"No."
Monique rose unevenly to her feet. "Why?"
"Because you would've tried to stop—-"
"Of course I'd fucking try to stop you!"
Monique's scream caught her father off guard, and the older man began to wonder if he had ever known his daughter at all.
Andreus rose to his full height, his form rigid with tension. "I will always be grateful—-"
"I don't want you to be grateful," Monique cried out. "I want you to want me, and not that stupid Greek slut—-"
"Enough!"
Hearing her father's thunderous voice slash into the air had Monique snapping back to her senses, and she realized too late that she had inadvertently revealed the darkness that she had tried so hard to hide all these years from her father and everyone else.
"I was hoping you would tell me you had no idea about Andreus' past," Andrew said coldly, "but your words clearly imply otherwise."
"F-Father, I—-I—-"
The older man's slammed a fist down on his desk, and Monique could only flinch at her father's unprecedented display of anger.
"There are only two things I need you to do." Andrew jabbed a finger at the sheaf of papers on his desk. "Our lawyers have already filed for divorce on your behalf. Andreus has already signed the documents, and you will do so as well."
"B-but—-"
"Secondly, you will sign an NDA regarding your marriage—-"
"I have nothing to hide," Monique protested. "Why must I—-"
"Have you no sense of shame left?" Andrew growled.
"But Andreus—-"
"Fail to do either, and you may consider yourself disinherited."
All her life, her father had indulged her every whim, and so Monique could hardly believe that he was now giving her such an ultimatum. She considered pleading her case, but one look at her father, and she knew he would never give in.
"You may be tempted into thinking that you can survive without my money," Andrew warned coldly, "but let me tell you right now that if you walk out of this office without your signature on those papers, there is no going back."
Tears of resentment blurred her vision as she forced herself to sign both documents, and she could feel her hatred growing by the second.
What did that bitch have that she didn't? Why couldn't Andreus choose her over that slut? Why couldn't he just fucking see that she would always be better than that nobody?
Andreus wasn't surprised to hear angry footsteps following him as soon as he had stepped out of Andrew Pratt's office.
"You're happy, aren't you?"
The bitterness in Monique's tone had his steps slowing to a stop, but what Andreus didn't expect was the way she was prepared to slap him as soon as he turned.
A thin red line slowly materialized on his flesh, and Monique bit back a gasp when she realized the diamond glittering from her wedding ring had cut into his cheek.
"Oh my God, I'm so sorry, Andreus." She moved forward unthinkingly, but Andreus stepped back before she could touch his face, and the way he had swiftly avoided her touch had all her ugly feelings rushing back to the fore.
Her arm fell back against her side, and all she could think of was how to hurt him as much as he was hurting her, with the way he kept choosing that stupid Greek slut over her.
"I'm sorry about all of this," Andreus said quietly. "If I hadn't agreed to get you involved, you and your father would never have fought."
He turned and walked away, and Monique's hands were shaking as she retrieved her phone from her purse. C'mon, c'mon, there has to be something, something I can do to hurt him. He's mine, mine, mine. He can't be happy with anyone else—-
And then she saw it.
A quick scroll through the notifications that had popped up on her phone, and vengeance had never tasted sweeter as she called out in a tremulous voice. "Andreus?"
Monique's tears, which she had much practice summoning at will, were already running down her cheeks by the time he turned to face her.
"Was she...was she there at the meeting this morning?"
"Why do you ask?"
"Please just answer me."
Andreus slowly nodded, and the expression of pity that shadowed Monique's gaze had him stiffening.
"I'm so sorry, Andreus." Monique handed Andreus her phone with feigned awkwardness. "I know you'd never admit it to me, but I know a part of you was hoping she'd accept your past." A vicious sense of triumph blazed through her blood at the way Andreus flinched. "Didn't she promise she'd stay and stick it out?" Monique whispered. "So why was she spotted in a flight to Tokyo right after your meeting?"
Chapter Nine
News of Monique's lawyers filing for their divorce spread like wildfire, and the way every write-up described Monique as the victim and Andreus the asshole who took advantage of her had Andrew Pratt's handprint all over it. The older man's method for damage control should've probably pissed him off, but the only thing Andreus felt was relief.
It had never felt right, being married to another woman, and regardless of how things would turn out from this point, it was a mistake he would never care to repeat.
Helios: Where the hell are you?
The President and the others had been texting him nonstop since this morning; they all wanted him back in Amaryllis Plantation with them to ensure his privacy. But Andreus didn't feel he deserved his family's protection, considering the havoc he had already caused...and it could only get worse from here.
In the end, Andreus opted to check in at the most expensive hotel in the city, and it was when he was alone in his suite that he was no longer able to resist the temptation of searching for the latest news about her.
Hallie.
His guts twisted as he forced himself to look up the latest photos the Internet had of her, and indeed they were all of Hallie lining up to fly out of Corpus Christi, and later on arriving at Haneda Airport in Tokyo.
He had no fucking doubt that she had meant every word when she told everyone last night she meant to stay, and it had been why Andreus also felt he hadn't any choice but to make the truth clear to her and everyone else.
He was past saving, and there was no changing that.
While waiting for room service to deliver what would only be his first meal of the day at five in the afternoon, Andreus switched the TV on and typed the name of the only YT channel he was subscribed to.
The channel's most recent video had been uploaded just a week after his wedding to Monique; while he had already lost count of the number of times he had watched this, Andreus also knew that it was something he wouldn't tire of watching again and again.
The title sequence of the video was short but lovely: an overhead view of a wide wooden table with a distressed finish, with gossamer lines of blues and greens bringing life to its matte white surface. Clicking sounds of typewriter keys soon followed, and words tumbled into view one letter at a time.
AG | HM
Week 39: Journal with Me
The video then transitioned to the next sequence. It was still the same distressed desk, but this time with a leather-bound traveler's notebook lying flat open on the center and a couple of stationery supplies scattered around it: a set of Chamil Garden washi tapes, a Café Analog stamp, and a tin can of of La Dolce Vita girl stickers.