Chapter 7

"Toby! I need your help! Amara wants to ruin me!" Celeste suddenly called, crying frantically. Tobias immediately instructed his assistant to drive, sitting in the backseat, but the image that surfaced in his mind was of Amara. Who was she really? Why had she changed so drastically? She professed her love for him, yet swiftly moved between different men. Was she truly the vile snake that Celeste described? Whenever he thought about how desperately she wanted to divorce him and be with a sugar daddy, he couldn't help but feel enraged! Each time he thought about how eager she was to divorce him and link up with one of her sugar daddies, he couldn’t help but scoff. How bold of her. First she acted like a love sick puppy, gluing to him like he was the last man on earth, and now, she wanted to get away, ready to live whatever blissful life her sugar daddy could fund. Well, Tobias refused. He wasn’t going to let her get away with it, nor was he going to make the process of their divorce easy. He was going to make every single thing, from head to toe, a process that would make her suffer, make her question why she had gone behind his back and gotten a sugar daddy. But even though Tobias had decided this a little while ago, he still found himself baffled by Amara’s audacity. Scoffing, he muttered. “I knew I shouldn’t have married her in the first place. She had always been a snake since the beginning.” Saying this reminded Tobias of the first time he met Amara. It was during his first year of college. During an exam, he had suddenly gotten a call stating that his grandfather had collapsed due to a heart attack. He of course, dropped everything and rushed to the hospital. By the time he arrived, his grandfather had gotten out of harm’s way and beside him was Amara who claimed to have been around the area during the time of Gustavo’s heart attack and coincidentally helped him. Tobias didn’t bite her lie. Coincidences like that were only heard of in novels, and he knew this. But his grandfather seemed to believe her, even thanking her and inviting her to dinner. During dinner, Gustavo had taken a questionable liking to Amara, even going as far as inviting her to stay with them after learning that her parents had passed away and she was currently struggling to pay a bill or two for her recent accommodation. Of course, like a gold digger Tobias thought her out to be, Amara jumped at the opportunity with stars in her eyes. Disgusting, he had thought, not realizing that he had started feeling an unexplainable dislike towards her. That feeling only intensified when Gustavo enrolled her in the same university as he and Celestine and she so obviously started getting in between them both. When he complained to his grandfather, Gustavo’s answer was: “You should get used to her presence, after all, she’s going to be your future wife. She saved my life, this is the least I can do and the least you can also do to show your gratitude.” That broke the camel’s back and thus, began the downward spiral of the relationship between the two. But even at that, Amara still perfectly played her role as his wife. Food, chores, bedly duties, she did them all with a smile on her face, never once complaining about anything. At one point, Tobias nearly admitted that Amara was the perfect housewife that any man would have died for, but then Celestine who had been banished abroad by Gustavo, showed up and informed him of how Amara had manipulated his grandfather into pressuring her to leave his side. This in turn, nearly cost her life, leaving her bedridden in the hospital for four months, luckily, she survived, but not without side effects to her health. After learning of what Amara had done, Tobias felt extremely guilty. It was all because of him that Amara and Gustavo had gone to such length. To atone for it, he met up with Celestine several times to check up on her, nothing more, nothing less. But then one day, he learnt that Amara had someone watch him. She was finally showing her true colors! An insecure fake wife who couldn’t respect her husband privacy! Tobias had thought, angrily. And Amara did not help matters for herself when she sent him that text message on the night of their anniversary. Tobias found himself so angry that he decided to teach her a lesson. A divorce, he thought was the perfect jump scare to have her crumbling, apologizing and begging, but much to his surprise, she took that as a way out to openly mess with her sugar daddy. Just the thought had Tobias’s blood boiling, because not only was his pride hurt, his ego too. “A snake would always be a snake, no matter how many times it sheds it’s skin.” He muttered and felt the car slow to a stop. “We’ve arrived, Mr. Larsen.” Dean informed from the front seat before rushing out to hold the door open for him. Tobias stepped out of the car and made his way towards the direction where Celestine’s apartment was located. This was going to be a lot of work to cover up, he knew. His reputation was important for the company, but he couldn't ignore Celestine. She had come to London all alone because of him, which led to her miserable life. He had to be there for her at all times. Pushing his way inside, Tobias ignored the shocked expression the landlord had as she noticed his presence. He headed straight for the blonde who sat on one of the couches, brown blanket wrapped around her trembling shoulders as she watched some of the officers carry out their jobs. "Celeste," Tobias stepped forward and asked, "What happened? Why did you mention Amara?" Celeste looked hesitant, but eventually spoke up. "Toby, promise me you won't get angry at Amara." He frowned. "Get angry at Amara? Why?" Celeste glanced at the officers, then lowered her voice. "A few days ago, a scandalous post appeared on social media. The post contained malicious rumors about you and me having an affair." She paused, swallowing the lump in her throat, seeming reluctant to say the next sentence. "I believe the only person with a reason to do this is your wife, Amara." Tobias saw the photo on the screen of Celeste in his embrace. It was from their sixth wedding anniversary when he was comforting Celeste after she was photographed. That day, Celeste said she had been feeling depressed lately. Her leg was injured, leaving her without work. She knew her leg injury was because of his grandfather, so out of guilt, he rushed over. Amara sent him this photo and made threats. He didn't pay attention then because he hadn't done anything to wrong Amara. Now, she wanted to use this photo to ruin Celeste and him! She was truly too naive! "Toby, what are you going to do?" Celeste probed. "I think if you announce your marriage has long been broken, I believe the public will understand you. Public opinion will be on your side." "No! Celeste! I won't get divorced!" Tobias stood up angrily, gritting his teeth. "Amara! I won't let you have your way!" Tobias didn't see the malice in Celeste's eyes as she clenched her fists. She had to make Amara disappear.