Chapter 3:
POV : Arrabella
A suffocating silence spread between us.
The plastic folder in my hand still hung in the air, becoming an invisible barrier separating my world from Michael’s.
“You... want a divorce?”
Michael’s voice was low, almost like a whisper trapped in his throat.
He stared at me with eyes that were gradually darkening. There was a flash of unfamiliar anger in them, something I had never seen during the three years we had lived together under the same roof.
“Yes,” I replied softly but firmly, without looking away. “Isn’t this what you want the most?”
Michael snatched the folder from my hand with a rough jerk.
His breathing became uneven.
Instead of calmly opening the documents, his fingers tightened around the papers inside.
“Michael? What’s wrong?” Sophia whispered anxiously.
Her slender fingers reached for his arm, but he brushed her away without even looking at her.
I froze.
My eyes widened as I watched the documents I had painstakingly signed at the Civil Registry Office that morning being destroyed in Michael’s hands.
He crushed them into a wrinkled ball and threw them onto the floor without hesitation.
“What are you doing, Michael?!” Dona cried out from the sofa, rising to her feet with a shocked expression.
“I’m asking you, Ara!”
Michael stepped forward, closing the distance between us until I could smell his masculine cologne—an oddly familiar scent mixed with something foreign.
“Who gave you permission to go to the Civil Registry Office? Who allowed you to make such a foolish decision?”
I took a step back, trying to suppress the strange pounding in my chest.
I was confused.
Why was he so angry?
Hadn’t I already cleared the way for him to be with Sophia?
Why did he look like a wounded lion instead?
“Why are you angry?” I asked, my voice trembling from the pain I was trying to suppress. “My role is over, Michael. Sophia is back. The agreement from three years ago to save your family’s reputation after the wedding was canceled... has been fulfilled.”
“My role?”
Michael let out a harsh scoff.
His jaw tightened until the muscles in his neck stood out.
“You think this marriage is some kind of contract that you can end whenever you want?”
“Michael, darling, what’s wrong?”
Sophia interrupted.
Her fashionable face had gone pale and was filled with confusion.
She stared at the shredded papers on the floor in disbelief.
“Why did you tear them up? Wasn’t... wasn’t this what we talked about last night? We can be together again.”
Michael paid no attention to Sophia’s complaints.
His sharp, eagle-like gaze remained fixed on my face.
“Listen carefully, Ara. I will never divorce you. Not today, not tomorrow, and never.”
“Why?!”
My voice rose an octave, no longer able to contain the pressure burning inside my chest.
I pointed at Sophia with a trembling finger.
“Isn’t she the woman you love? Hasn’t your heart always belonged to her? Then why are you keeping me here? As a decoration? As a shield again?”
Michael remained silent.
His lips pressed into a tight line, unwilling to offer a single logical explanation for why he refused to let me go.
His absolute arrogance only made me feel more disgusted.
Just as he took another step closer, my eyes landed on the lipstick stain on his collar.
My chest tightened even more.
My head suddenly spun as last night’s phone call replayed in my mind.
The lingering heat of the night.
The satisfaction after reuniting.
Everything was vividly painted before me.
They had slept together last night, and now this man stood before me, refusing to divorce me without giving a clear reason.
How selfish.
“You disgust me, Michael,” I whispered.
The tears I had been holding back finally fell, warm against my cold cheeks.
“You came home carrying another woman’s mark on your body, and now you stand here forbidding me from leaving? Where is your conscience?”
Michael frowned and instinctively touched his collar.
A flash of panic crossed his eyes, but it was quickly replaced by a cold, expressionless face.
“Ara, you don’t understand what really happened—”
“Then what happened?!” I challenged, taking a step forward despite my fear.
“Tell me! What reason do you have for refusing to sign those papers? Which room should I prepare for the two of you in this house before you’re finally satisfied?”
“Enough, Ara! Don’t push my anger any further!”
Michael’s roar echoed through the living room.
“Michael! Watch how you speak to your wife!”
Felix Siauw Cooper finally spoke.
He rose from the sofa with commanding authority and fixed his son with a warning stare.
Dona quickly walked toward us and deliberately positioned herself between us, blocking Michael’s view of me.
Then she glanced at Sophia, who was still standing there with a mixture of irritation and confusion on her face.
“That’s enough. Let’s put an end to this meaningless argument,” Dona said coldly.
Her eyes settled on Sophia with a clear message for her to leave.
“Sophia, go home. This is a matter between my son and daughter-in-law. Let the two of them talk and settle this without outside interference.”
“But, Aunt Dona—”
Sophia tried to defend herself, her face flushing red with embarrassment at being politely dismissed.
“I said leave, Sophia Muller,” Dona cut in, leaving no room for argument.
Sophia stomped her foot in frustration and looked at Michael as though demanding his help.
But Michael did not even glance at her.
His eyes remained fixed on me from behind his mother’s shoulder.
With obvious reluctance and a sour expression, Sophia finally turned around and hurried out of the Cooper residence, the sharp clicks of her high heels echoing harshly behind her.
After the front door closed firmly behind her, Dona turned to look at me before shifting her gaze to her husband.
“Dad, let’s wait upstairs in the study. Let them straighten out this mess in their heads.”
Felix nodded slowly.
He briefly patted Michael’s shoulder with a heavy hand, as though delivering a silent warning, before following his wife upstairs.
Now the living room was silent again.
Only Michael and I remained, accompanied by the torn pieces of the divorce papers scattered across the marble floor like the remains of shattered hopes.
I took a deep breath, wiped my tears away with the back of my hand, and looked directly at the man who had bound my life for the past three years.
“Don’t keep me here if my presence only brings me pain, Michael. Separation is the best thing for both of us. You get your freedom, and I... I can start rebuilding my broken life.”
Michael stood motionless.
His clenched fists at his sides slowly loosened, but the look in his eyes did not soften in the slightest.
A long silence crept between us once again, thick and suffocating.
He kept his mouth tightly shut, refusing to reveal the reason behind his illogical refusal.
“I don’t care what you say, Ara,” Michael finally replied.
His voice was cold, flat, yet absolutely unquestionable.
He turned his back on me and started walking toward the staircase without another glance.
“I still won’t divorce you.”
I stared at his broad back as it slowly disappeared around the bend of the stairs, my heart growing colder with every second.
The storm inside this house had only just begun.
***
