Beyond the Contract

CHAPTER 2 I Want A Divorce

　　Anastasia's POV

　　My time in the Harlow family is over.

　　I have been here for over 6 horrible years, as a wife, but never as a part of the family. Downstairs Celia is yelling my name again, but today I just don't care. She can scream all she wants. I am not going to answer anymore.

　　I have been the quiet dutiful wife, and treated like a slave, while my husband has been cheating on me from day one. Trying to earn his love and affection - and the love and affection of the family, which never came. Well, no more.

　　My phone rings.

　　"Hello."

　　"Ana! We are here, where are you?" The man on the other end asks. I laugh out loud. If only the Harlow's knew who I really am. They think of me as a nobody. A scum with no real background. A scam to keep their precious Charlotte out of the spotlight, because she is too delicate. I could hurl. She is anything but delicate!

　　"I'm on my way downstairs now. Stay at the main gate, I'll walk to you." I say and hang up before he can complain. I know he thinks it's too far. I wonder what he'll do when he finds out the extent of the abuse I suffered here.

　　Granted! It is entirely my own fault, I could have gotten out a lot sooner, but I'm too stubborn for my own good.

　　I'd had a crush on Abraxas for a long time before our marriage, and I honestly thought it would work out. He would eventually fall for me - but no.

　　Before going out the door, I look myself over in the body mirror in the room. My emerald green eyes have a new shine and detriment to them. Something they have been lacking since early into this hell. My caramel hair is falling down into curly waves down to my mid back - haven't been allowed to cut it properly for the last six years, only bits here and there. I have tried to keep it as well as I have had the means too, but I am looking forward to getting proper products again.

　　My body is too skinny, but the small bump in my stomach witnesses that this is not just about me anymore.

　　I've made sure to keep this sweet secret hidden from the family, knowing it would be fatal if they ever found out before I got out.

　　I walk downstairs, where Celia meets me. Her eyes are like frozen tundras, and I swallow.

　　"Where are you going? Didn't you hear me before?" She yells at me, but instead of going into an argument with her all I say is "move." And then I'm out the door.

　　I walk down to the main gate - a good 5-minute walk with the suitcases and my backpack. There, just outside is the Rolls Royce I know so well.

　　Half an hour later I arrive at the office. I walk through the entrance, take the elevator and go directly to the door off his office. His assistant tries to stop me, but I keep walking.

　　I open the door without knocking, and interrupt a make-out session between my husband and his barbie.

　　"What?" He yells, until he discovers it's me.

　　"I want a divorce, Abraxas." I'm standing in front of my so-called husband for the last six years, while his wannabe barbie mistress looks at me suspiciously.

　　He still looks just as good as the day I saw him the first time, attending one of my father's meetings as his 'assistant.' His dirty blond hair is still cut short, accenting his hazel eyes and strong facial features. He's wearing a stumble of beard, which gives him this rough beauty. His body is still to this day kept in good condition, but he has been slacking with the training for a while, which can be seen on his abs - they are not as sharp today as they were six years ago. His eyes are still cold when he looks at me, as if all emotion is being kept behind lock and key. Even sitting down he seems tall. Being 6 feet will do that to anyone.

　　I'm ignoring Charlotte, which I would not have dared just a few days ago, but today I am not the same woman as then. I have put up with this front of marriage for six long years, and I am done. I knew back then that Abraxas only married me because he couldn't marry her. Charlotte. But she's been haunting me ever since. She's always there. At his office, at our home and in our lives. I can't get rid of her. So, I'm done. Done being abused by him and his family, who are treating her as someone precious and me as a personal family slave.

　　"No, you don't, Stace. Do you even know what you are saying?" Abraxas asks, his cold eyes locked on my determined ones.

　　"Actually, I do," I reply sweetly as I lay the papers on his desk. I have already signed my part of it, and I only need his signature to deliver it to the authorities.

　　"This is a joke, right?" He asks, while not looking at the paper. I cross my arms and stare him down. I will not back down, not anymore. I am no longer his timid and submissive wife. I have tried everything to get him to like me, and it's over. I will never back down to any man ever again. This I promised myself as I packed my stuff and called Aron and Thomas to pick me up.

　　"Listen. We can do this two ways, Abraxas. Either you will sign this here and now in privacy - or as much as we will ever have with your constant shadow over there." I point casually at Charlotte. "Or I will do this publicly. Either way, this is happening." I shrug my shoulders. I really don't give a damn.

　　"And how would you win such a public case?" He asked me, his eyes now scanning the papers.

　　"Your known and continued infidelity towards our marriage. And don't forget; I have messages from both you and her with pictures and videos as proof." I reply with another shrug. He narrows his eyes now.

　　"What about the properties, the money? You have nothing, Stace, and I'm not going to give you a penny." His voice is cold and harsh, and one of my hands immediately goes to my stomach. Protecting it from the man in front of me, even though I know he has no idea of this, and I never intend to know.

　　"I don't want your lousy money, nor the properties. The only thing I am taking with me is the car - which is in my name anyway and something I brought to the marriage in the first place. It's all written here." I flip the pages and find the paragraphs.

　　Charlotte sneers at me.

　　"So, you finally admitted your loss, huh?" Abraxas snaps his head towards her with a stare that would have scared the s**t out of me not long ago. Now? Now I just pity the man sitting in the chair in front of me. He seems. Lost. Not terrifying, not powerful. Just. Lost and kinda sad.

　　"I have admitted that compared to you, I'll be a bigger person and leave with my dignity intact," I answer coldly but with a sweet smile. Charlotte immediately turns to Abraxas.

　　"Did you just hear her, Brax? How she spoke to me?" She complains in a high pitched 'pity me' voice. Abraxas shakes his head.

　　"Apologies to Charlotte, Stace." He orders quietly. I quirk an eyebrow while taking the signed papers from the desk.

　　"No!" I answer as there is a knock on the door. Aron opens the door with a broad smile.

　　"Ready, darling?" He asks me, and I nod.