Three weeks after the reading of the will.
Genevieve was livid. She was boiling with anger as she stomped past Nicholas's secretary without even greeting.
She didn't bother knocking and just went in.
"Genevieve darling," Nicholas sat up in his chair surprised by the brisk entrance of his wife.
"Keep that bullshit to yourself. Explain this?" She threw the files she had brought in on the table.
Nicholas deftly picked them up and examined the contents.
While he checked them, Genevieve assessed her husband. He was looking disheveled, his top buttons were open and his hair looked like he had run his fingers through them. This was a very unusual look for him, he was always so out together. That was one of the reasons why she had been drawn to him.
"Hmm, I see you have gotten the documents." He nodded in approval.
"That's all you're going to say?" She could feel the vein in the center of her head throbbing.
"Yes, Genevieve. What do you expect me to say?" His voice was calm. He was always calm and that was what made her temper fly off the handle.
"Explain to me why I was mailed divorce papers, sales documents of our house and transfer of all of my properties to you." She yelled hitting the table putting her face close to his.
"Calm down, Genevieve. This is so unlike you." He watched her with caution. There was this look in her eyes that he didn't like.
He had never seen her this upset, although he was the one that triggered it.
"Fuck you. Fuck you. I should be calm? You want me to be calm. I will show you calm." She slashed her hand and sent his pricey laptop flying off the desk. The sound the laptop made as it crashed on the floor satisfied her blood thirstiness but it was not enough to dull her anger. It only fuelled it.
"Genevieve, enough of this madness." His voice rose. He was getting tired of her theatrics.
"I'm just getting started." She smiled sweetly.
"Don't do this. Stop whatever you're thinking." He warned.
"I will only stop when you start explaining." She looked around for the next object to destroy.
"Isn't it obvious? Are you so dense that you don't understand what these documents mean?" Nicholas stood up, his expression switching from calm to annoyed so fast that Genevieve was stunned by the switch.
He continued his tirade, "What does it mean when you're served divorced papers? It means, I. Don't. Want. You. Anymore. I never wanted you in the first place and I don't want you now."
Those words he said were like water to flames, they doused her anger. And she almost whimpered in but bit her lips.
"And for the house sales documents, I sold that house because it made me miserable, imagine coming home to a place that reminds you of a mausoleum. Coming back home to a frigid woman who was too cold to make love with me. " His voice shook with so much hate.
Genevieve was still but she stood listening to him speak. Each word from his lips were like a dagger stab to her heart. This was the same man that she has shared a bed with for the past five years with.
"And for the transfer of everything you own, I did it as a reward for being tied to you for five years. Do you think any other man would have survived this marriage?"
"When?" She managed to ask.
"After your grandfather died. You were grieving, I took advantage of that weakness. You signed that document while drunk and in the process transferred everything you own to me."
"Not of my own volition. You took advantage of me." She partially remembered that night that she had taken to alcohol. That was three months ago.
"I only did what any man in his right senses would have done." He smiled, happy with himself.
Her chest heaved with different emotions. She felt like screaming, kicking and punching his face in but she did none of that.
How had she found herself here, married to this evil being? But she had one pressing question to ask him.
"Why did you do all these?" She already knew but she wanted to hear him say it. She wanted to hear the words fall from his lips.
"You still don't get it, Genevieve." He laughed hysterically. "I never married you because I loved you. I married you because of your inheritance. It's nothing personal, I hope someday you will be able to understand." He laughed like what he said was funny.
But she won't break under his watch. She wrapped up her emotions in a metaphorical ball and shoved it down her throat. Later she would deal with them but right now she had to be strong even though she wanted to collapse on the floor.
"If you had simply served me a divorce, I wouldn't have objected. If you had sold the house, I wouldn't have minded but transferring my properties, Nicholas you have crossed the line." Her voice was firm.
"And what are you going to do?" He taunted.
Genevieve kept silent.
"You have nothing, nobody to turn to. All of your connections will be mine. No-one would want to help you if I do something about it. I might as well be the most powerful man in this state right now, thanks to your grandfather's large chunk of inheritance."
The wheels in her mind were turning.
