Chapter Two: Divorce.

It was as though the line had gone dead on the other side. Elena already knew Cecile had never thought she could leave her son. “What did you say?” Cecile asked. “You heard me. Your son and I are on the verge of divorce. You don't need to call me again to scream. I can take it as your daughter-in-law, but when I am no more, you will receive a slap,” Elena said and ended the call. She texted her husband to meet her at a specific location. Seeing that he did not respond immediately, she called him. “If you do not arrive there on time, I will drive to the nearest media house and do an interview,” she said, ending the call. She made her way there. All through the drive-over, she felt empty. When she stepped into the restaurant, her lawyer was waiting inside. He was a lanky, middle-aged man in a sharp dark blue suit. “Miss Hamilton,” he called her, and she smiled. He had never called her Mrs. Mathews since she got married. It was almost as though Daniel didn't exist for him. “Mr. Kent,” she greeted him as they made their way to the second floor. “I am glad you have not corrected me today, miss,” Mr. Kent said, and she smiled lightly while glancing his way but said nothing. What could she possibly say to that? Every time she met him and he mistakenly called her by her maiden name, she would make it a point to correct him. But not today. She was ready to return to her maiden state, even though the nightmare that was Daniel did not exist. When she walked into the restaurant's private room, Daniel was there with his lawyer. When Daniel saw her walk-in in a red suit, he could not help but stare slightly. He had to admit that his wife was quite a beautiful woman. “You are the one who wanted a divorce, but you sure took your time to get here,” Daniel commented. Elena nodded to Mr. Kent, and he handed over the documents to Daniel’s lawyer. “Sign it,” Elena said. “What kind of tantrum is this? I already told you when we got married what you should not expect. I just missed your birthday, and you're throwing a tantrum? Are you a child? Know your place, Elena!” he scolded. “If you do not sign, I will release pictures of your infidelity to the press,” she said, and he scoffed. It was clear he did not believe she had any such pictures. Elena took out her large file holder, opened it, and unloaded the pictures on the floor. As the pictures littered the floor, Daniel caught glimpses of himself and Melanie in precarious situations. “Even if these pictures do nothing to you, they will destroy Melanie. After all, her entire image is about being a religious person. How will her religious fans take it?” Elena asked. Daniel’s face was extremely ugly at this moment. He stared at the pictures and looked up at Elena. “Where did you get these pictures?” Daniel made to step forward, but Mr. Kent stopped him with a sentence. “Whatever you are about to do, Mr. Mathews, please consider that you will be sued,” Mr. Kent said, and Daniel paused. He recalled that he was the only one in the room with Elena. “At the very least, tell me where you got these photos. Have you been stalking us?” he asked, and Elena raised a brow. Did you tell your wife that you were seeing another woman? She almost felt like laughing. If he took a look at the pictures, he would be able to tell who took them. But as for who sent them, well, she knew he was blind to people’s true nature, and he was not one to believe her words either, so why say it? Would he believe that it was Melanie herself who had been sending this to her for the past three years of their marriage? She did not think he would. She knew him enough to know that he would not. She almost rolled her eyes at his anger. She pushed the divorce papers on the desk closer to him. “Sign it,” she said, and he held himself and angrily penned down his name. He had read that she didn't want anything from him and felt like scoffing. This woman was a social climber? If she was not already tired of her, he would have been curious enough to try and find out what game she was playing. Elena took the divorce papers back and signed her name before handing them to Mr. Kent. “There is nothing I regret more than the day I met you, maybe second only to the day I married you,” Elena said, and Daniel’s face darkened. “I wish you no happiness. I hope everything you place your hand on fails,” she spat and walked out of the room with Mr. Kent. She thanked Mr. Kent, who assured her that he would get everything finalized quickly. She thanked him before entering her car and leaving. Elena arrived home to the sounds of laughter emanating from the living room. She'd heard this sound long enough to know who they were. She walked into the living room to find Cecile and Melanie ordering staff around. When Elena saw the sight, she felt like laughing. The ink on her divorce papers was not dry, and the mistress has made herself at home. “That thing said she is divorcing Daniel,” Elena heard Cecile say. “Divorce? Why? I thought they were fine; did something happen?” Melanie said it in this sickeningly sweet voice that made Elena’s skin crawl. Anyone who did not know the story would have thought she was concerned for herself and Daniel. It was as though she was not the one who had sent her intimate pictures of herself and Daniel all these years. “What a bowl of shit! That social climber who essentially begged to join our family and then abandoned ship? I don’t believe it,” Cecile said. “It is good if they figure out their issues,” Melanie said. “She is just throwing a tantrum. She must be stupid. Does she think doing this will make my son look at her?” Cecile said. Elena was accustomed to hearing such words. They were nothing new. Cecile was the one to say something to her face. Every day, she finds a reason to mock Elena. “Cecile, maybe we should not say this. It will hurt her feelings,” Melanie said, and Elena almost rolled her eyes. This snake is in plain sight. Even a deaf person could tell she was not sincere. She used to wonder if Cecile and Daniel were blind or maybe deaf. Why else would they be unable to see that this girl never meant well? Elena scoffed lightly. If she had not wanted to leave this house quickly, she could have taken her time to deal with this snake. “Who cares if her feelings are hurt?” Cecile asked, “Melanie, you are too nice for your good. If you and Daniel did not have that misunderstanding, where would she have seen the space to insert herself into our family?”