I chose long term happiness. The divorce papers were more important. I went to Jena’s bedroom to make sure she wasn’t inside, the room was empty, all her things had been moved upstairs.
“Christian, you’re back” my mother’s voice said from behind me.
I turned around and she was smiling at me. “It’s been years since I saw you in casual, you look… Nice”
“Thank you”
“What is that you’re holding?”
“Divorce papers, Marcellino and Elisa are getting divorced”
Her eyes widened in surprise.
“Reall?’ she asked.
“Yes. Where is dad, I didn’t see him anywhere downstairs”
“He’s out, he says he is playing tennis of golf, I don’t know”
“Do you think he’s having an affair?”
She was quiet for a long time.
“I suspected it, I don’t know”
“Do you want me to confirm it, I have people wh__”
“No, leave it alone, I don’t want to know” “why?” I asked her.
I was always angry about it, why he would bring women home and she would turn a blind eye. She would never call him out on cheating.
“I… It’s better than I don’t know ”
I was angry, I could feel the anger rising like bile, it was bitter on my tongue.
“That’s what weak people do” o said as politely as I could but it stung and she flinched.
She chose Alexander over my father and she chose Alexander over me, she let her child suffer and she let Jeandre and Regalia suffer too.
I made an effort to forgive her, for years I didn’t even have the strength to forgive what she did.
She shook her head.
“I’m not weak, I’m strong… You might not understand but put yourself in my shoes Chris, you love Jenna, with your entire and mind and soul, imagine she cheats on you__”
“She should never do it, she would never. Loyalty should not be begged, I would never cheat on her either. Your husband is just a fuck up man and you know it, you should have left him a long time ago but you didn’t, you don’t want to”
“I can’t if I could I will”
I could never understand why, I would never understand why but I chose to leave her alone.
“It’s your choice, not mine. If you will excuse me, I have to secure my future ” I left her in the room and I headed upstairs.
Jenna wasn’t to be seen but in the bathroom the water was running, I could hear it.
I opened the door and she was in the shower.
“Baby…”
She turned to me and looked away.
“You’re not going to look at me?”
She walked out of the shower and took the towel.
“Well at least you did as I told you”
She didn’t say anything, she didn’t even act as if I was there.
“Jenna, are you giving me the silent treatment?”
Nothing.
She walked to the armoire and pulled out a dress, she looked at it and dropped it back, she pulled out another one.
“You’re driving me crazy”
No response.
“Fine, don’t talk to me”
She didn’t turn around, she just went ahead and dressed up.
It hurt, I knew she was angry but to the point of completely ignoring me? It would be better if she screamed at me, she was still talking to me but this meant that she was completely angry at me.
I knocked on marcellino’s bedroom door.
Jenna’s anger would drive me to madness if it continues. I was angry at everything, at the envelope, at least, at Marcellino, at Alexander.
I opened the door and walked in, Marcellino was laying down but he was awake.
He eyed me as I walked in.
There wa a board beside him, for scribbling.
“Look at what you did to yourself Marcellino” I told him and took the chair in front of his bed.
He took his board and scribbled something on it.
“Get lost”
I laughed.
“For someone who likes talking, you’re going to miss talking for a long time, how long before you start using your mouth, six months, a year?”
He picked his board and scribbled something on it angrily.
“What do you want, Christian?”
“Can’t I just to see how my beloved brother is doing?”
“Don’t play such games with me, I know you would never come to check up on me. It’s best if you just tell me what you want and leave, I need to breathe but your cologne is choking me”
I laughed after reading what he wrote down.
“You still haven’t lost your sense of humor, I see”
He rolled his eyes and picked the board up again.
“I don’t feel safe with you here, call my son”
“I won’t hurt you, I promise. I don’t hit men when they’re down ”
He studied me for a while and scribbled again.
“If not for the fact that you really lie, I wouldn’t believe you. That ghost of a smile you have on your face tells me that you’re angry ”
“Well, I am angry. Jenna is angry at me, so…”
I brought out the file from the envelope.
“I’m hoping that it’s a million dollar project you’re handing over to me to apologize for cracking my jaw and chin.
“No, this is revenge… For you”
He squinted his eyes and scribbled something again.
“Why are you up to?”
“Elisa is back home and as your financial advisor, she has control over your money. My sources told me that she had withdrawn and awful amount of money from your account yesterday. It’s a lot for you”
The board fell from his trembling hands.
“It’s fine, I can help you with it, but first you have to sign this divorce papers because she’s legally your wife and as you know, it’s a joint account… She has rights. But if you divorce her now, she’s just a gold digging wrench and I would like to set her in fire for hurting the love of my life ”
With shaking hands Marcellino lifted the board and picked up the pen. When he was done he turned it to to me and I smiled.
“Hand me the papers”
“Very well”
I handed him the pen and paper and as I watched him sign it, I almost died from happiness.