RAVENS #1: THE DARKNESS

Chapter 9 - For Nothing

Alyssa Takada

When Liam came home from work, he didn't talk to me. He was still mad at me for going out, and I didn't tell him. I walked into our room and saw him taking off his shirt, and he ignored my presence.

"Have you eaten dinner?" I asked, and silence. He didn't even bother to turn to me, and he walked straight into the bathroom.

When my dad told me to return to New York, I wouldn't say I liked the idea. He was sorry and promised me safety, and I told him I wouldn't be getting any. I told him that I had been considering going back to Tokyo, but he rejected that idea.

Then, one day, he told me that if I returned to New York, I could marry Liam. I agreed immediately, and I didn't know how he made Liam decide. I was just so happy that I got to marry the person that I love.

One thing that I realized after marrying him was I felt safe. I felt so safe around him that I didn't even have trouble sleeping on my first night here. It gave me an unexplainable warmth that made me want to be near him.

Sometimes, knowing that he will never love me back hurts. Knowing that I'll always be his little secret hurts me more.

I ate the food that I cooked in silence.

I washed everything and put all the dishes back in their place. My eyes turned to the time, and it was almost nine pm. I told Liam that I'd be strolling around for an hour. I put it on his nightstand and left.

I walked into Central Park and sat on the bench. Somehow, my hand led me to dial an old friend.

"Alyssa! I miss you!" I smiled, hearing Carrie's cheery voice from the other side of the call.

"I miss you too! How are you?"

"I'm good. It's been two years since we saw each other. I must visit you next month when I'm in New York." I looked up to the sky.

"How's Jay and little Jax?"

"They're amazing. Little Jax is just my little bundle of joy. How about you?" I'm jealous. Carrie and Jay met when we were in college. He fell in love with her after she accidentally slammed a door in his face.

"Do you remember Liam?"

"Yeah, I remember him. He's your first love, right?" I let out a sad chuckle.

"I married him." There's silence between us.

"You married him?" She repeated as if she knew that he never loved me back.

"Yeah."

"Are you happy?"

"I think I'll be happy."

"Alyssa." I let out a chuckle.

"I'll be fine. I swear..." Tears started to fill my eyes.

"Did he mistreat you?"

"No, he didn't. He's okay, but... he's just... he's fine." I was crying like a baby in the middle of the park. People were looking at me.

"Oh, Alyssa.." She stayed on the phone despite only hearing me cry. After ten minutes of calling, "I know I shouldn't be saying this when you love him so much, but you deserve better." I knew she would say it eventually.

Carrie is a good friend, and she's the only person who knows about the incident in Paris. She flew to comfort me and stayed with me for a week to make sure that I was okay. She's always the only friend who will never judge me for everything I do.

I was scared even to tell her that I married Liam. I knew it was a wrong decision, and I didn't want to hear her ranting about it.

"I don't think it's fair. Why he can't love me the way I love him?" I've asked this question to Carrie so many times, and she always answered the same, "You're too good for him when he's an asshole."

"Alyssa, it's his loss that he won't be able to see you that way. Eleven years was enough to prove how much you loved him, and I think it's time for you to move on." She's right, but somehow, I can't find myself loving someone who's not him.

"I want you to be able to live a happy life. I want you to have someone who can love you as much as you can love them. Eleven years was enough to wait."

"What should I do?" I asked.

"You know what to do."

Liam Hastington

I woke up and turned to see if Alyssa was still sleeping or not. The bed was empty, as if she never slept last night. I got up and sighed, ready for another chaos to unveil. I walked out to see Alyssa already waiting for me in the living room.

There were documents on the table, and she smiled at me.

"What is it?"

"A divorce paper." I sat on the sofa, looking at the documents before me.

"I want you to treat me like your wife. A real one for sixty days. We'll go out on dates, we'll spend time together after we work, you'll eat the food that I cook, I'll get to kiss you when I want to kiss you, you'll get to report me about your schedule, and lastly I want you to be faithful to me." Fucking ridiculous.

"Do you think I have the time to play a loving husband?"

"You have to, or I will not give you a divorce. You'll stuck with me for life." She was never the type to give me a cold tone. She looked like she got possessed.

"How will I guarantee I'll get that divorce paper in sixty days? I'm not wasting sixty days just for you to fuck with me."

"I already signed it." She pointed at one of the documents with her signature on it. I grabbed it, and it was signed by her real name, Aeri Takada.

"I'll give it to my divorce lawyer and he will, give it to you in sixty days. I'll be moving to Tokyo after we get a divorce and I'm going to have a restraining order on you." I looked at her ridiculously and she smiled.

"You're doing this for nothing." I put down the file.

"I hope that you're doing this for nothing."