One Step Too Far

Arrogant Fool

"Oh, please. You had more places to go than you could possibly choose from. Imperia has enough hotels for you to stay in a different one for the rest of your life. You could have bought fresh clothes from any random mall, yet here you are, half-naked in another man's wife's house."

Chris froze up. He had no comeback, so he immediately looked at Sonia like an injured puppy begging for help.

"Quincy—"

I shut her down before she could start, "Shut up. I don't want to hear your voice."

With that, I left.

Three days passed. Then a full week. The promised deadline had arrived.

My phone refused to stop buzzing. Our mutual friends barraged my phone with endless texts.

"You're still mad at her? Come on, she's a softie. She's not even mad at you anymore. Just talk nicely and this will all blow over."

"Hey, she's reassigned Chris to another department. You should really stop this tantrum."

"It's the last day. Come on, stop acting tough. You can't find a woman like her anywhere else. If this divorce goes through, someone else is going to swoop in right away!"

I laughed. She was the one toeing the line of infidelity, but these people thought I should be apologising to her.

I texted in the group chat. "We're going through the process as we speak. I'm blocking everyone who told me to suck it up. Bye."

That was no threat. I blocked all our mutual friends immediately and asked an attorney to send the divorce papers to Sonia.

After that, I checked out of the room and grabbed a ride to the airport.

…

Sonia was in a meeting, but her mind was somewhere else. She was restless, checking her phone again and again. Still, there was no news from me. She had been waiting for days.

After what felt like an eternity, the meeting finally came to an end. The first thing she did after coming out was turning her attention to the reception room, but it was empty.

The old me would have begged for reconciliation in less than three days. Now, a full week had passed, and I had not made a single move. She wondered if I was really mad this time.

She thought it was just a birthday. In her mind, I was overreacting over something that came around every year.

Then something hit her, and her eyes narrowed. She had missed my birthday three years in a row. And every single time, it had been because of Chris.

That answered her question.

A sliver of guilt crept into her heart. She knew she had gone too far, so she texted me. "I'll take you to the beach once I'm done with work. You've always wanted to have a vacation there."

The message failed to send. I had blocked her.

A frown creased her forehead. She quickly called me, but only a detached automated voice answered. I had blocked her number too.

The air in the office turned a few degrees colder. She was about to ask her assistant to find out which hotel I had been staying at when the assistant came in first.

"Ms. Gray, a file from Mr. Maellard."

Sonia's frown smoothened out, and her mood buoyed. "And I thought he had grown a spine. In the end, he's begging me anyway. But he's an understanding man. I can let this tantrum slide. Get a watch from the jewelry store and book a reservation at that fancy restaurant on the west side. Tonight, I—"

Her words died in her throat the moment she saw what was inside the file.