This was it, he thought as we walked into the familiar parlor of his home, this is when life starts. He had been waiting for this moment almost his entire life. It had been a process, for everything has process, but he had been building up to this moment since the second she had said "I do." After trying for months, he knew there was something particularly special about this evening, he hoped it was the news he had been looking forward to for years.
There she was, sitting on the arm of her floral chair perched perfectly as if gravity did not affect her at all. Her pale blonde hair was stacked upon her head in ringlets, a few cascading down the side to gently whisper against her neck as the flames held in the grand fireplace flickered upon her ivory skin. She was, in fact, the most beautiful creature he had ever laid eyes on and the truth that she would be forever his still stole his breath away. He opened his mouth to greet her, but before he could make a sound she was already speaking.
"There is stack of paperwork for you on the desk." She said smoothly, her eyes still not turned onto him. He hesitated, but floated toward the cherry wood surface anyways, his hands rifling through the pages.
The man looked sourly down at the papers after a moment, his eyes flicking to the woman who sat at the other end of the room. She wasn't looking at him but instead staring into the crackling fire with eyes burning as brightly as the flames themselves, her beautiful face expressionless. He could tell she was blocking him out, however, by the way her jaw clenched a little too tightly to be comfortable. His heart slammed into his chest by the sight of her, and he looked nervously back down to the papers.
His gray eyes raked over the ink scrawl quickly, his hands flinching and gathering perspiration as the words raced through his clouded mind. "What is this?" he finally said out loud, his voice slicing through the silence of the room like a sharpened blade though he had no intention to sound angry.
"Divorce papers." She said flatly without looking at him, her own voice carrying through the room like a soft melody. She had a way with speaking that drew him in on every word, as if every sentence was carefully crafted to caress his very soul. He blinked, putting the papers down with a stiff hand and pursed lips. No, this wasn't right. She could not possibly be divorcing him. She had every thing she could ever want, a perfect life with lots of jewelry and hand sewn corsets in whatever color she desired. She was the envy of the town, the woman with the perfect life and a loving husband-how on earth could this be true?
"If this is a joke-" The man started, with a shake of his head though he could feel his heart pound inside his chest and his mouth go dry.
"It isn't." She reassured in the same empty tone, this time turning her burning orange eyes to stare into him. "You know what little tolerance I have for games."
"A divorce?" He choked out, suddenly feeling very weak in the knees. "But-but why?" He stuttered under her gaze, feeling small and insignificant though he was the most cunning man in the city. Instead of responding, she simply looked back into the flames. The man felt bile push into his throat and he swallowed it back fiercely, clenching his own jaw. "What about our vows? Our love? The baby? I thought that's what you wanted- what we both wanted."
Her breathing skipped a beat but otherwise looked unaffected, her eyes turning to him once again in the fiery inferno he had fallen in love with in the beginning. "Vows are words. Love is a lie. But the baby.." A small and mocking smirk feathered to her lips. "I forgot to tell you that I'm pregnant."
"Then why are you doing this?" The man yelled, his heart slamming against his ribs achingly with her words.
"Because it isn't yours."
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