Chapter 3

"About what happened last night…" she took her lower lip between her teeth. "I'll give you a chance to explain yourself but you and I are not sleeping in the—"

"I'm not asking for an option, Steph. I asked for a divorce and that's what I'm going to settle for," Ryan said.

There are two reasons for which Stephanie has been keeping Ryan as her husband all these while. First one is obvious. Even with his lack of ambition, the guy knows how to cook, clean the house and make sure everything is in order. The second one… just thinking about it made her breath catch in her throat. 

Grandfather was the one who ordered that she marry Ryan. All those bitches and sons of bitches that were from her mother and father's family side only had to hear that she's divorced Ryan and they would cut her inheritance. She sighed and looked at Ryan. 

"Ryan, I can forgive you if—"

"I already told you what I want," he said, an anger that Stephanie had never noticed before was on his face. "If you're thinking about money, you don't have to worry. I'm not going to collect any penny from you."

Stephanie turned her back on him so that he wouldn't notice the frustration on her face. She's never lost in an argument to Ryan and she wouldn't start losing to him now.

"Go and prepare breakfast. I will think about what you asked for and give you a reply this evening. Besides, I have a long day ahead —"

"I don't care if you have all the files in the whole world on your table, I'm getting a divorce and that's final."

She turned to look at him. "Stop being a stubborn fool and give me time to think. Or do you think I'd have come this far if I made hasty decisions like you?" 

"Meet me at the government agency by ten am," Ryan said and left.

Long after he had left, Stephanie continued staring at the door. She ran her hand over her hair. What the hell is wrong with Ryan? Why is he getting worked up over an issue that made no sense at all? They could settle this without having to go through some divorce shit and get her inheritance in jeopardy.

And, does he think it's that easy to provide for himself? She was sure Ryan had never worked all his life. He was brought from an orphanage to the Villa. Does he think anyone would hire him without any working experience?

She hissed and turned back to her drawer. She glanced at his bed. If it were the other normal morning, Ryan would have gotten out of bed and he would be waking her right now with a cup of coffee. Used to making it for years now, he knew the exact taste she wanted. 

She swallowed hard and continued searching for the emergency contraceptives. It was only a matter of minutes before Ryan would come back on his knees, begging her.

When Stephanie arrived at the waiting room of the government, Ryan went inside with her. He noticed people staring at him. Of course, he was wearing cheap clothes from Walmart, and it didn't compare in any way to the long, expensive gold dress Stephanie was wearing.  

He knew he must have looked like her chauffeur, but he didn't care if he looked worse. 

At the mention of any of the Hill family's presence in the office, workers in the office ran around to get the paperwork for the divorce. Within minutes, the divorce papers were ready. Since there were no assets they shared, the process was fairly simple. 

"Remember that there is no going back after we sign this paper," Stephanie told Ryan just as he was about to input his signature.

Ryan didn't reply to her, he just signed what he had to sign and left the office. 

An expensive red car was parked in front of the building. Curiously, Ryan slowed down his pace to see the owner of the car. He noticed that other people seemed to do the same.

A man in sunglasses and an expensive suit came out. Just his appearance would have made him every woman's dream.

Stephanie ran toward the man and the man pulled her in a hug. That was when it hit Ryan. The man is Anderson.

"My gosh. The weather suddenly seems hot," Ryan heard someone say.

"They look perfect together," a woman said, watching Anderson and Stephanie as she walked past Ryan.

"I wish my boyfriend would see this and register our marriage quickly," Ryan heard another person say.

From where he was, Anderson could see Ryan's mouth hung open. He swore that if Ryan's heart was visible, he would see it breaking into a million pieces right now. To make matters worse, Anderson leaned into Stephanie and kissed her.

"How did you know I was here?" Stephanie asked.

Anderson raised his phone. "Your location." Looking at Ryan's hurt face, Anderson kissed Stephanie again.

"Hop in the car. I'll drive you home but I've to see someone," Anderson said.

Stephanie nodded and got into the car. She hissed when she caught sight of Ryan walking away. Finally, her dream man, Anderson, is here. To hell with Ryan.

Ryan stopped walking when he saw Anderson in front of him. Anderson took off his sunglasses to look at him.

"You look fifty," Anderson said.

Ryan plastered a smile on his face, hoping it would do enough to hide his anger. He had thought Stephanie was more reasonable than this. Why would she call her boyfriend here? To witness the divorce? Obviously...

"I would have suggested riding with us to the Villa so you can pack your stuff but..." Anderson assessed Ryan's clothes. "I've never had material less than a hundred dollars in my car before. I guess you'd understand."

"I don't remember asking you for a ride." Ryan's lips curved in a smile, imitating Anderson's grin.

"Of course. I'm just being considerate to the man who just lost his wife to a man better than him." He put his sunglasses back on. "I don't have small change, I'd have offered some money for a cab ride."

Anderson pat Ryan on the shoulder. "Trek, dude. It won't hurt your ego. I mean, you never had one." With another grin, Anderson put on his sunglasses and walked to his car.

Ryan found himself laughing after Anderson had left. He laughed so hard that people who were walking past cast him odd looks, seeming to ask if he was insane. 

Yes! He's insane. Who, if not an insane man, would have continued loving a woman that doesn't care if he even exists?

"Ryan," he muttered to himself as he started walking again. "When did you become this man who's lost focus on what matters?" 

He had just reached the curb when a limited edition black Bentley limousine pulled up in front of him.