Chapter 1
Prologue
“Enzo, what did I do to deserve this?” Alaria asked, looking at her husband with wide eyes as she walked inside his office. She put the file that contained the divorce papers on his desk in front of him, shaking her head in question as she did.
Alpha Enzo didn’t bother flinching nor look up from the paper that he was reading for the business deal that he wanted to make. The one thing to indicate that he was aware and annoyed of her presence was the fact that he clenched his fist around the pen that he was holding.
“I tried to stop her from coming in, Alpha, she refused…”
“Get out, Matias,” Alpha Enzo said, stopping his beta from saying another word. The lawyer was already outside, waiting for them, and seeing the beta walk out of the room, he knew to give the husband and his wife the privacy that they needed to sort things out.
“How much do you want?” He asked, making the woman frown.
“Enzo, do you think that I am asking for your…?”
“How much do you f**king want to sign these divorce papers?” He asked, stopping the woman. He looked up at her for the first time, and the woman, his wife, the wife whose been married to him for nearly three years, and she saw his disgust and hate in his eyes. The pain that she had in her eyes was one that he saw, but he didn’t care nor did he bother.
“Enzo, what did I do to deserve this? At least explain to me why you want a sudden divorce.” She said, looking at the man as she tried processing what he was asking her.
“A million.”
“This is not a bargain that I am going to make, Alpha.” She said, glaring at the man. Her stomach ached, and she was forced to calm herself down, reminding herself that she needed to stay calm. That what she was doing would be more harmful to her than it would be beneficial.
“Two.”
“Enzo, I have my own money and do not need yours to sign a stupid piece of paper. But I deserve to know why you want me to sign it when I was…”
“You know well enough that you don’t have the liquidity that I can give you. Therefore, do not act as if you do.” He said, stopping her. Her heart raced, and the man stood from his chair, his eyes harder than ever at the woman that had her eyes welling up with tears.
Her hands shook, and though she knew that he was right, the last thing that she was going to do was allow him to insult her with money. It was something that she was against, and that was something that he knew.
“I never cared about the money. You of all people should know that…”
“Good, then you are going to sign this paper without giving me much of a fuss. And considering your ‘loyalty’ and ‘devotion’; five million dollars would be wired to your account once the paper is signed.” He said, making the woman’s breath get caught in her throat. “That should be enough to get you started with whatever path you intend to take, and I expect that to be enough for you to stay away from the press and their questions.”
Alaria stayed quiet, not saying a word for a few seconds before she wrapped her arm around herself. Her heart raced and for the first time since their marriage, she found herself falling in a situation that she wouldn’t wish upon her enemy.
“It is because of her, isn’t it?” She asked, looking up at the man. His eyes hardened, and it was as if mentioning her was the greatest sin that she could have committed. He didn’t respond, but she knew that she didn’t need him to.
Her lips quivered and she looked at the file. She took a deep breath, noticing that her stomach was already hurting her, before she looked at the pen that was in front of the man.
“Can I please have a pen?” She asked, stopping her tears from falling. The man raised an amused eyebrow, clearly impressed that he managed to get what he wanted. But to her, she knew that it was not worth the fight. She tried, but it didn’t work, he didn’t want it to. C0pyright © 2024 Nôv)(elDrama.Org.
He handed her the pen and she grabbed the paper, shakily signing it before putting the pen on top of the file.
“See, it wasn’t that hard, was it?” He asked, mocking her. “The money is going to be sent to your account in a few minutes. With this signed and it being a mutual agreement, everything can end in one sitting.”
She didn’t respond, instead, she took a step back as she walked out of the man’s office. He kept his eyes on her, watching as he heard her heels clicking on the floors of the villa. The lawyer, Mr. Baldwin and Matias walked inside, and the beta shook his head in question.
“Wire her five million dollars, and you can start the processing the divorce.” Alpha Enzo said, looking at the lawyer who nodded. “And you, Matias, tell Katherine that she is going to come home soon. Let her and Alonso be ready. Until then, I want eyes on Alaria. The last thing that I need is for her to go and speak to the press about this, and I want it done without my parents finding out. You know, the last thing that we need is for them to get in the way of this…”
Alaria walked out of the house, lost in the number of thoughts that she had in her mind before her phone vibrated inside her pocket. She knew that it was unwise of her to walk out of the house with nothing but her phone with her, but at this point she didn’t care. She just wanted to be out of the house.
She put a hand on her stomach, sniffing for a second, fisting the shirt that she was wearing, squeezing it tightly before she loosened her grip as she looked at the message that she got. He wired the five million dollars to her.
“You know, baby,” she said, speaking to their unborn child. She ran her hand over her stomach as she looked at the phone. “One thing that your father fails to understand is that loyalty can never be bought. But I promise you that I am going to do my best to be the mother that YOU deserve. For now, I believe that it is our fate to accept this…”