"Stay away from me," Reyona said simply as he made a move to hold her.
He stopped in his tracks and looked at her in surprise. "What has gotten into you, babe? I thought you were just joking when you mentioned this at first, but you actually had them give me a fucking paper! Why would you do that? I am sorry, okay? I am so sorry for hitting you. I was just so messed up at the time. I am sorry, Reyona. Please let me make it up to you."
That had Reyona laughing.
"What is funny?" he asked with a hint of anger in his voice.
"You. That is what is funny," Reyona answered as her laughter stopped just as abruptly as it started.
"I can see that you've lived a lie for so long that even you believe it now. Either that or you still think I am stupid. I actually came here intending to ask you questions and get a bit of closure, but you know what? Nothing you say will make any difference. A piece of garbage will always be one. I am tired of your lies. I am tired of your deception, and I sure as hell am tired of seeing your stupid face. I will suggest you sign the paper and simply get yourself out of my life. Because if you fight me on this, I will fight back. And I can assure you that you will leave the battle bloody and drained."
She made a move to leave, but he blocked her path.
"Reyona, wait!"
"Wait for what? For more of your lies? No, buddy. You had a lot of time to come clean to me, but you were never going to. Right now? I am not interested in whatever you have to say. Sign the papers and get the hell out of my house, or I will drag you through the court and back. You and I know you will never win against me."
With that, she brushed him aside and left the house.
It was not enough.
Of course, it was not enough to relieve her pent-up anger, but it was something.
As Reyona drove off to the company to use her pent-up adrenaline on something productive, she believed her warnings should be enough to make Thomas know that she was not joking.
She expected him to tuck his tails in between his legs and run as far away as possible from him.
She expected to be rid of him soon.
As sad as it was, it was liberating too.
She could almost believe that there would come a day when she could look back on this day and not feel this much pain.
Little did she know!
**********
Dread dawned on Thomas as he watched Reyona leave.
What the hell was that about? He wondered.
That stick in the mud had never dared to speak to him like that before.
She had always been respectful to him and drearily proper.
It was one other reason why she was such a contrast to Susan.
Susan was the spicy, sassy, all-fun love of his life, while Reyona was just Reyona.
She was their goldmine.
The cool and collected CEO with the right words and actions.
The woman who just spoke with him a few minutes ago was someone else entirely.
Well, it had been his wife, alright.
But it was as if she had been possessed by someone else.
Before his anger rose at that, the thought that brought dread into him rose again.
Did she know?
Did she find out everything?
She must have gone to check on him at the center and gym, only to find out that it had been sold.
But how is that possible?
Whoever bought the businesses had not even made any attempt to do anything with them yet.
Thomas had not been able to get in touch with the person.
Even the contact details through which he connected with Lance had been deactivated.
It was almost as if the buyer was a ghost!
How could Reyona have discovered anything about that?
He wouldn't deny that she had more means than he did.
In fact, he would have asked for her help to seek out the man if not for the fact that it would implicate him.
Had she found out anyway?
"Damn it!" Thomas yelled as he hit his fist against the wall.
The pain and bruise did nothing to stop his raging thoughts as he went back inside.
He went straight to pour himself a stiff drink.
If she had found that out, did that mean she had found out everything else too?
Abut the children?
About Susan?
About the money he just withdrew?
The money that he had ended up spending the bulk of it on the kid's hospital treatment!
That still smarted.
Though she was back at home right now and feeling well, he couldn't help but resent her untimely sickness, which sucked away most of the money that could still have been enough for their tickets once Susan was released.
At this rate, he doubted that the release was going to happen anytime soon.
Susan had been found guilty of using different types of d***s, mostly white candy.
Agent Tyler had told him that she was liable to face a jail term.
Even if she were pardoned on the condition that she would go to rehab, the case of d**g traffi**ing was still there.
Something that goddamn Rohan and his lawyer had not been able to do anything about despite all his strutting.
"Now is not a good time for the bitch to spring this on me!" he blurted out as he smashed the glass in his hand against the floor.
"You want to get rid of me that easily? You will have to think again, fucking bitch!"
He decided to calm down first and confirm something before he could conclude.
He picked up his phone and called the account manager of their joint account.
As he listened to the man's response, his hand was clenched so tightly that his knuckles whitened and popped.
He tossed the phone against the couch and walked towards their sports equipment closet.
He picked up his baseball bat and came back to the living room, like someone in a trance.
"You fucking bitch!" That statement ended with a mighty swing of the bat against the dented TV.
The spray of glass didn't stop him, as he bashed the TV over and over again while repeating.
"You will not fucking leave me!"
"You have no right to leave me!"
"I am the one who decides when this ends!"
"You won't fucking leave me!"
After the TV had died a painful death and its carcass lay in a shower of glass, mangled circuit boards, and plastic, his eyes caught on Reyona's lifesize portrait.
"You think you are all that, huh? You inconsiderate bitch!"
With that, like a crazed man, he smashed every bit of the beautifully crafted portrait, then he moved on to every other one that had only Reyona in it, leaving their wedding portrait intact.
By the time he dropped heavily on the floor, breathing like a freight train, he was sweating like someone who had been on an all-day run.
"What the fuck am I going to do now?" he wondered as despair finally set in.
He realised the weight of his situation.
He might be forced to sign the divorce papers after all.
If she truly knew about everything, just as she knew about the money, then going to court with her would destroy him.
She would ruin him!
Unless…
His eyes widened as he remembered something.
He quickly stood up and sidestepped the broken glasses on the floor as he went to pick up his phone.
It had been a while ago, so he had to scroll for a while before seeing it.
A sinister smile creeped onto his face as he played it.
"You are a genius, Susan," he muttered to himself as he watched it.
It had been her idea back then.
They had watched it together, and she had made comparisons.
Now it was going to save them.
"Let's see how you crawl back to me, bitch," Thomas said with satisfaction as the perfect idea occurred to him.
Then he set his plan in motion.