"Do you want to know the major reason for our divorce, dear soon to be ex wife?"
"Why?"
"Darling, please come out. I know you have been bored out of your mind hearing Little Miss Heiress With A Big Attitude crash out this long." Nicholas called out.
The door leading to the inner room opened. Most offices in this building had extra spaces and restrooms were also installed in it.
My eyes widened as I saw who came out of the inner room.
"Isabella?" My eyes bulged in shock.
"Genevieve." Isabella's voice was chill.
"What are you doing here?" My mind didn't want to believe this. This was too much betrayal in one day.
"You heard Nicholas call me darling, didn't you?" She arched her brows in mockery, then made her way to stand with Nicholas.
I could smell the whiff of her perfume as she passed me.
"I missed you, sweetheart." Nicholas smirked at me and then bent his head to kiss Isabella.
I couldn't hold it in. I gasped. How could I have been so blind for years? Now she understood why Nicholas had been looking a little rough when she came.
"I missed you too, honey boo." She giggled bopping the tip of her nose against his.
Isabella was her friend. She had been her friend for years even before I met Nicholas. She was the one that had introduced Nicholas to her encouraging their relationship.
"Are the bells clinking now in your head?" Nicholas taunted.
"I think she's still in shock. Should I call 911 for her, darling? I'm afraid she might faint at any minute." Isabella blinked and contorted her face into a pity look.
Genevieve wanted to bash their heads together. She hated how they were making her feel.
"No, I don't think there would be a need for that. I'm sure she can take it. Genevieve is as strong girl, aren't you?" He directed the question at Genevieve.
Before Genevieve could speak, Isabella answered on her behalf.
"No, I don't think so, honey boo. Even the hardest shells do break sometimes."
"You're so bad, baby."
They both shared a laugh at her expense making her look like a fool.
"How could you, Isabella? I trusted you." Genevieve's voice was filled with pain. She couldn't hide it, didn't even bother to. This had hurt more than Nicholas's betrayal.
"Life is all about the choices we make and this is mine. No hard feelings, Genevieve, you were just in my way." Isabella smirked, sliding her hand in an up and down motion on Nicholas's chest.
There was no trace of that friendly person Isabella had shown her. It was all a lie. Nothing was ever real between them.
"How long has this been going on for?" She swallowed down the tears aching at her throat.
"Do you really want to know?" Isabella clinked her tongue.
"Tell her. Don't tell me you're actually feeling pity for her." Nicholas frowned.
"Since you are so curious. We have been together for longer than you and him have been together." Isabella smirked when she saw Genevieve close her eyes in misery.
"And now all thanks to you, we can be a family for real this time." Nicolas caressed Isabella's tummy.
Her eyes widened in realization. Another secret had been revealed again. At this point, Genevieve wouldn't be surprised if she had a heart attack anytime soon from too many shocks.
"Yes, she's pregnant with my child. Something you couldn't even do after years of trying."
"My family won't let you get away with this. I won't let you get away with this." Genevieve vowed.
"Like your family cares about you. If they come after me, it will only because of the inheritance, nothing else. You're not as important as you think." Nicolas clicked his tongue chastising her.
Sadly, he was right. But realizing that she had had enough, Genevieve prepared to take her leave. She would lick her wounds in private, where no one could judge her.
"Do tell me, Nicolas. What did you tell my grandfather that made him make you the sole heir of his inheritance?" My mind knew
"Surprisingly, nothing." Nicolas chuckled.
Isabella looked uneasy.
That was enough to tell Genevieve what she already suspected.
"You have until a week to move out of the house. The new owners won't be happy to see an intruder there." He informed her but she didn't bother waiting.
"And I will send you the divorce papers, do well to sign them before the deadline."
She left the office with her head held up high and her back ramrod straight. Even though her ego had been beaten down, she was still a Harrington.
She had only cried three times in her life as an adult, when her father had died, the second time was when her grandfather had died. And this was going to be the third and last time because this betrayal was too deep to brush off.
She was going to have her revenge and she wouldn't stop till Nicolas was down on his knees begging her for mercy.
And mercy, she won't grant him.