I didn’t know how that young boy handled the situation, but when I saw him again, his body was covered in welts from a belt.
I cried as I asked him if it hurt.
He grinned, revealing a mouthful of bright white teeth. "Saveline, the old man has cut ties with me. From now on, I’m sticking with you!"
It was only later that I found out. He had stolen antique calligraphy and paintings from his father and sold them at a low price.
He took me away from that city where everyone wanted me dead.
He gave me, an orphan with nowhere to go, a home.
Love was supposed to conquer all hardships. In the early days of building our careers, we faced countless struggles together.
But in the end, he rose from being a little boy to a president.
Yet time didn’t just change our circumstances. It changed our love as well.
I didn’t want to take advantage of him and I was willing to give my blessing to his love with Lucia.
If I was destined never to have happiness, then at least the person I once cared about can be happy in my place. That’s enough.
All I asked for now was a peaceful, amicable separation.
After mailing my passport to the address James provided, I stayed home, waiting for his update.
But before any news about my visa arrived, David came first.
"You should get ready. You're coming with me to a banquet tonight."
I was stunned. For years, David and I had even taken separate elevators downstairs, never once sharing a meal in public. What was wrong with him this time?
Seeing that I didn’t move, he spoke arrogantly, "What, are you too excited to react? Look at you, acting like you've never seen the world before."
"I'm not feeling well. I don't want to go. If you need a date, you can take Lucia. Aren’t you two trending as a couple right now?"
I was leaving anyway. I had no intention of getting dragged into their mess.
"Saveline, do you really think you're that important?" David scoffed. "Of course, I will date Lucia. The reason I'm taking you is so your rustic demeanor can make her look even more elegant and pure."
Arrogance was written all over his face.
"Saveline, let's be real here. Just do as I say and I promise I'll never abandon you. This time, your job at the banquet is to act meek and heartbroken. Leave the rest of the negative publicity to the media. Once Diana makes money, I'll reward you with a trip to the Maldiva."
I listened to him quietly, then handed him the divorce papers I had prepared in advance. “David, let’s get a divorce.”
“Saveline, are you getting too full of yourself?” David’s brows knitted tightly together, his arrogance replaced by a sinister glare.
“What’s all this fuss about? So what if I have another woman? Which man doesn’t fool around? As a wife, ask yourself honestly. If you had done your part well, would I have gone looking elsewhere?"
I was so enraged that I laughed. He made cheating sound so justified.
Back in middle school, he and I were strolling through the park when we happened to witness a wife catching her cheating husband with his mistress. The wife’s family had shown up in full force and the hot-blooded teenage David took advantage of the chaos to kick the scumbag a few times along with them.
Even afterward, he was still fuming. "Men who cheat should be physically castrated! They’re the worst kind of trash. Tell me, why isn’t infidelity a criminal offense?"
Now, he had transformed from that young man who despised infidelity into the very thing he once loathed. Not only was he unaware of it, but he also had the audacity to manipulate me, his lawful wife.
It must have been my fault. I must not have been good enough, otherwise, he wouldn’t have gone looking for another woman.
