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Joel seemed to shrink into his skin as he turned to Mark. His brows furrowed in
confusion, “Dude, I thought we were best friends? I thought you’d always have
my back.” His said with disbelief.
“We are best friends and I would always have your back,” Mark replied indiffer-
ently then he shrugged and tucked his hands into his pocket. “But she’s my wife and trust me, I’m not supporting anyone.”
“So you’re just going to stand there and let your wife bully us like that?” Joel murmured with a still disappointment in his eyes.
“Are you just going to let my wife bully you like that?” Mark retorted calmly, his brows arched, leaving Joel speechless as he gaped at him. Mark shrugged, “What? Am I supposed to be your b*dyguard or something?
Joel’s words came out with frustration as he lashed out, “I’m holding back be- cause of you!”
Please, spare me,” I confronted him in disdain. “Don’t be a coward now. Treat me just as you did Grace. Let your whore showcase her claws and scratch my face like the savage she truly is.”
Joel’s jaw tightened visibly as his gaze shifted to someone behind me, proba- bly towards Mark.
I heard a deep, exasperated sigh emanate from behind me, followed by the weight of Mark’s hands settling on my shoulders. I shrugged his hands off but they clung firmly as he refused to let go. “Sydney, please,” his voice pleaded.
As he stepped in front of me, he gestured towards Joel’s head with a subtle nod. “Take a look at his head.”
I reluctantly did, turning to look at Joel’s head and I saw that the wound that I in-
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flicted on his head seemed to have stopped bleeding as he was no longer
clutching it in pain.
I guess I did not hit him hard enough. I just wanted to witness him and his de- spicable mistress sprawled unconscious on the floor. I yearned to make them. feel the agony and misery they had put Grace through.
“He’s learned his lesson,” he implored, his voice soft but firm. “He’s paid the
price. Please, forgive him.”
He shook my shoulder when I remained silent, refusing to give in to his patron- izing tone.
“Come on, Sydney,” he urged coaxingly. “We’re all friends here. Let’s resolve this among ourselves. There’s no need to escalate things further.”
I scoffed incredulously, “Good friends? Mark, did you genuinely just claim I’m good friends with them?” I erupted: “He may be your friend, but he’s certainly not mine. My true friend lies in a hospital bed because of the sheer cruelness of your so–called friend!”
I turned to Joel, “Don’t even think you can get away with this just because you think you can make Mark control me,” I asserted, locking eyes with him, “Start- ing tomorrow, I’m putting an end to this marriage and I’ll cease to be his wife. Get your lawyer ready because I would take legal action against you and that woman!”
“You just broke a bottle over my head!” Joel exclaimed, his eyes moving be- tween Mark and me. “Yet you still want to sue even after these?” He gestured to his injured head and Sandra’s bruised face.
Mark’s iron grip tightened around me, roughly compelling me to face him. His intense gaze bore into mine, demanding answers as he blatantly ignored Joel. “What nonsense are you spouting now? You think you can just decide to cease being my wife? Since when did I agree to sign divorce papers?”
And just like that, the calm and coaxing Mark was gone.
I
I forcefully pulled away from his grasp, rubbing my wrist where his fingers had
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clenched around “I heard your conversation with your mother,” I retorted icily, meeting his glare with equal fervor. “I know you’re only holding onto this mar- riage because you’re afraid of losing your grandmother’s shares. It’s the only rea- son why you have refused to sign the divorce papers,” I spat out.
His expression hardened as he strode over and seized my hand once more, his grip even tighter than before. “We’re going home,” he growled out through
clenched teeth
“Let go! I am not going anywhere with you!” I fought against his hold and tried
to break free from his hold.
“I’ll explain everything to you once we’re home. Stop causing a scene and let’s
go,” Mark said frustratedly. I could see he was fighting to stay calm as he was
before. His voice was a bit louder than mine nonetheless.
“Home? That’s your home, okay? It’s your home, not mine,” I jabbed a finger to- ward the door. “I’m not going anywhere with you, and I don’t want to hear your fabricated explanations!”
“Sydney,” he frowned.
“What’s the difference between you and Joel anyway?” I sneered at them both, “You’re both selfish, cheating, betraying deceivers! It’s no surprise you ended up
as friends!”
Mark’s face darkened even more. “I’ve already told you, Sydney, I didn’t sleep with Bella. I didn’t betray our marriage!”
“See? You’re even a liar on top of it all,” I accused. His hand ran through his hair in a gesture of frustration, his other hand resting on his hip. He began to speak, but he stuttered, his voice sl*pped stupidly in his throat like he was trying to find the right words. “I didn’t sleep with-”
He paused, his eyes resting on me then with a shake of his head. He tried again. “I didn’t sleep w-” he started, then stopped and his sentence hung unfin- ished in the air.
Finally, he let out a frustrated sigh. Then his eyes met mine in defiance, “The al-
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imony fee,” he stated firmly, “Unless you pay me in full, you wouldn’t dare to men- tion divorce! It’s our agreement.” He lifted a daring brow, “Or would you rather we take this to court? They can attend to this case after attending to the one be- tween you and Joel.”
“Your million dollar break–up fee? Of course I remember!” I yelled in his face.
In a frenzy, I rummaged through the depths of my bag. My fingers fumbling through the different items until they found the familiar shape of my card. I brought it out and threw it towards Mark, the card fell to his feet and his eyes shifted from it to me. “What’s this?” He muttered, his eyes narrowing.
“Take it,” I urged and I suddenly felt my heart twitch with hurt as memories of all the events that had built up to this moment flooded my mind. Then it mor- phed into anger when I remembered the conversation between him and his
mom that I had overheard.
“There’s a million dollars in that card. It’s all yours.”
Mark stared at the card in utter shock and I was sure I saw something close to hurt as well.
“You think money can just buy your way out of this, Sydney?” he spat.
“I’m not buying my way out of anything,” I retorted, “It’s the alimony you request- ed for and that’s it! Now get your damn signatures on the papers and let’s forget this marriage ever happened.”
Mark stood frozen in disbelief.
I satisfactorily took step back to widen the distance between us before turning and descending the short flight of stairs.
I turned back at the last step.
“And I hope Mr. Mark Torres will keep to his words,” I added as I clutched the railing, “Sign the divorce papers by tomorrow, Mark.”
***
Luigi watched, on the screen, as Sydney’s figure turned hotly on her heel and
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stormed out of the bar.
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“Took them long enough,” Luigi muttered, his words bouncing off the walls of
the dim office room he sat in.
He watched, amused, as Mark stood there, stunned as he gazed down at the
card Sydney had thrown at him.
He chuckled to himself while watching the screen, the dummy had thought a million dollars would stop her? f**king hilarious.
He knew he had done the right thing when he installed those cameras in the bar after he bought it. He could get jailed for this but it was worth the risk after
all.
Without taking his eyes off the screen, his hands blindly searched the clus-, tered desk for his device. He eventually found it. Begrudgingly, he dragged his eyes from the screen and scrolled through his recent calls logs.
“Boss, there’s good news.” His grinned, “They’re officially getting divorced.”
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