Chapter 6: He Did Not Trust Her Enough
Loreen had no choice but to open the folder. She was speechless at the contents.
Divorce papers.
And Edric had already signed them.
'Why?! Why is this happening?!
'What should I do?!'
Loreen felt like her world shattered into pieces.
With the documents already signed, it meant Edric signed them before he even headed home. He had it prepared early on.
But when?
Why didn't she notice anything?
When did everything begin to go wrong?
She should have noticed something was amiss.
But there was no sign of it before he left for Italy.
He had been sweet and kind to her as usual two weeks ago.
Or did he happen to meet Sera in Italy and it was then that her childhood bully had the chance to spout lies to ruin her to her husband.
'But how could he believe Sera's words instead of mine? We have been husband and wife for three years. Shouldn't he trust my words more than hers?'
Loreen glanced at her husband. He was still glaring at her with such furious eyes.
She had never seen this expression on his face directed at her.
There were times he was angry on phone calls from work, but it was never towards her. And not to this degree.
She knew he could be a strict person especially at work, but he had always been kind to her and never gave her this kind of glare.
But right here, the way he stared at her made her feel like the worst woman in the world.
'I didn't do anything wrong.
'How could he one-sidedly blame me for things I did not even do?
'How could he sign these damned papers?! And on our wedding anniversary too.'
Wait!
Loreen gulped as a thought crossed her mind.
Did he do this on purpose?
Did he time it to their anniversary?!
Was he intentionally trying to hurt and disgrace her like this?
'Was he thinking of getting back at me for things I did not even do?'
All sorts of thoughts crossed Loreen's mind as she speechlessly stared at the divorce documents Edric had handed her.
Her heart crumpled in pain.
She wanted to scream as loud as she could. To tear these documents into shreds right in front of him and say she would never accept divorce.
But her mouth simply remained slightly ajar, and nothing came out.
Her heart hurt so much.
If she signed this today, she wondered if she could ever get through this pain.
Would it ever stop hurting?
'Grandma? Grandpa? What should I do?' she recalled her deceased grandparents.
What would they advise her to do if they were still alive?
What should she do to resolve this?
This was by far the worst disappointment Loreen ever had.
Her beloved husband believed in her worst bully. And he was here shoving signed divorce papers to her face.
No wonder it was called disappointment.
It suddenly happens when you least expected it.
When you were assured, everything was alright, and you have gotten used to the peace and calm, it suddenly attacks.
It betrays your expectations.
Loreen should have known. She she should have learned from her experiences. She shouldn't have expected anything.
Her head and chest hurt. It was getting hard to breathe.
Loreen thought she would pass out, and she would have been happier if she did.
Maybe these divorce papers were just a nightmare. And once she wakes up, Edric would be smiling at her and kissing her gently.
But no. She remained conscious as the pain gnawed at her heart the more Edric looked at her like he despised her.
'Why should I accept this?' she asked herself.
Just the thought of not seeing him ever again, not being with him, and not sharing their days and nights together… It hurt so much.
She could not comprehend how to live without him after being with him for three years.
Simply waking up in the morning begins with seeing his face.
'Would I ever get over him?
'I love him.
'We may have started with no feelings.
'But I love him very much now.'
And yet, the other side seems to not feel the same anymore.
"Sign it," Edric repeated when she just stared at documents.
Loreen's tears fell uncontrollably.
She didn't want to cry but she could not stop her tears from falling.
Everything simply hurt. She felt like her head and heart were getting hammered so violently.
"Why? Why should I? I love you. I love you so much, Edric. Did you not feel my love at all?"
Edric gulped and looked away.
He clenched his hands.
He stared elsewhere for a few seconds before he finally replied, "I thought, I did. But you were just toying with me."
"I never did that. I love you. My feelings for you are re-"
"Shut up!" he cut her off.
Loreen held her chest as the pain got worst.
The Edric she knew didn't do this kind of thing to her before. He listened when she had something to say, not cut her off rudely like this.
"Just shut up and sign those! I won't believe any of your words anymore.
"You lied to me all these years after I trusted you with all I have!
"I sacrificed my image for you! My freedom for you!"
Loreen stared at him in disbelief at those words.
'That was what he thought about our marriage?!'
She stared at him mouth agape as he continued.
"I gave you the comfort any woman wishes for! But what did you give me in return?! Nothing!"
'Ah, I see. So, this was what all of these were about. I had nothing. There was nothing I could give. I could not even give him a child when that was the original reason we got married.'
Loreen was silenced and her tears simply kept trickling down her cheeks.
'So that was how he saw everything? I was just a liability and a hindrance for him?'
Loreen sniffed and tried to dry her tears.
Edric grabbed the folder from her.
Her heart skipped a beat as it budded with hope that he was finally taking it back and would not push through with it.
But instead, he brought out a pen and opened the folder, holding it at a good distance so her tears won't fall on them.
"Just fucking sign. Now," he snarled. "Stop all your acting. I won't believe any of it."
"Do you have no love for me left? I mean, have you ever even loved me?" Loreen asked, throwing away her pride.
"I don't know. Even if there is, I don't want to feel it anymore. I will never listen to it again. And I won't let it cloud my mind again," Edric shut down her hopes.
Her tears got worse, and her body trembled.
'I see.'
She could barely see him with all the tears.
"Stop acting like you are so pitiful after fooling me for three whole years. I'm the one who should be crying," Edric scolded her.
"I didn't do that! I never did," Loreen denied again, hoping it would reach him.
Even if he no longer loved her, even if he no longer wanted her, she didn't want him to think she was that kind of woman.
Because she never was.
"Stop it. How much lower are you going to stoop?
"You used me as you please. And now you even have the guts to act like you know nothing, huh?
"You set up everything that happened between us three years ago. But when you got pregnant, you killed my child while pretending to cherish it?!"
More accusations left his lips, crushing her very soul. Denying all her efforts the past three years.
She could not take it anymore.
Loreen's ears were ringing from all those lies he heard from another woman.
"That's not true! I loved our baby with my whole heart! I was looking forward to raising our child. You saw how devastated I was back then!"
"Stop. Please just stop it. Enough with your lies! Don't disappoint me even more.
"I have all the evidence that I need. Now, just sign the papers and leave.
"Don't worry half of all my properties goes to you. I know that's what you've been wanting for all these years.
"You can have it for all the efforts you put into this and succeeding to play with me. I rather commend your acting skills."
Edric was fully convinced she was in the wrong.
What did Sera make him drink for him to believe her wholeheartedly and refuse to listen to his own wife's words?
"I don't need your properties. I didn't make any of those accusations you are throwing at me! How could you believe some random woman's lies?!" Loreen was also getting angry.
"She's not some random woman. She had known you since you were little. I even have photos of you two!" Edric debated. He settled the divorce papers on the table.
'Wow, he's even taking her side. Amazing.'
"Is she your mistress? Did she seduce you? Just say it if you want to marry someone else. Don't ruin my image like this as if I have wronged you!"
'What am I even saying? I never doubted his fidelity.'