Cattleya’s POV
Five years.
It was all I could do to stand all this pain after being married for five years.
Hugo sent me a bouquet of roses; I couldn't take my eyes off them. It should have been a celebration for our fifth wedding anniversary, but all I felt was empty and crushed because a miscarriage happened, and my jerk husband had no idea about it.
My eyes stung, not from the beauty of the flowers, but from the tears that I desperately had to blink. Until tears streamed down my face while holding my chest in anger and frustration.
I waited until midnight, but there was no Hugo. He didn't even come home.
I grabbed my phone and called him, but it was his secretary who answered his phone, "Mr. Gallagher's secretary, Jasmine Gray, speaking, How can I help you?"
My heart was heavy, my throat dry as I fought back the tears, but I managed to utter, "I need to talk to your boss, tell him it's his wife."
"Oh, I think it's not the right time to talk to him—" she said hesitantly.
I frowned and said, "Tell him I want to end this, I want a divorce."
And in just a few seconds, Jasmine passed the phone to my cold husband. And on the other end of the line, I heard his low rumble voice say the most painful statement, "I’m busy right now and I don’t have time for your drama, Catt. Just keep it to yourself, okay?!"
And the call just ended just like that, a cold sentence from him ended everything in just instant making my heart suffer in pain for a million shattered pieces.
How could he be so cold and distant now?
THREE WEEKS LATER.
The front door slammed open late at night, and I gasped. I frowned and went downstairs, only to find that my dear jerk husband had just returned. He stared at me intensely and said, "I'm starving."
I didn't move, still raising an eyebrow at him.
He felt the tension between us until he tried to say, "I bought you something. It's a gift."
But I turned it down, crossed my arms, and told him, "We need to talk."
He asked, frowning, "About what?"
"About our divorce."
With a scowl on his face, he looked at me as if I were crazy for trying to bring up this subject again. I knew everything he did behind closed doors. He cheated on me with his sexy secretary, and rumors spread that they even stayed in the same hotel room together. But what hurt me the most was that my son was growing apart from me.
The Gallagher family was so rigid that they forcibly removed my son from my life. They put him through the best upper-class schools and even made fun of me by saying that being married to Gallagher was a blessing. Funny.
I also remembered that Jasmine had already picked up my son on the day I was supposed to. I let out an irritated sneer as I overheard Hugo smiling and enjoying himself on the phone with Jasmine—all while I sat there wholly frustrated with everyone.
"Catt! Are you still listening to me? What's wrong with you? After all this time, all you wanted was to split up!"
I gasped as I went back to reality and I said, "If we get divorce, we can finally be free from each other—"
"Catt, I gave you everything! And you have no right to complain!"
A sour smile crossed my face as I tried to hold back tears that were about to fall. "Really? How come you gave me everything? Where was it? I can't even feel it."
"STOP ACTING LIKE SHIT!"
"I am not just acting like shit, Hugo! I want you to let me go! I have enough with your lies! You’re a liar! and because of what you did to me, I lost our baby! I lost my baby!"
"W-What?" Hugo muttered in frustration as his face paled with horror.
"You heard me, right? Or do you want me to repeat it again?!"
Chapter 2Cattleya’s POV
"Why didn't you tell me about it?" he asked, his voice low but deep that’s full of pain and anger towards me.
I smiled bitterly and bit my lower lip as I looked away, wiping the tears from my eyes, "Why should I tell you about it?" I snarled at him.
"Because I’m your husband. I deserve to know the truth." he said.
I let out a low-volume laugh while furiously rolling my eyes, "Really?! I can't get in touch with you because you're always busy with Jasmine. And for three weeks, I have not received a call from you! I never get a call from you, Hugo...."
He spoke in a strained voice, "That's not fair. I was busy with work, Catt.," while he drooped his head and sighed in exasperation. His hands rattled with despair. And he added, "I've been putting in a ton of time at work and at night trying to figure out things with the company, and Jasmine is just...."
I arched an eyebrow and stared at him in the eyes, "Just your secretary? I know she’s not just a secretary, she shared a room with you during business trips. So, don’t try to make me look like a fool, Hugo. I’m not a fool to believe all your lies."
Hugo took a step forward and tried to grab my hand. "Catt, You're just making things up; why do you think I'm cheating on you?!"
"Why? Because it's the truth!"
"Shut the fuck up, will you?" he asked, as if he were done with my whole mess.
