Di•vorce

Di-vorce {II}

She inhaled sharply. When was the last time she had seen in something other than his tux? She wondered. Or when was the last time his eyes had showed any sort of emotions? She was completely shocked. He almost looked…normal.

She had been so into taking in his appearance, she didn’t notice that he had spoken. She blinked in surprise, trying to understand what he’d said.

“What?”

He let an impatient sigh slip through his rosy lips and closed his eyes for a fraction of a second. When he opened them back, there was a scowl on his face as he ran his fingers through his silky hair.

“Are you pregnant, Sheila? Yes or No?”

His voice was low and threatening but his eyes revealed the desperation and panic behind his words. She still was speechless for a few moments, before her mind slowly registered his words.

Her first instinct was to lie. It was the easiest way out of it. The divorce would proceed without any complication and they could part ways like nothing ever had happened.

“He wouldn’t even care,” she told herself.

But she knew she couldn’t do it. She wanted to take the right path, not the easiest. How long could she keep this a secret from him before he’d find out? Not too long, that’s for sure. Plus, what kind of a person would she be if she’d keep him away from his own kid? No matter how miserable she felt about the divorce, she couldn’t do this to him.

She dropped her gaze to her lap, where she nervously played with her wedding ring and nodded. He drew in a sharp breath and she looked back up at him. Briefly she wondered how long he had been listening to her rant, before something else caught her attention. His lips, which kept parting and closing, left her completely stunned.

She gaped at him. In the ten years she had known him, she had always admired him for his calmness. He’s always been composed and calm, never showing any emotion, except when it was needed to get something he wanted. She’d fallen for his even-tempered personality, attracted by his mysterious appearance and curious to find out more about him.

The closer she’d gotten to him, the more she had learned about him and the harder she had fallen for him. How surprised she’d been when he told her he wanted her. And slowly she’d met his romantic side; his blunt honesty towards her had gotten her to blush countless times. Over all, his calmness had perfectly compensated her bubbly, yet innocent personality.

But never had she seen him being at a loss for words.

“When?” His question, which was barely audible, snapped her out of her thoughts.

“The Christmas ball,” she answered quietly, lowering her head again.

The Christmas ball, held by the head of his company, had taken place in a huge ball room of a hotel. There had been nothing special about it; in her view it had been just another opportunity for the men to show off their “perfect” family and for the women to silently compete against each other with their dresses and jewelry. She, on the other hand, had cut herself off from everything and everybody and had sat silently in the back of the ball. Much to Aiden’s contentment.

Soon, her old friend Jack, a down-to-earth and friendly man, had joined her. By kindly buying her one drink after another and telling her funny stories, he had made her forget all her sorrows. When Aiden had appeared and wanted to go home, Jack had noticed his tipsy state and had suggested to the couple to take a room upstairs.

The rest of the evening was a blur in her memory. All she could remember was waking up the next morning and seeing him getting dressed before he’d rushed out of the hotel room, mumbling something about a meeting.