Chapter 2
1084 Words
JULES.
“There is nothing more to discuss, Diana,” I say for the umpteenth time, already exhausted with the whole debacle. “You can either sign these divorce papers willingly, or I will drag you through a messy court case that will leave your reputation in tatters.”
“I just don't understand, Jules,” she says with that fake hurt tone. “We were so good with each other.”
Such a hypocritical woman.
“We were never good together and you know it.”
“We have a child together!”
“Don't you dare bring Anna into this!” I snap at her. “If you cared at all for her, if you had shown some modicum of maternal instinct towards her I could have forced myself to continue this sham we call a marriage. But you don't. You have zero maternal instinct. The only time you bring up Anna or even think of her is when she has use for you. Or do I need to remind you exactly how and why she was conceived?” I demand.
Her eyes flicker to the lawyers representing us before she answers with resignation.
“No. There is no need.”
Of course.
She wouldn't want anything that would tarnish her reputation to get out.
Before we had married, Diana had been relentless in chasing me down.
Wanting me for herself.
I had smelled her good digging ruse from a mile away and had made sure to not even be in the same room with her.
I had underestimated her desperation.
I had gone for a conference outside the country and lodged in what I presumed to be a private hotel.
I remember feeling unnaturally tired and exhausted and so I had retired early.
The next morning, I woke up to Diana by my side, naked and smiling like a demented Cheshire cat.
I was enraged.
I sent her packing out of the room and demanded an explanation from the hotel but it was quickly proven that it was not their fault.
She had planned it all perfectly.
Somehow, she knew about the conference and had followed me to France. She disguised as a waitress and had my drink spiked and cautiously followed me to my room while keeping a healthy distance away so as not to be noticed, only hurrying to catch up when I reached my door.
It became quite clear how insane she was.
Skip to a few weeks later, she is barging into my office with a doctor's report and a picture of an ultrasound.
“Congratulations,” she crowed. “You are going to be a Daddy.”
I had of course demanded a DNA test and it had come back positive as a match.
I offered to co-parent with her but she wanted much more.
“You either marry me, or I have an abortion.”
I have never hated a woman as much as I hated her then.
She had wanted a big and lavish wedding but I had shut that down fast and hard.
There was no way I would risk having her see that on the news.
Once Anna had been born, Diana had done everything in her power to get back her shape, not once even considering the child that she had given birth to.
“Order a nanny or something. I don't care.”
And so it had been, for years until recently.
I was once again in France for a conference and Anna was supposed to be picked up from school by her mother.
The school had managed to reach my secretary who had then picked her up. Apparently, this was not the first time this was happening.
So, here we are.
It is time to cut the leech out of my life.
“Upon signing this agreement, the custody documents as well as the NDA, the sum of ten million dollars will be transferred to you. Do you agree with this?” my lawyer asks.
“Yeah. Yeah, sure. There is no way I can handle that girl with my growing career anyway,” she replies as she pulls the files to her and begins signing.
What a beast.
“Is that all?” she asks once it is done.
“Yes, that would be all.”
“Good. I have an awards show to get to,” she remarks before turning and leaving.
“That is one crazy woman you married,” my lawyer remarks as we leave the conference room.
“Trust me, I wasn't willing.”
I consider going to my mother’s to pick Anna up but I decide against it.
Let her have a few days of normalcy before I break the news to her.
She might not have felt her mother's love but at least her presence in the house was still noticed.
With that thought, I head back to the office where I immerse myself in agreements, proposals, and deals.
It is quite late when the phone rings on my desk.
Looking at it, I see the caller ID is that of the private investigator I hired
“What do you have?” I ask once I pick.
“We were looking at the wrong places,” he answers.
“What do you mean?”
“She wasn't hiding in secret out of town places, she was hiding in the spotlight. Valerie Tate is known as Valerie White.”
“Valerie White? Where have I heard that name before?”
“She is an upcoming talented actress that just won Rising Actress of the Year and the woman your wife tried to humiliate today.”
“What?!”
Of course.
Valerie White.
I used to hear Diana cursing her out whenever she was at home.
“What do you mean by humiliate her? Where is she?”
“I will send you the address now,” he says as he ends the call.
Less than five minutes later, I am in the car driving to the Glasgow Hotel.
It is a sea of noise and color when I first step in, but like a moth drawn to a flame, my eyes catch sight of her as she makes her way through the crowd.
I don't hesitate.
I cut my way through the crowd, hurrying to catch up to her until I am standing right in front of her.
She looks up at me with mild annoyance that morphs into shock.
“Jules?”
- Writer
