Come Back, Dear Ex-wife.

“Wow, so now, your ex-wife is back and there’s also Delaney.”

“She’s not my ex-wife. She’s my wife. We never had a divorce.” Norberto fumed.

“I see! So that means you are in a dilemma now. Torn between two sisters.”

“Are you making fun of me or what? I called you here to help me think of something, not to make fun of me.”

“You see, Norberto…”, mark said, dragging his chair towards him. “I won’t lie to you, you really fucked things up yourself.”

“What do you mean by that?” Norberto asked, looking at him from the corner of his eye.

“Aren’t you my best friend? You are supposed to be on my side. Stop blaming me for things I had no control over.”

“I am only telling you the truth. I am not blaming you for anything unjustly.”

“I am your best friend. I will always stand up for you but that shouldn’t translate to me backing you up when you are wrong.”

“You treated your wife so badly. You even brought her sister to the house where she stays and sleep with her under the same roof.”

“Oh please mark! You don’t have to keep reminding me of everything that happened in the past, do you?”

“Really! You were being such a jerk Norberto. If I were Erica or if she was my sister, trust me, you aren’t having her back. I can’t afford myself or any of my family accepting someone who treated them like trash back into their lives. She deserves someone better actually.”

“Don’t talk like that, common. I know I was wrong and I accept that but you didn’t have to be so blunt about the truth.”

“Anyways, why do you even want her back? Or you just can’t stand the fact that she’s happy now and glowing without you, so you want to take her back and turn her into the lady she was when she was with you huh!”

“No mark you are getting it all wrong. She’s the woman I want now.” Mark looked at his best friend with a confused look.

“You are just like a prostitute, only that you are the male version, so what now happens to Delaney?”

There was silence. Norberto tried talking but kept his mouth shut just immediately.

“I have always known what you had for Delaney wasn’t really love. I mean Erica is almost better than her in everything. I have always warned you about her but you turned a deaf ear to me and nearly picked a fight with me too.”

“Common man, I already apologized for that.”

“I don’t even know what got you attracted to Delaney in the first place or what you see in her.”

“I knew Delaney first. I just don’t get it how Erica ended up in my bed and we both were forced to marry just to save our family from shame. What would I had done, mark, when my heart was still yearning for Delaney?”

“Trust me mark, I had no intention of divorcing her. I thought she was going to beg, I thought that would make me have more power over her.” Norberto sighed deeply, rubbing his face with his palms.

“I thought I didn’t love her, I thought I was strong, but look at me now, mark, I can’t bear it any longer. I searched for her, I searched everywhere but I knew not her whereabouts.”

“The truth was that while we were married, Delaney told me she was coming back. During those times, especially after making out with Erica, I found myself falling for her, I found myself growing a soft spot for her and I felt I needed to stop. That was why I was so hard and harsh on her and then I pronounced divorce.”

“But now I need my wife back. I need my woman back. I want her. I feel incomplete. I feel like a total asshole. Just take a look at me. This isn’t the Norberto you used to know, mark, I’m looking so rough.”

“So how can I help you now?” mark asked, staring at him.

“You are my friend; you are a lawyer dude. I need you to do everything possible to bring my wife back. I’d pay any amount and do anything. I’d go to the heavens and come back. I’ll do anything, please…” he sobbed.

“Please” he mumbled. Mark stared at him saying nothing.

“Mark!!!” Norberto said faintly, tapping mark’s thigh.

‘It’s not as easy as you think, Norberto.”

“Even though you guys never really went to court for a divorce or attended any sitting, she can tell the court, she wants you to stay away from her. She can bring in what happened in the past. How you treated her and how you were the first to pronounce divorce and even gave her divorce papers. So you see, if you both should appear ibn court now, she’s surely winning the case against you.”

“so what do you think I can do now? What do you suggest I do?” Norberto asked, dejectedly.

“I have an idea though. I believe now that she is the new CEO of the company, she will attend more board meetings and will be around for a while, that’s the opportunity you have.”

“Make me understand please.”

“If you really still want your wife back, then be a fool for her. Let the tables turn now. Be the man she had always wanted you to be. Do all you can to win her back. Women love attention, care, affection too. Use these, try them, turn a new leaf.”

“But I wonder how you are going to do that with Delaney by your side. I only hope she doesn’t ruin things for you.”

“This is perfect. I’m definitely going to do this. I so want my woman back; I want her back so badly.”

“Is this really you, Norberto? Is this really you dying to have a woman back, the same woman you rejected and sent away. You are amazing.” Mark said, laughing at his friend’s words.

