Chapter 3
Calvert said, "Gina doesn't want to be a sugar baby. She said she'd only be with me if you signed this agreement.
"She has no interest in taking your spot as Mrs. Gildon, and honestly, she wouldn't waste her time on it."
Calvert tipped his chin up, his entire posture screaming where he stood on this.
I was just checking if there were any legal loopholes in this divorce agreement, making sure I wouldn't have to deal with any messy ties to the Gildon Group or Calvert after it was all said and done.
Even for a sham divorce, Calvert didn't let a single detail sli. The agreement was watertight.
I signed it.
Calvert's shoulders relaxed. The tension in his face faded.
He took the signed agreement from me and headed for the door.
Just as he was about to step out, he suddenly turned back.
"Alanna, are you really okay with this?" Calvert asked.
I found myself unconsciously running my fingers over the wound hidden beneath my bangs, trying to hide the pain even from myself.
Calvert had been too busy whisking Gina off to the hospital, not even sparing me a glance as I collapsed in a mess of blood, right there and then.
It was some random passerby who ended up taking me to the hospital.
They had to stitch up that wound with nine stitches.
From that moment on, I stopped caring about anything. Even if he put me on the auction block just to please Gina, I just couldn't bring myself to care anymore.
Calvert smiled, leaned in, and pressed a kiss to my forehead, his gaze gentle and full of affection.
"I'm just messing around. Wait for me to come back," he said.
I swallowed my disgust and forced a smile. "Okay."
'Calvert, I am never going to wait for you again,' I thought to myself.
As soon as he was gone, I dashed back to my bedroom.
I dug out all the lawyer contacts I'd hidden away.
I couldn't wait to snap a photo of the divorce agreement and send it to them.
"Nothing else matters. I just want a divorce." I told them.
But nothing went the way I'd hoped.
"Mrs. Gildon, please, cut me some slack. I've got both parents and kids to take care of. I can't risk my whole future on this," one lawyer begged.
"Mrs. Gildon, I really don't want to get kicked out of the legal world," another chimed in.
My heart sank, bit by bit, dropping all the way to the bottom.
"Even with this divorce agreement, it's still no use?" I murmured.
One lawyer said helplessly, "It's pointless. If Mr. Gildon refuses to file for divorce, there's no way for you to make it happen.
"Mrs. Gildon, honestly, you'd better just walk away from this. Mr. Gildon sent another warning two days ago. We can't afford to cross him."
I wondered, 'Two days ago?
'Was that before I got auctioned off?
'Guess he really does know every move I make, better than anyone else.'
I let out a hollow laugh, but couldn't stop myself. The tears just kept falling.
I leaned against the window, staring out into the night until dawn broke.
Suddenly, my phone lit up with a new notification.
Gina had just posted on her social feed again.
The post read: [Today, we're officially together.]
The very first photo in the post was the divorce agreement I'd just signed.
It was her way of proving she'd never settle for being a mistress, and basically broadcasting to the world that my marriage had crashed and burned.
The other photos featured a presidential suite covered in flowers, a bathtub filled with petals, and a huge heart made of 1000 roses spread out on the bed, with a tiny white flag poking up from the center.
Scrawled on the flag in that bold, dramatic handwriting I knew so well was a message. [My heart is all yours, baby. Calvert]
Everyone who gave that post a like was someone I knew way too well.
The first to hit 'like' was Norris. He wrote: [Babe, wishing you all the happiness.]
The next one was Calvert.
All of Calvert's trust-fund friends used to be so intimate with me. However, at that moment, they were spamming Gina's feed with likes.
A person wrote: [Congrats, Calvert, you finally landed yourself a beauty.]
Another wrote: [Congrats to Calvert and the new Mrs. Gildon. Wishing you two a baby in no time.]
Someone else wrote: [Congratulations.]
I didn't bother scrolling any further.
I suddenly had an incoming voice call on WhatsApp.
It was Gina.
I hesitated for a couple of seconds before picking up.
No one said a word, but through the phone came those breathy, suggestive moans.
"Calvert, it hurts..." Gina whimpered.
"Be good, baby. I'll be gentle, I promise..." Calvert murmured, his voice thick with affection and promise.
It sounded like it was Gina's first time, and even over the line, I could hear the restraint and excitement thrumming in Calvert's tone.
Outside my window, the roses Calvert had planted for me were still in full bloom.
But inside, my heart was a wreck. He'd torn it to shreds, leaving nothing but endless pain.
I slipped on a pair of thornproof gloves and ripped the rose garden apart with my hands.
From the darkest hours of the night until the first light of dawn, the storm inside me finally began to settle.
The housekeeper and butler, who woke up early in the morning, found the place in shambles and went pale with shock.
"Mrs. Gildon, I thought this rose garden was your favorite?" the housekeeper asked, clearly bewildered.
I used to be obsessed with roses. Every single year, Calvert went out of his way to hunt down new varieties from all over the world and plant them for me.
That was how, year after year, this garden grew into what it is now.
But now, I said, "I don't like them anymore."