Disconnected √ [edited]

P R E F A C E

"I want a divorce."

Those four words caused Aurelia Bristow to break down. Tears run down her cheeks, her heart shattering into pieces as she processes what her husband has just said. Deep down she knew it was coming. All of the signs were there. The late nights, the lipstick stains on the collar of his lips, the floral perfume of another woman; the list goes on and on. She had hoped rather foolishly that whoever her husband had been messing around with was just a fling. It's clear now that it's not. She should have done something, and yet every time she tried, her mind would go blank.

"What's her name?" Aurelia asks in a hushed voice. "Who was it, Harry?" she asks as she wipes her face with the edge of her sleeve.

"Celia Stephens," he replies coolly. He feels nothing as he watches his wife break down again. He no longer loves her in the way he used to. The only emotion that he can feel as he watches her break down is pity. He doesn't feel guilt, at least not yet. He's sure that'll come later when the divorce actually happens.

"Your secretary?" Aurelia asks, her eyebrows furrowing in confusion. "But I thought she was fired years ago. You haven't seen her in years."

"Where the hell did you get that bit of information?" Harry scoffs. "She's been my secretary for years and she's come over to watch Fynn multiple times. How can you not remember that? How stupid are you?" Aurelia flinches at her husband's harsh words and take a few steps away from him. This isn't the man she married all those years ago. Something's changed in him.

"I-I-" This isn't how she wanted tonight to go. She was going to tell Harry something important, something she can't quite remember, and now it seems like she won't ever be able to. "What about Fynn?"

"What about him?" Harry asks, his eyebrows furrowing.

"O-our son, Harry. What happens to him? Did you even think about him when you were fucking Cecilia?" Aurelia asks angrily.

"It's Celia," Harry seethes, angry that his wife seemed to purposefully get his secretary's name wrong.

"Same fucking thing," Aurelia snaps defensively. She had genuinely thought it was Cecilia, though now that she thinks about it, she realises she was wrong about that.

"Clearly you can't be civil about this so we'll talk in the morning," Harry snaps. His wife doesn't say anything as he pushes past her and storming out of the house. The second she's alone, Aurelia collapses into the chair that she had previously been sitting in and covers her face with her hands. She doesn't even have the strength to cry anymore, she just sits there, numb and exhausted.

"Mum?" Aurelia looks up and sees that Fynn is standing in the doorway of the kitchen. He had woken up to raised voices and a door slamming and he came down to see what was happening. He hadn't expected to see his mother sitting alone, looking broken. Where was his father and why wasn't he comforting her?

"Shouldn't you be asleep?" Aurelia asks as she quickly wipes her drying tears away.

"I heard shouting and I just wanted to make sure that things are okay," Fynn says nervously. He may only be a freshman in high school, but he knows perfectly well what the shouting and the door slamming could mean. An inexplicable rush of fear goes through him and he immediately rushes over to his mother's side.

"Everything's fine, baby," Aurelia says softly. "Your father and I just had a disagreement. You can go back to bed."

"Are you going to be okay?" Fynn asks, not moving from his spot.

"Of course," Aurelia replies while ignoring the guilt that eats away at her because of the lie. "Let's have some hot cocoa before we go back to bed, okay?" Fynn nods slowly and watches anxiously as his mother gathers the ingredients. When she continually grabs the wrong items, he decides to step in and help. He has to remind her where the mugs are and he feels his anxiety rise as he watches her melt chocolate bars with the milk.

"Thanks, Mum," he says when she hands him a mug. The two sit at the dining room table and Aurelia feels her heart break as she thinks about how her family is falling apart. How did she get to this point? When did Harry start seeking pleasure from someone else? Why was she still in love with the man, despite the way he had been treating her for the past year?

[•]•[•]•[•]•[•]

a/n: so I've been wanting to write this for a really long time, and I was inspired when I read this really sad article about divorce/reconciliation. This is going to be another short story because I actually quite like writing them and this is definitely going to be a sad one. Please be sure to tell me what you think!

Below is how I imagine the cast, but you are always welcome to imagine whoever you want.

Nathalie Emmanuel - Aurelia Bristow

Harry Styles - Himself