King's Wife

Chapter 2

"I want a divorce." She blurted out, and it was the last thing he expected her to say. Mia West might look cute and harmless as a kitten, but she went straight for the jugular.

Damian usually liked people who were direct, but she had robbed him of his own words. His finger scratched his brow, assessing the woman sitting in front of him. Her sharp gaze focused on him while biting her lip in rumination.

He leaned back in his armchair, trying to read her thoughts. And she also met his gaze squarely, unflinchingly, while trying to not let him affect her.

It was getting hard for him to believe that this was the same woman he had married. Her clothes screamed efficiency, and the skewed glasses on her slightly wrinkled pert nose gave her the look of a librarian that was about to shush you. She didn't look at all hopping mad, though, because God knew she had enough reasons to be upset with him.

The entire duration of their sham of a marriage, he hadn't spoken two words to her. Blind grief and impotent anger drove him all the way to South Africa and kept him there for nearly three years. He had too much to prove, to himself and to his parents.

Moving to Joburg had seemed so imperative then. He needed to go away, and he thought of his aunt and uncle in Johannesburg. However, when he'd left, he hadn't planned to be away for so long.

He remembered that period of his life; the darkness cloying at him, the lethargy and helplessness he had felt. His guilt and remorse cornered him, suppressing all other human emotions. As a result, he hardly recognized the person he'd become. He had never been a bitter or negative person and certainly wasn't so vulnerable to break down and sob like a baby in front of his Aunt Maria.

He changed with time, and so had the woman sitting in front of him. He had fought his demons but still did not know how to deal with Mia. His wife was an innocent casualty in the madness that drove him into desperation for so long. Safe to say, he wasn't going to win any Husband of the Year trophies any time soon.

Mia raised an eyebrow in question as she opened her mouth to say something over his lack of response, but thought better of it and closed it again.

He had a sinking feeling in his stomach, a premonition that he was going to screw this up. Already he was on the backfoot here, even though she was in his office, without knowing he practically lived here.

He hadn't been back in the States for even a month. And all this time went into setting up a subsidiary of his company in a different country, even if it was the one he had grown up in. Setting up a business in a new country, building a client base, operations, procurement, and hiring competent staff was hard work.

Also, the truth was, he had been dragging his feet about meeting her, convincing himself that he would get around to it soon. Damian was still unsure of what there was left for him to say.

He rested his arms across the back of the chair and let out a heavy sigh, feeling blindsided by her declaration that she wanted a divorce.

"I meant to contact you sooner." His voice sounded defensive even to his own ears, and she looked down at her clenched hands but said nothing.

Mia didn't look angry, just... underwhelmed. One more person in his life that he had disappointed.

Her lips pressed in a thin line as she readjusted her dress around her knees before meeting his gaze. "Ok."

That's it? She didn't want to say anything more? But at least she hadn't scoffed her disbelief, he thought, understanding this conversation was only going to get on a more personal level if they proceed further with discussion.