Tears began to trickle down my cheeks as I scowled at him. There was a tight silence between us. The room was filled with our tense, angry, and frustrated feelings toward each other. I always tried to make peace with him, but now I've had enough. I can't stand feeling the same pain over and over.
"Let's end this marriage."
"What?"
"Hugo, I'm thinking we should divorce. Please, L-Let me go already! I’m done, I’m done with you…." I said through tears and a hoarse voice.
(Flashback)
I remembered the first time I saw him; I didn't know that an eighteen-year-old boy would be my salvation.
It was pouring rain that day, and I saw him getting beaten by gangsters. I rushed to him, held his hand, and took him to the hospital.
As the days and weeks passed, he kept coming back to look for me. He even sent me a different flower every day to get my attention. Until one day, he confronted me and asked, "Are you avoiding me?"
I looked up into his eyes and gasped, "N-No."
"I like you," he said as he blocked my way and locked the classroom door.
"What are you doing? You can't lock the door, it's just you and me here, people will speculate..."
"I said, I like you, and I want you to be my girl."
His arrogance made me smirk and sighed in frustration, "Just because I saved your life it doesn't mean that I want to be your girlfriend."
"I like you, Cattleya." He said it straight out without stuttering, and he smiled at me as if he thought I would accept his offer.
"Well, I don't like you, and rich people like you make me sick. Leave me alone, and don't bother me anymore." I shoved him away and opened the door with a frown.
He then grabbed my wrist and said, "Well, I'm Hugo Gallagher, Cattleya. I always get what I want. So, get ready, because I won't stop bothering you until you'll say yes to me."
Ever since that day, whenever he winked at me, my heart has been racing, and I can't stop thinking about him.
Our life status was unparalleled, but it didn't stop him from loving me.
He was the sole heir of the Gallagher family, who controlled the El Gallagher Hotel chain and Gallagher Airlines, which stretched across the country.
Nobody could possibly wish for a more ideal family than the one he had. They moved with an effortless grace from a life of ease and entitlement.
However, I come from the kind of awful, unhappy family that no one wants. I was so poor that I couldn't offer him anything but my true intentions.
"Can you be my girlfriend?" He asked me that question again on the day of my birthday.
and I told him a secret about the tragic story of the rose: "Do you know that every time my mom was beaten by my father, he would always send roses as an apology?"
"Uh, I didn’t know about that but I felt sorry for your mom."
Then I continued, "Well if you ever want to break up with me, there are no words to tell. You can just send me roses, and I'll understand."
"So, you’re telling me now that you want to be my girlfriend?" he asked in excitement.
I smiled at him sweetly, "Yes."
He gently placed his thumb on my lips, shaking his head with a loving smile. "From this moment on, roses from me will forever be a symbol of our love, not a goodbye. Okay?"
He was my first love, just as I was his.
(END OF FLASHBACK)
Little did I know that the rose, once a symbol of hope and a promise of forever, would become a painful reminder of a love buried in the past.
And finally, he uttered the most painful words, "If that's what you want, fine, let's get a divorce!"
Chapter 3Cattleya’s POV
Hugo didn't come home for three days after we fought that night. I'm really upset that he didn't try to make things better between us after I told him everything. It seemed like my heart had been broken a million times already.
While I was sitting at my desk, my best friend Ariella popped up on my screen for a video call.
"Hi, Ariella..." I said while pretending to be happy enough but deep inside I wasn't. I felt like I’m just a living dead who had no choice but to live in this cruel life of mine.
When she saw my dull face, she frowned and asked, "Are you okay? Your eye bags are about to pop out. Haven't you been sleeping for days?"
"I’m fine." I shrugged my shoulders and forced a smile.
She sighed softly and said, "I know you're still struggling to accept the truth about what happened. Please, know that I'm here for you. I'm here because I'm your best friend and you're not alone in this, okay?"
I smiled at her and stammered, "T–Thank you, Ariella."
"If you're having trouble sleeping because of your insomnia, I can prescribe you something if you come to my clinic tonight, okay?"
I took a soft breath and looked at my watch for the time. It's five pm in the afternoon, and it still feels like the morning just passed so fast.
"Okay, I'll see you tonight," I said.
She stood up and smiled, "Bye, I have to go. See you!"
After staring at the empty screen for a while, I'm still confused. Every day, I felt like my whole world was falling apart. It's getting harder for me to connect with my son, and my husband and I are divorcing to end our marriage.
