#Chapter 39–You’ve Been Served
Adrian
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she watches my hands before thin
Stella diverts her gaze away from mine. I clear my throat and subtly fix my sult. Her gaze comes back to me and to her lawyer and giving him a nod.
“Adrian,” the man begins. I raise an eyebrow and watch as he reaches below the desk, pulling something out of his briefcase, and placing it on the table. He slides it over to me and our eyes meet. “You have been served.”
I stare at the papers that sit before me. Without even having to read the first line, I know exactly what they are. My eyes move up from the table and back to Stella, who stares at me with her arms crossed over her chest.
“So,” I lean forward and slide the papers away front me, passing them off to my lawyer to read, “you decided to go through with it.”
“What made you think that I wouldn’t?” her question is genuine but her tone is challenging, wanting to bait me into another fight that can most definitely use against me.
“Don’t answer that,” my lawyer chimes in before I can say anything.
I nod and relax into my seat despite my body feeling like it is about to have a panic attack. My fingers, neck, and head feel extraordinarily hot. My lung burn from me not having taken a single breath in the past minute.
“Let’s talk through this,” I calmly say, forcing myself to suck in air to my screaming lungs. Our eyes meet and I swear there is still a hint of love behind her eyes. “I don’t want to divorce you, Stella.”
“I’m divorcing you, actually,” she says. Her lawyer closes his eyes and shakes his head. “But I have to go through with this. We are not happy with each other, Adrian, and we both have drastically different goals.”
“Goals?” I repeat her word. She nods. “Please elaborate.”
It is like our lawyers are not even in the room with us. It is just the two of us, Adrian and Stella, having another conversation like we did in the cafe not too long ago.
“You have Clara back in your life,” she says as if her words aren’t a knife driven right into my heart. “You don’t need or want me anymore. You have her-”
“Is that what you think?” I interject. She nods.
“Look,” her lawyer chimes in. We turn to look at him. “We want this to be as quick and painless as possible. We all have lives to live, so let’s not worry about the emotional motivations we have.”
“Can we delay the divorce at all?” I ask, turning my attention back to Stella. “It will have an affect on my company’s stock prices. I can pay you as much money you want to delay it…just until it is in a more stable place than it is now.”
“No,” Stella’s voice is stern and unmovable. There is a hint of sadness behind her tone and it makes my heart ache at the sound. “I want there to be divorce, Adrian, there is no way for you to get out of this.”
“You want ninety percent of his assets and wealth?” my lawyer’s sentence catches me by surprise. I turn to look at him, eyes moving down to the papers below him.
“That is correct, yes,” Stella’s lawyer confirms.
I scoff and shake my head, turning to look at Stella. There is no emotion on her face at all, completely stone faced.
Even her eyes hold no signs of remorse, just the lingering sadness in her voice.
“Is this true?” I ask, wanting to hear her answer from her.
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Chapter 39 You’ve Been Serv
+25 BONUS
“Yes.”
It is like the final nall has been slammed into my coffin. I swallow the lump that has formed in my throat and nod, trying to absorb the information and to find a quick acceptance that Stella has been who I have thought her to be all along: a materialistic, money oriented, gold digger who does not care about the people in her life.
“Is that what you wanted this whole time? My money? Did you not like that you had to share with somebody else?” there is venom behind my words, my intention to make her feel small and less than for her priority in life.
“Adrian,” she sighs.
“No, Stella,” I point to the papers that my lawyers read, “your motive is as clear as day. Your plan is to drain me of all my wealth, isn’t it? You were only in it for my money should have been more careful with you before I signed our contract.”
“I am not the one you need to be careful around, Adrian,” her words are like ice against my hot skin, a bucket of water being poured all over me as if I am the one being fooled in this situation.
“What do you mean?” I lean forward, my heart racing inside my chest from a mix of anger, denial, and sadness.
Stella hesitates to respond. Her gaze moves to her lawyer, who moves his hand underneath the table. I do not have to have a brain to realize that he placed it on her thigh. It only makes me even more angry.
“I am not the person you should have your eye on,” her voice is calm and collected. She says it as if she has rehearsed it a million times. Stella’s hazel eyes snatch onto mine. “Everything will make sense soon, Adrian.”
“Will it?” I ask. “Or are you just dragging me along like all of your other boyfriends?”
The room falls silent. The sound of rustling papers comes to a halt. Nausea overtakes my body.
I turn in my chair, looking at the stained brown wood, unable to look away. My mind runs a mile a minute and is flooded with so many unanswered questions alongside new ones that try to find space in my consciousness.
How can Stella be so calm during all of this? Is she not freaking out like I am? When will she come to realize that to live the best life she wants, she has to remain with me by my side instead of being ran through by other men?
My phone vibrates on the table. I groan and turn around, flipping the screen over so I can see who it is.
Westview Nursing Home
My body goes still. I blink at the caller ID and then glance at the people inside the room. I stand and signal to the phone, clearing my throat.
“Take it,” Stella nods, speaking before I even have to ask.
I walk to the far side of the room. My anxiety from my divorce with Stella instantly turns to anxiety around my mother, who is currently in a coma due to an underlying disease no one has done much research on. I sigh and pinch the bridge of my nose, bringing the phone to my ear.
“Hello? Is everything okay with her?” I ask.
“Sir,” the person on the other end of the phone speaks, “your mother has woken up.”
“She’s awake?” the words leave my mouth before I can realize it. I hear movement from behind me but pay no
attention to it.
“She would like to see you as soon as you can. It will help boost her morale.”
“Yes, yes, of course, I’ll be there as soon as I can,” I end the call and turn around.
#Chapter 39 You’ve Been Served
+25 BONUS
Stella stands behind me, a worried look on her face. I blink own at her and shove my phone into my pocket. “Your mother is awake?” she asks. I nod. “Would you like me to go with you?”
Before I can even think about it, I nod my head and take her hand, leaving the conference roo
