Justin couldn't sleep the entire night soundly. He really envied James, who was snoring lightly all through the dark while he was just tossing and turning around. At eight in the morning, he and James finally decided to get up and leave the room. They went towards the kitchen, only to see Emily munching directly from the packet of her cheerios.
"Do you carry this thing everywhere?" James asked her, attempting to grab a few pieces of it.
"Duh-uh," Emily gave him a look but chirped enthusiastically when she saw Fiona.
"Good Morning, best friend."
"Good morning. It seems like you had a great night. How was it with Bob?" Fiona stated.
"Yes, it was nice catching up with him." Emily expressed herself.
Fiona was relieved to see her friend looking happy and calm.
"Bob?" James asked them aloud, clearly curious about this man.
He didn't like the idea of Emily trying to catch up with any guy all night. According to what he knows, Emily's house was directly across the street from Fiona's, and she chose to remain in her own home.
"My dad," Emily told him with a smile. This brought relief to him.
Justin didn't want to waste any more time, so he tried to talk to Fiona once again. "Fio..." His wife, however, interrupted him once more.
"I am going to make a toast for myself. Are you guys okay with it, or do you all want anything else?" Fiona asked them.
"Yes, it will do. I will help you with it." Justin volunteered on behalf of everyone.
"No. That's okay. Emily will help me. You can make yourself at home in the living room." Fiona stated.
Justin groaned in frustration and walked out of the kitchen. Fiona, on the other hand, kept herself occupied with preparing breakfast. She spent the entire day attempting to avoid Justin at all costs. Even when they all were working on their laptops, she kept mum and avoided any interactions with him.
He, however, was getting agitated with each passing minute, and he didn't know how to get Fiona to talk to him. But all hell broke loose when Fiona left them for a few minutes to speak with one of her colleagues on the phone.
Justin's laptop battery died, and he had to send an urgent email to one of his clients, so he decided to borrow Fiona's system for the moment, which was right beside his. When he opened the flap, he was astonished to see that she was looking for work in Seopol.
"What are you doing with my laptop?" Fiona asked him when she saw him with her system.
"Why the hell are you looking for a job here?" Justin's statement made everyone look at her with astonishment.
"Were you spying on me?" She asked him.
Her hands were clenched into fists. "No. I wasn't. Why are you looking for another job?"
"Fiona, please don't tell me you are planning to shift here." Emily stood up from her seat, facing her friend, followed by James.
"I am considering it," Fiona confessed the truth.
"You have got to be kidding. You are taking this too far." Justin told her angrily.
"I am taking this too far? What gives you the right to tell me this, Justin?" Fiona fixed her gaze on him.
"I have got every right, Fiona. I know you are angry, and you have every right to be. But seriously, shifting here is not a solution. We can talk this through." Justin tried to relax his nerves.
"There is nothing more to say." She told him firmly.
"Stop blowing things out of proportion. Let us sort this out and go back home."
"I am blowing this out of proportion? Are you even listening to yourself? I am not your puppet, Justin. When you feel like talking to me, you will talk. When you want to vent out your anger, you will treat me like an invisible person. I am a human too." Fiona finally burst out on him.
"Fi... I know..."
But Fiona was not having it.
"You don't know shit, Justin. You are a self-righteous, arrogant jerk who thinks nothing but about himself. The first time we had a real conversation was after two months of our marriage, and that was because I didn't inform you about my whereabouts. The second time you remotely showed interest in me was when I finally decided to stand up for myself and leave you. All the time when you were doing god knows what, I was the one who had to lie to everyone about our relationship. As for you being the boss, no one ever questioned you or dug up any gossip, but I had to answer everyone. I was in the spotlight. You were not the one who was being called a gold digger. Your credibility was not put into question. No one was judging you. Do you know how many lies I have told or rumors I have heard? For more than two months, I tried to deal with everything alone. I was bloody thrown into your house. Did you even have the courtesy to show me around? Your helper, Grace, helped me find my way there. So don't you bloody tell me you know or understand anything I have been put through."
