"Sign the file!"
Laurie stared at the folder her husband had handed her. Her hands were shaking because her heartbeat suddenly became twice as fast. She had a bad feeling about the contents of the file in the folder.
"Honey, can we talk about something else first?" Laurie asked as she looked up, trying to delay looking at the contents of the folder. "I have important news to tell you."
Tommy's eyebrows furrowed and his lips pursed. "Come on, Laurie, don't waste my time. We already know that there's nothing more to talk about between us. I want a divorce and you already know why."
"But," Laurie's breath caught in her throat and made her chest feel tight. "You should know that--"
"I will give you enough support, at least until you get a job or maybe, you need capital to start a business, just tell me, I will send the money," said Tommy, cutting Laurie off impatiently.
Laurie looked into Tommy's eyes and there was only a sea of ice in them, making her shiver and realize that there was no warmth left for her in Tommy's heart at all.
Laurie's hand moved to open the folder and pulled out several sheets of paper from it. Her heart bled, when she read the title of the letter. Divorce Documents.
Tommy handed her a pen. An expensive pen that he always used when signing important agreements or contracts in his business affairs.
Laurie took the pen. Laurie's heart was broken. Before signing the divorce papers, she asked Tommy, "If I get pregnant, are you still going to divorce me?
"Of course not!" replied Tommy. "But, Laurie, you're weak and sterile. Elle isn't. So, just sign it and go."
Laurie took an inhaler from her bag and sprayed it into her mouth, helping to relieve the tightness that was making it difficult for her to breathe.
Tommy clicked his tongue at what Laurie was doing. The woman who would soon become his ex-wife was wasting time.
Laurie read the contents of the document and signed it. She stood up and looked Tommy in the eye with a feeling of hurt that she did not try to hide at all.
Just as Laurie was about to open her mouth to say something, Tommy's office door swung open. Millie, Laurie's mother-in-law, and the twins Jenny and Jessy, Tommy's younger sisters, walked in quickly. Their faces looked anxious.
Millie grabbed the document on the table and read it quickly. Her face changed from anxious to a wide smile.
"Good. Apparently you are quite self-aware, Laurie. You must have realized that you have been a burden to Tommy for too long, right?" Millie said in a soft tone.
"Tommy, does that mean Elle will be living with us soon? After Laurie leaves?" Jenny asked.
Tommy didn't answer. He looked at Laurie who was still staring at him sharply and secretly he felt the hair on the back of his neck stand on end.
"Laurie, don't misunderstand. Elle and I--"
"--will get married soon," Millie interrupted with a very clear tone of joy. "Elle is seven weeks pregnant and she said she doesn't want to get married with a big belly, so I've started preparing for Tommy and Elle's wedding."
"You better pack up your stuff soon, Laurie," Jessy said mockingly. "Don't leave anything behind. It will make Elle uncomfortable if she sees your stuff here."
Tommy glared at his two younger siblings and motioned for them to get out.
"Mom, go. I still need to talk to Laurie, about alimony and stuff," Tommy said as he turned Millie's shoulder and led her to the door. So does his sisters.
Millie turned around as she was almost at the door. "Tommy might be kind to you, Laurie. He'll give you a big allowance. Use it well and don't undermine him again later. At least you should try to find a job yourself so you don't trouble my son anymore."
"Or find a new husband," Jessy said with a mocking laugh.
"That's if anyone wants to marry a barren woman like her," Jenny added.
The three of them exited Tommy's office with a laugh that hurt Laurie's ears. She clenched her fists at her sides, until her knuckles turned white.
Tommy closed the door and walked toward Laurie, but she walked right into the door.
"Laurie, you can--"
"I'm leaving and I hope, after this, we don't have to see each other again for any reason," Laurie said, cutting Tommy's words off.
Tommy shrugged. "You can pack up the things you want to take with you in peace, Laurie. I'm not heartless and want to throw you out just like that."
Laurie laughed sarcastically. "I won't take anything, other than what I brought with me since I entered this house, I bought with my own money, or what my parents gave me. Enough with your insults, and just save the allowance money for your child's future birth expenses. I don't need any penny from you."
Laurie open the door and walked quickly to her room on the second floor.
She hugged her bag tightly to her chest. Three test packs with bright red lines and the lab test report she had just taken a few hours earlier, would remain her secret.