorce papers that she had prepared beforehand.

Brandon took the papers and read through them carefully, trying to find if there were any traps in them.

Confirming there was none, he picked up the papers and began to sign without much as an argument or a complaint.

Cassandra stared in shock at the stone-cold Brandon signing the divorce papers without any hesitation. Despite wanting the divorce, she never imagined he would sign it easily, so casually. Like, she never meant anything to him.

He had agreed way too easily for her liking, which made her feel insulted that he didn't beg or at least fight to keep her.

She would not have agreed, but at least it would make her feel like a winner for a long time.

Looking at the signed papers, she felt cheap and annoyed. She stared fixedly at him, trying to see any slight change in his expressionless face to show she had won.

She had made him feel less than a man, but all through the signing process, there was no slight change, not even the smallest twitch of his face. As he pushed the papers back to her, he stood up and began walking to the room in their shared apartment.

Angered that she had not completely gotten what she wanted, a reaction that she could ridicule, Cassandra jumped to her feet and hurriedly stood in front of him.

"Where do you think you are going?" She demanded it coldly.

"I'm going inside; where else do you think?" Brandon replied calmly,

"This apartment belongs to me, and so I want you out of it in the next five minutes," she declared smugly.

Brandon pursed his lips, feeling irritated and pained as he looked down at her. With a deep exhale, he brushed his fingers through his hair and pinched his nose bridge.

The woman standing before him behaves and feels completely different than the one he had been married to for the past three years, making him question what was real and what was not.

Everything that had happened in the past twenty-four hours had made him question if he was still living in reality or if it was all just a sick joke and some higher being was playing through his dream.

Realizing she meant her words, Brandon nodded. "Let me get my things; I'll be out of here before you know it," he replied calmly, and Cassandra scowled at him.

"Your things? You have nothing in this apartment; everything in here was obtained with my money; since you have nothing, you can leave with nothing!" She countered, and Dean snickered from behind them, enjoying the show.

"As a man, how could you allow a woman to buy your things? Aren't you even ashamed of being called a man?" He mocked, and Brandon clenched his fist, wanting to hit something so badly.

"You aren't even man enough to provide for yourself; how do you expect to keep such a beautiful woman by your side then?" He taunted further.

Annoyed by the ridicule Brandon was receiving from the two, Henry stepped forward, wanting to defend his new master, but Brandon shook his head.

"It's fine. I'll just pick up my documents and leave," he replied, gently pushing her to the side as he walked into the small study in the apartment.

Shortly after, he returned with only a file in his hands and gave Cassandra a pointed stare as he shook his head while muttering the words he had heard his mother use so often while he was growing up: "Life has a way to reward the good and punish the bad. You will always get what you deserve." With that said, he walked out of the apartment with Henry trailing behind him.

"Do you have anywhere else to go?" Henry asked as they walked out of the complex building,

"I'll return to my mother's house in Chicago; I have nothing going on for me here anymore." Brandon replied with a shrug.

"That's over a day's journey by bus or train, almost two days. I can't allow you to go in this manner," Henry countered, and Brandon raised a brow.

"We are strangers; you don't have to concern yourself with my well-being; it's just a stumbling block on my path, an awakening that I really needed." Brandon chuckled as the weight of what had happened finally hit him in the face.

He clenched his fist by his side and continued walking out of the urban area. A drop of tears fell on his face, and he wiped it away immediately, not wanting to draw any attention to himself.

Hearing footsteps coming behind him, he turned back to Henry. "Please don't come with me; I need some time to myself," he warned, and continued walking.

Soon, he arrived at an empty park not too far from where he used to live with Cassandra.

He stared dully at a particular cherry tree in the middle of the park. The tree had so many memories of his life since he got married to Cassandra.

He was unable to think about anything else. All he could think about was, 'Why?'

A question he never had to ask all his life. Why did he have to experience so much tragedy?

Why was life so unfair?

Why couldn't he be born richer?

Why was he enough for her?

Why was he so content with living a mediocre life?

Why didn't he challenge fate earlier?

If he had done that, would she have stayed?

No, Matt, no matter how much he appeared uncaring, he could not deny that he had truly loved her and pictured a future with her.

While contemplating his decisions, where he would need to go, and what he'd need to do, the shimmering glow of the ring on his finger caught his attention, and he wiped his tears.

"There is no use crying over spilled milk; finding the way forward is the most important at the moment," he muttered to himself and got up from the bench with a new determination.

"Even if all this is a prank, I'll play along and work hard to emerge as the victorious one!"