And the thought of my miscarriage brought tears started to flow down my cheeks again. I gently sat down on the cold floor, bent my knee, and cried out of sadness over what had just happened.
****
St. Benedict’s Clinic, 8 pm.
As I walked in the hallway, I massaged my temple and looked for Ariella's office, where she was waiting for me. When I was about to enter, I heard a familiar voice in the corner, and there I saw Jasmine with Hugo. Jasmine bit her lower lip, saying, "Hon, I think I sprained my ankle. I’m sorry, it’s supposed to be our date today, but here we are…"
And Hugo stood up, kissed Jasmine’s forehead and said, "Wait here, I'll call the doctor."
"Thank you, hon…" Jasmine said as she gave my husband the sweetest smile.
I walked towards her after Hugo had just left. "YOU!" I pointed a finger at her.
She looked up with sharp eyes and it took her a few seconds to say, "Oh, Hello there! What a surprise! Are you spying on us?"
I clenched my fists and heaved a heavy sigh of anger as I glared at her, then raised an eyebrow, "It’s just a waste of time to spy on someone like you!"
"Someone like me?" she laughed.
"Yes, a gold digger and a cheap whore."
Her facial expression darkened, she wanted to get up, but her ankle hurt, so she sat back down. She then smirked meanly and said, "I'm going to be his wife soon, which means I'm going to be your son's stepmom. Do you think I'm going to be nice to him? No, your son needs to suffer just like—"
She didn't finish her sentence because I slapped her face not just once but twice; she held her face in shock as she glared at me and yelled, "You don't have the right to slap me, bitch!"
"But you don't have the right to do that to my son!" I answered and added. "And my son is not some kind of trophy you can show off!
Then a loud, deep voice asked behind me, "What's going on here?!"
"Hugo! She attacked me! look at my face, she slapped me twice!" Jasmine said, showing her fake tears to Hugo.
Hugo took a deep breath and cast a dramatic glance at me, "Cattleya…."
I scoffed softly, a bitter smile curved in my lips as I said, "Yes, I slapped her."
Then I cast a dramatic glance at Jasmine, "But why don’t you tell Hugo you only want his money and his name? Gold digger like you belongs to the street!"
Hugo, on the other hand, didn't think twice about slapping me in front of his lover. He pointed his finger at me and said, "Stop this nonsense! If you're mad at me, be mad at me and leave her alone! You're just causing trouble again, and it's really embarrassing, you know?"
Watching the man I love turn into a monster and treat me like I'm a threat to his life and the woman he replaced me made my eyes tear up. At that very moment, my heart sank so deeply that I thought I might die if I didn't say something.
"JUST FUCKING SIGN THE DIVORCE PAPERS! AND IF YOUR MISTRESS LAY A FINGER ON MY SON, I SWEAR TO GOD, I WILL MAKE HER PAY!" I took a hard wipe at my eyes and stormed away from them.
Five minutes later, I froze in place, clutching my chest, as I stepped outdoors. I choked back tears before I could even think to hold them back, and I whispered to myself, "Y–You're gonna be okay, C–Catt... Y–You'll be fine."
I was sad to leave the Villa, but I packed everything up when I arrived. I went back to my old house. As I stood there and stared at the empty house, I sighed in sadness. Both of my parents had died, leaving me all by myself with painful memories.
Now, I only need to figure out how to get custody of my son.
TWO WEEKS LATER.
I received a call from my monster husband, he said, "Noah is sick, he needs you."
I hung up the call without uttering a word, and then I rushed to Gallagher's mansion in less than twenty minutes.
And when I got there, Hugo was waiting for me at the entrance with furrowed brows. "What took you so long?"
"Where's Noah?"
"Come with me." he said as he grabbed my wrist, but when I tried to push him away he glared at me, "It's not the right time to be stubborn, Catt."
I gasped as I saw my son eating peacefully in the dining area with all the maids and Hugo's family.
I ran towards Noah and hugged him, "Are you okay, my love?"
Noah smiled happily, "Mommy! I miss you…"
"I miss you too." Then I glanced at Hugo and glared at him sharply because I know he lied to me this time. Noah is not sick.
My mother-in-law went on to say, "I've heard rumors. Are you and my son okay?"
Hugo answered his mom, "Mom, Cattleya and I were fine."
I looked over at Hugo, my fury building up in my chest because I knew he was trying to hide the divorce issue from his family.
"Right, honey?" Hugo asked me as if I would agree with his stupid idea.