Fiona was enraged. She had tears welling up in her eyes.
"Fiona, I am terribly sorry. I feel very guilty, but let me at least explain." Justin knew well that he had put Fiona through hell and was ready for his penance.
"No, Justin. I am not interested in hearing any explanation or justification. The night before yesterday was enough for me to make my decision. I am through with this marriage."
This made everyone's eyes widen. None of them envisioned Fiona saying this.
Not even Emily.
"Fi. Please don't. I, at the very least, deserve a chance to put my point across." Justin tried to reason with her.
"You have had your chances. You never gave me a chance, not even as a friend. We could have worked everything out, if not as a couple, then as friends. I know that none of us expected to get married this way, but we could have figured things out, but you ruined that. There were countless opportunities. You had multiple chances, but you just wanted to be far away from me like I was some kind of bad omen."
Justin tried to clear up her misconception. "I never considered you to be a bad omen. You..."
"I am done, Justin. I can't take it any longer. I want a divorce. I will talk to my parents about it, and you are free to handle yours however you see fit. In terms of my employment, I will send you my resignation letter first thing in the morning." Fiona gave her final word.
"No," Justin stated.
"What do you mean no?" She asked him in confusion.
She was giving him a free way out.
"I do not agree to a divorce. You can try to force your resignation on me, but you won't be able to force your divorce decision on me. We are not getting divorced, and I will not accept your resignation." Justin told her firmly.
"Justin, we won't work out. I am giving you a free pass, a clean chit, and a fresh start. I want nothing from you. And things also won't be awkward because I won't be working in the same office. You won't even have a chance of seeing me as I am leaving the city..."
But this time, it was Justin who interrupted.
"I don't bloody care, Fiona. I am not done with you, with us. I know I made a mistake, but we are not getting a divorce. I can't even think about it. This didn't even cross my mind. I refuse." Justin was firm in his decision.
"Well, for all I care, stay married to me. But I am not coming back, and I am going to mail you my resignation whether or not you like it. I am not coming back with you, Justin." Fiona crossed her arms.
"You don't have a choice. You seem to have forgotten that you work for Carter Enterprises." Justin followed Fiona, his arms crossed and folded.
"You cannot play that card."
"As your boss, I can. I cannot stop you from handing over your resignation, but you have to serve your notice period of two months, whether you like it or not. So, unless you want to play the wife card and work from home, you have to come to the office."
Fiona's eyes widened at her husband's words.
"Justin, you won't." She did not expect Justin to put her in this position.
"I did it just now, Fiona. You have to give two months' notice to quit Carter Enterprise, and as our divorce is considered, good luck with that. Because I am not going down without a fight. You are not going to be able to get rid of me that easily." He locked his gaze on her, daring her to challenge him.
Fiona was breathing heavily. She stormed out of the living room and went to her room without responding to him. Emily and James were looking at each other and at Justin. They were lost for words.
"Justin..." Emily had intended to speak with Justin, but he had beaten her to it.
"I don't give two shits if you hate me for it. But I am not giving up on us when we didn't even give each other a chance. I know I am at fault here, but your best friend is making it tough." Justin told her angrily.
"You do care about her, huh?" Emily asked him softly.
"Of course I do, Emily. I wish I had just shown her that." Justin exhaled a sigh. He was distressed.
Both James and Emily had small smiles on their faces.
"Then show her. It is never too late to mend things." James tried to assure his friend.
"I know that, and I have to persuade Fiona of the same," Justin told her, looking up where she stormed a few minutes ago.
"Justin, you hurt her, and I..." But Justin cut off Emily.
"I know that, and unfortunately, I cannot erase or change what happened, but I can definitely try to make things better. Emily, I am going to be completely honest here. I cannot guarantee or promise her the stars and the moon, but one thing which I can assure you of is that I am always going to be there with her physically, mentally, and emotionally. I cannot lose her. But, in order to do so, I will have to work things out with her. If it didn't, then..."
"Then what, Justin?" James questioned him.
"I am afraid that I might just lose her forever, even before being with her."