"Mom, Do you know why Desmond is hesitating to divorce Anabel? I thought he would divorce her without a second thought. She's barren and unproductive." Daniella said in disgust.
"Yes, but I think Desmond believed she was blessed with good luck. Ever since he married her, things have been going well. He has achieved so many things easier and without much stress."
"I thought he picked her from the slum. How could he believe it was because of her? What if it's just a coincidence?" Daniella’s voice rang out with bitterness
"I've tried to convince him, but he's been stubborn. He loved her, and I hate it. I don't know if she charmed my son," Mrs. Elizabeth said, her eyes wide with fear and panic, as if Anabel were some kind of witch casting a spell over her son.
Meanwhile, the very witch she spoke of was standing right there, making her final plea to her son.
"Desmond, I can't stay with that woman. I will forgive you for cheating on me, but I won't tolerate you bringing her in this house." Anabel spoke up when Desmond walked on.
"The last time I checked, this is my house. I'm the man of the house, and I say what happens. Daniella is staying, whether you like it or not. She's carrying my child."
"Then what happens to our marriage? I can't share my man with any woman. You are mine and mine alone."
"I'm yours alone when you can't give me a child?"
"But I'm pregnant."
"Cut the crab. You are lying. I know you are scared of losing me. You are nothing without me. I know how desperate you are, but you don't need to lie. You are barren, and Daniella just proved it."
"If you insist on bringing her here. Then I will leave!" Anabel declared.
"Is that a threat?" Desmond asked.
"You can call it anything. If you don't send her away, I will leave."
"You are ranting, and that's normal. This is one thing you cannot do. Deep down, you know you cannot do it. I'm your life; I'm everything to you. Without me, you are nothing. Better keep calm, or I will kick you out myself." He dropped the bombshell of words all at once, then slammed the door behind him as he stormed out of the room, leaving Anabel standing there, lost in the ruins of her marriage.
A few minutes later. Daniella sauntered into the bedroom.
"Anabel, Why don't you just give up and leave? You can see that you are not wanted in this house anymore. Why are you forcing yourself where you don't belong?"
"I should be the one asking you that question. I'm Desmond's wife. What are you? A desperate lady who is trying to snatch a man from another woman. Are you not ashamed of yourself?"
"I'm not snatching him from you. I'm only trying to rescue him from your trap. You are useless and barren. I'm here to give him what he had been wanting. You can see I'm about to give him what you couldn't give him for two years. Besides, I hope you enjoyed the sound you heard when I picked up the call. You heard it when he confessed that you are disgusting, didn’t you?"
At this moment, Anabel's anger was boiling, but Daniella, on the other hand, seemed to relish every second of it, her satisfaction barely concealed.
"He also said he loved me more than you. He was saying all these while fucking me hard and deep. You need to see the way he was fucking me. And guess what? He came inside of me while calling you a bitch."
"Stop it, Daniella! Stop it! You are the bitch here! Sleeping with someone else's husband."
"Oh! She's getting angry! Why don't you leave? If I were you, I would leave. I can never be with a cheating man."
"I think I'm done talking with you. Will you get out of this room before I lose it?"
"This is my room now. You are the one to leave. I wonder what your stuffs are still doing here."
"You must be dreaming. You are not sleeping in this house tonight."
"Let's see who’s leaving then." Daniella flashed a sly grin, then slapped Anabel hard across the face. In an instant, she collapsed, crying out in feigned pain, clutching her side as though she had been mortally wounded. "My baby! Please don't hurt my baby!"
Desmond, her mom, and her sister heard Daniella's cry from outside and rushed to know what happened.
"What is wrong!" Desmond rushed to help her up. "What happened to you?"
"She slapped and kicked me on my tummy because I told her I would bring my stuff inside the room. I think she's jealous." Daniella cried, her tears streaming down her face like rain, as she backed away from Anabel, clutching her stomach and trying to avoid getting any closer to Desmond, as if afraid Anabel might strike her again.
"You are so wicked. Why will you kick a pregnant lady?" Bella yelled at Anabel.
"She's lying. I didn't touch her." Anabel tried to defend herself. "She is the one who slapped me. She slapped me and then fell on the floor."
"You are still denying it, Anabel? You said I will not stay in this house and slapped me, then kicked me on my tummy. I wish we had a CCTV camera in this room."
"Because you couldn't have a child, you want to kick her own out? How can you be so vicious?" Desmond's mother asked and turned to Desmond. "Will you still keep her? This is a valid reason to send her away right now. If you let her stay any longer, she's going to kill your baby."
"Anabel, how could you? You are never like this. Why will you hit a pregnant woman?"
"Don't you believe me? I didn't do it. She's just acting. She made it up, can't you see through that?" Anabel tried to convince him, but Desmond could not digest it. Daniella was still holding her tummy.
"Daniella can't be making this up. I will divorce you." Desmond said, his voice firm and resolute, as though he had finally come to some painful decision.
"You will? Divorce her now! I kept the divorce letter here. Sign it and give it to her." Mrs. Elizabeth handed the divorce letter over to Desmond.
"You won't do it, right? You are not signing it." Anabel asked, but Desmond went on and signed.
"I'm done with you; take it and sign." He stretched his hand to her.
Anabel’s gaze, full of hurt and disbelief, locked onto him.
"Take it! Sign it!"
Anabel hesitated, and Desmond's mom yelled at her, "What are you waiting for?"
She took it and looked up at Desmond. "You really want to divorce me? Because of this woman? After the love and care I've shown to you? After all I've done for you? I helped you secretly to get many contracts. Your company was having a hard time when I came into your life. You are on top today because of me..."
"Will you shut up?! You want to take credit for my son's company's success? My son is hardworking, and that is what paid off."
Bella snorted, "Look at who is helping. Country's bumpkin. How were you of help when you were poor?"
"Anabel, just sign the paper and leave. I don't want to listen to you anymore. I don't need you anymore." Desmond declared.
"It's alright. I’ll sign it," she said, her voice steady, almost detached. "But mark my words—you will regret this day. All of you." She looked at them with a cold, piercing gaze. "You’ve all forgotten how I helped Desmond build everything from the ground up. Let’s see how long you can keep your shine without me."
With that, she signed the paper and threw it at him, the sharp sound of it hitting the table echoing in the silence.
Desmond froze, his heart sinking. He had been expecting tears, pleading, maybe even begging—anything to break him down. But instead, there was nothing but the cold finality of her actions. She wasn’t even looked sad.
"Yes! You have done what I wanted. Now you can take your bag and leave." Mrs. Elizabeth said. "I forgot to tell you that you are not leaving with any dim. All the money in the card will be frozen."
"I don't even need your money. It can't solve half of my bills. You can have all of it," she said and dialed a number she had not called for a long time.
"Come and pick me. I'm done with him."