Blood rushed into Lacey's ears when she heard the pronouncement. Never in her life would she have thought that the court would overrule her divorce. He came here representing the magistrate court on the grounds that her excuse was not genuine enough.
" We take your complaints into consideration dearly but we would suggest that both of you see a therapist, marriage counselor or someone to help deal with the recurring issues in your marriage. I truly hope that the next time I have the privilege to meet you, we will be talking about your blissful marriage." Mike said and Lacey's mouth fell open.
" I will be taking my leave now. Thanks for your time. I can give you the number of a therapist if you want."
The dining room fell completely silent till he left, " Good to hear that you are still bound together." Mr. Richard said, causing his wife to stare at him with an evil eye.
" I don't know what has come over these people." Lacey said. It was as though they ganged up against her. If Mark had the means, she would have believed that he bribed Mike but she knew that it wasn't true. Or did he spin a tale about how he was the one suffering in this marriage?
" I don't know what to do with you. I feel like strangling you." She said with a grit in her teeth.
" I don't think you would like your career to go down the drain for this fool. I guess that's what he has always wanted. to reduce you to his level." She said in great annoyance. One thing was certain, she would never allow him to have peace till he gets frustrated and leaves her daughter alone. " He wants to stain you with abject poverty. Gosh! I don't even know how he does it." She said, shuddering visibly as if he was a worm in the earth.
She was ready to destroy the little self esteem left in him, how dare he try to destroy her daughter's life?
" You will regret this action,I hope you don't think my daughter will settle for you? She will never love you so you better allow her to leave. She's still prime goods anyway, no one will want you with your abject poverty stricken self."
Lacey felt a bit hurt by that statement, but she was too cowardly to challenge her mother when she was on a roll like that. Only she was entitled to call him names,
"Mom, let's not have anything to do with his useless self lest he begins to feel important. " she said knowing that her mother would run with that baton.
" That's true my dear, he's foolish, poor and broke."
Mr. Richard had had enough, " I think that's enough insult for one person. We don't look like what we went through. Allow the couple to live their lives."
Lacey's eyes traveled to Mark, and was shocked by the intensity in his gaze. He didn't understand why she would stand there and watch her mother insult him without even saying anything.
He saw her flinch when her mother abused him and that gave him the hope that he needed to forge ahead and make sure that they had a blissful marriage. No matter what anyone says.
" So, what do you think? I should allow this riff raff to take my daughter's life and play with it."
Mr. Richard pulled his wife closer to him and stared her in the eye.
" I said it's okay, you don't need to do this." He said sternly and she stopped ranting.
Lacey sighed inwardly. She didn't know how Mark was able to take all that insult without feeling a certain way. She wouldn't have been able to stomach all of her mother's insults. Well, maybe because she would never have been in that position. She sighed inwardly.
" Let me have a word with you." She told Mark who nodded and followed her silently.
" So, what do you suggest we do? I hope you are not expecting to win me back or some stuff like that?" She asked in a disgusted tone and he stared at her.
" What if that's the case, what would you do?"
Lacey threw her head back and laughed, Mark was getting gutsy. What changed? She wondered. Was anyone making him see himself as being important now? They were deceiving him and that without remedy. She pitied him big time because she understood why he was probably feeling that way. It was because she had not cut him off completely. If she had, he would have gotten the memo.
" Why don't you transfer this relentless pursuit to making money. I tell you if you do, I would be the happiest woman alive, but this thing you're doing, trying to prove your love in this broke state is not going to work, so you better channel your energy into something more productive like getting a job? You know, making money and stuff like that. I would be so proud of you. That doesn't mean that I would like to come back to you." She said while staring him right in the eye hoping that he got the message now and finally found a way to get over his love for her.
" I will never leave you, Lacey. this was not the woman I married, I know she's in there and I will definitely find her. It might take time but it will happen."
Lacey was taken aback by his conviction, but she decided to play it cool, " I'll have you know that I have many men on standby and I could just pick one if I chose." She said smugly which was a complete lie but no one needed to know especially Mark.
" Okay, then, let's have a wager. We stay three months like normal couples and we put this to the test, let's see if you wouldn't fall in love with me." Mark said, desperate for anything he could get.
" This is the second time you are saying this rubbish."
" Well, that's because I mean it, are you in?"