Chapter 5

SYDNEY'S POV I threw that damn agreement into the shredder," he spat. "I've already canceled an important meeting for you, I can't waste any more time." He hadn't changed one bit. He was still that angry, impatient man I'd left behind who thought the world revolved around him. Rather, “my world”. If he didn't want his time wasted, why the hell did he follow me back there? Whether he threw the documents into the shredder, or burnt them to ashes with a lighter from his study, or kept them somewhere, none of that was my business. I stepped back from the door and stared angrily at his face. "My intention to divorce you is serious and solemn. If you don't accept a divorce by agreement, then I will have to file a lawsuit for divorce. That will only waste more of your “precious” time, Mr. Man!" I made that much clear. At a point, my mind would slide back to think about the man who was probably still hiding somewhere in the house. I was also standing in front of the door and making sure to block Mark from taking a peek inside and seeing something he shouldn't. The case might just escalate further from an ex-couple bickering over divorce documents into something more dangerous. Mark climbed even closer towards the door. But I couldn't move an inch back at that point because it was the furthest I could go in protecting the entrance. But I silently reveled in the fact he was affected that I wasn't stepping away from him anymore. Mark gritted his teeth and said, "I'll say it one last time, whether we divorce or not is not up to you!" He even had the nerve to tell me that I had no say in the matter. That I had no right on my part to break off the alliance? Thanks to Mark, the fear I'd been feeling initially, due to the man from earlier, had now turned into annoyance. How dare he presume to dictate my choices, to deny me agency over my own life? I had tolerated his domineering attitude for far too long, but now I had reached my limit. But I realized sooner that there was no reasoning with him. In fact, I didn't have that much time on my hands either, to spare for arguing with him. Mark would always be stubborn like that. I swallowed hard and bit back the next words I'd intended on hurling at him. Instead, I sighed and asked, "You really want to talk about this?" "Yes, and you're coming with me now!" he demanded. His tone brooked no argument. I stood there for a moment, exhausted and rubbing temples tiredly before reluctantly agreeing, "Fine, if you're so interested in wasting your time talking, why not." After taking a quick glance back into the house and. Not seeing that man anywhere in sight, I thought to myself that stepping out at that time would probably be in our interests. He probably also needed to leave. I walked out of the front door and shut the door behind me. “After you,” I said to Mark. He turned from me with a frown and stepped off the porch, while I followed behind him. I walked slowly behind Mark, who was striding angrily ahead of me, and while he continued to march ahead, my eyes caught a pole lying in the garden close by. It was a simple metal pole, but at that moment, it was the perfect tool I needed. Glancing back at Mark, who was still a few steps ahead of me, I took a deep breath and stepped away from the path to pick up the pole from the ground . The object was quite heavier in my hands than I'd imagined, but that was less of the problem. The problem was right in front of me I began walking behind Mark, the pole held tightly in my hands. I positioned myself right behind him and waited for the perfect time to strike. When he stopped to look at something on his phone, I saw my opportunity, and with all my strength, swung the pole. I hit him hard at the back of his head. I hadn't expected him to get knocked out that quickly. Despite all his bravado, he crumpled to the ground, unconscious after one blow to his head. Look at all that aggression sprawled on the ground with him. After dropping the pole, I went to meet his assistant waiting outside the gate. "Come and take your boss out of my premises," I said. The assistant sat up in the driver's seat. At first, he didn't seem to have understood what I was saying. Then, he looked behind me and sprang out of the car when he saw Mark lying on the floor. "Mr. Torres, Mr. Torres!" he exclaimed, rushing to Mark's side, checking for any signs of consciousness. Mr. Torres was out, unfortunately. Even when the assistant tried to lift Mark up, he was too heavy. But he eventually was able to lift Mark over his shoulders and carry him away. Mark’s hands dangled ridiculously over the man's shoulders. With some effort, the assistant managed to shove Mark's body into the backseat of the car. Then he returned to me after closing the door . “Mrs Torr—” I held out my hand to silence him. “A new lady will soon inherit that title, please call me Miss Turner. Also, tell your boss that I will resend him a divorce agreement, please sign it as soon as possible, so we don't waste each other's time." The assistant nodded with the kind of expression that said, ‘I don't mean to get involved’. He turned after a curt bow. "Have a good day," I said into the wind after him as he settled into the car with his boss and started the engine. I waited until the car had zoomed off into the distance before I finally turned away from there. And when I saw my front door again and remembered who was still waiting inside, the tension and fear that had left me earlier, returned. At first, I thought to myself. Should I just take this opportunity to run away? But something held me back, I didn't know what. I kept on walking to the door. I pushed the door open after a deep breath and stepped inside. But I didn't go too far from the door, only using my eyes to search around for any signs of him. But he was nowhere. I walked even further into the house and looked around a bit more dedicatedly. He really was gone. I wouldn't have been able to explain the relief that descended on me right there and then, as well as the immediate anger that someone had actually come into my house despite the tight and expensive security. Angrily, I marched to the landline and dialed the number for the security company. "I need to upgrade the security system for my villa," I snapped as soon as I reached the other end, not bothering to sound friendly. "Villa number 27, in the hills. Your security system failed me tonight, and I won't tolerate it any longer. My life was in danger just moments ago." The operator on the other end of the line was saying something but I was already too annoyed to listen patiently. "We apologize for any inconvenience, ma'am," the operator apologized, "We will send a team to upgrade your security system as soon as possible." I gave them my villa number again. "I expect your team to be here first thing in the morning,” I added and hung up the phone with a frustrated sigh. The events of the evening had rattled me already in a matter of minutes. Just when I thought I could finally rest, my phone rang. I glanced at the caller ID and sighed. It was my dad. I answered the call reluctantly. "You must come to my birthday party this weekend with Mark!" Dad's voice roared through the phone, and before I could respond, he hung up. I rolled my eyes in speechless frustration. Dad had always been adamant about me being with Mark, despite my repeated attempts at showing how much I hated it. I pulled out my phone, opened the call log, and found my dad's number. With a firm press of my finger, I brought up the options menu and selected "Block Number." A confirmation message popped up, and I tapped "Confirm." The number disappeared from my contacts; outrightly banished from my phone. I dropped the phone on the couch, sank down to the floor, my back against the soft cushions and rested my head tiredly on the arm of the couch. Despite how angry and upset I was, I knew I still had to go back for a visit this weekend. It was dad's birthday, and it wouldn't be the perfect opportunity to announce my divorce from Mark. They needed that I was really serious about outing myself from it all.