“But then, I hope and pray you are not too late. I mean you have been away from her life for years, she must have found someone better. I only hope she’s still willing to give you a chance.”

“But what if she doesn’t? what if she doesn’t give me a chance?”

Mark shrugged, pursing his lips. “You may as well try your luck first. You never can tell. But if she never gave you another chance, then you can go ahead and get married to your Delaney. Do your best, expect either a positive response or a negative one.”

“Thanks man! I will surely do as you’ve said.”

“Erica is really a great woman. And has a kind heart too. You must have really pushed her to the wall for her to have reacted the way she did.”

Norberto sighed deeply. Mark saw this and gazed at him. “What is wrong?”

“I am just worried sick about this whole thing. Delaney is a beast. I don’t know how she’s going to take this whole thing but truth is, whatever I feel for her isn’t love, maybe I was attracted to her before but it definitely wasn’t love.”

“And I don’t know what to expect. I told Carlo to hire a private investigator and get me everything I need to know about Erica, her life, her schedules, everything. I am just skeptical about what the response might be. What if she’s married or already planning marriage with that guy I saw her with? Richard or whatever his name is, goodness! I hate him so much already.”

“I never thought you could be this jealous, really. Well as for Delaney, I don’t even know what to say, but just be careful. You know how angry she can get and to what extent she can go.”

“When did Carlo say he will feed you with the information?”

“Today, he said today. Now I feel so restless.”

“Don’t worry, just keep calm. I already told you what to do though.”

“Sure, I…”, Norberto was about finishing his statement when his phone buzzed. All at once, the notification tone rang out several times, indicating he had received a lot of messages.

“That should be Carlo.” Mark said, urging him to check the phone.

He reached for his device which was on the table opposite mark, he was glued to the phone for like a minutes, staring hard at it. Beads of sweat formed on his forehead and his eyes had traces of tears in them.

“What is wrong?”, mark asked, peering at Norberto’s phone. He looked at his face with was filled with disappointment and his eyes which showed his pain.

“Can you just tell me what is wrong, answer me Norberto.” Mark scowled.

“I just received information’s from Carlo. The investigator has gotten back to him.”

“Alright, that’s a good one, so what does it say?”

“Erica has triplets, two boys and a girl.”

Mark’s eyes popped open and his jaw dropped. “Are you serious? She looked so young, she didn’t even look like she had birthed a child talk more of three. The investigator must have made a mistake somewhere.”

“No! he didn’t, he sent Erica’s photos but not with the kids. I mean, we didn’t even get a legal divorce and she already opened her legs for another man, that’s ridiculous.” He voiced out, his heart burning with jealousy.

“Watch your words, Norberto. You never can tell. Those kids might have been adopted and not necessarily hers. after all, she’s a career woman and she may not have time to birth kids, so she might have just gone for an adoption.”

“What are the kids age? Any names too?”

“No, he didn’t.” he picked up his phone again and scrolled through it hastily. “he only said she is engaged to Richard and has triplets for him.”

“He further said, he couldn’t find anything tangible about her as she lives a low-key life. No social media, no parties, no uploads, nothing at all.”

“A perfect opposite of Delaney.” Mark mumbled.

“So what do you think now? I mean, with this information you’ve gotten, it will seem rude for you to still go after her, don’t you think?” Mark asked.

“I don’t know; I don’t know at all. God! I feel so messed up right now.” Norberto shouted, attracting the attention of others in his office.

“Just be calm, don’t let it bother you too much. I still believe there’s more to that message that we don’t know. So let’s not conclude now.” Mark assured him.

“I’m still not over it yet that she has that jerk as a boyfriend and now they are engaged and there are kids too! Damn it. I should have treated her better. I’m so filled with regrets currently.

His phone rang out loud which he hastily picked, on seeing who the caller was, he sighed and turned it off.

“Won’t you pick your call?” Mark asked him.

“It’s Delaney. I don’t feel like speaking to her.”

“She may be worried about you not picking up her calls.”

“Does it seem like I care? She needs to understand that I need space sometimes.”

“She’s always so clingy and it annoys me, it pisses me off.” Norberto ranted.

“Norberto, trust me, those kids may be adopted. She looks too good to have birthed a child. She was glowing when she came over to the board meeting. She looked even better than before.”

“I like the fact that you are giving me hope, false hope!”

“I’m not, Norberto.”

“Oh screw that, I’m off.” Mark watched with shock written all over his face as his best friend stormed out of the office in anger, leaving him all alone.