Chapter 1

Xx location in Norway City, In the spacious hallway of a funeral home, Leonica Bryce, a beautiful blonde in her Mid twenties, stood facing the stoic face of her handsome husband, Gabriel Bryce. In the background, guests and acquaintances perambulated around, gossiping amongst themselves and sharing their condolences, but none of that mattered to Leonica as much as her husband's words did. "Let's get a divorce." Those words, laced with his deep and charming voice, rang in Leonica's ears. "What?" She asked in disbelief, not willing to believe what her ears had just heard. "I said let's get a divorce," Gabriel repeated without a hint of remorse. "I'll have the documents ready in a few days." He added on. Clearly hearing his words this time around, Leonica's face crumbled ever so slightly in anguish and her heart throbbed in pain. "What? Why?" She asked as calmly as she could, not wanting to lose her composure and draw the attention of the guests at the funeral. "Because I can't deal with you anymore." He replied, his face expressionless and cold, not even an ounce of pity for his wife, who was going through a hard time, barely having recovered from the death of his grandmother a month ago. "You can't deal with me anymore?" Leonica repeated his words slowly, her heart throbbed painfully at his words and her eyes stung. Although their marriage had been arranged by her family and Gabriel's late grandmother, she loved him and showered him with enough care and passion to melt any man's cold heart. She gave up her position in her family Group to be his good wife, distanced herself from her friends to be by his side, only to hear those words now? "Do you want to tell me why, honey?" She gathered the courage to ask, eyes shining with the tears that glossed her eyes. Gabriel cringed at the use of the pet name. He hated it. Never for once during their three years of marriage had he enjoyed hearing her call him so lovingly. Neither had he enjoyed the way she treated him with fake love and passion, nor the way she moaned his name in bed while they made love. Every single one of those things aggravated him! "That's none of your business. All you should know is that I want a divorce." Gabriel said with finality, concluding the topic for the time being and walking away. Leonica watched him walk back to discuss with guests and acquaintances, feeling as though her heart was about to stop beating. Grandma's passing did hit a lot of people, and she knew Gabriel was the most. That old kind woman was the only thing he had to fall back on in his lonely childhood when his parents were busy with their careers. The person he valued the most in the world. Leonica remembered how appalled Gabriel was when they learned the sad news. Some important part collapsed in his heart and she was the one who accompanied him to share the pain. When he was trapped by the company's stock shock, she quietly took care of everything for the funeral. When he dragged his tired body home, she always prepared hot water and meals for him. Even when he wanted some way to vent, she cooperated to be the bed warmer to ease his sadness. After this hard time, she thought he could at least feel a little of her heart, she thought their bond would be a bit stronger, but didn't realize it would be the beginning of the marriage falling apart. Leonica felt her eyes burn hot and sting, tears threatening to spill out. Quickly, she raised her head, trying her best to prevent the tears from running down her face. She couldn't let it ruin her makeup and draw the attention of many. The funeral was not over. She didn't want to mess it up. She would fix their problem with Gabriel, but not now. Swallowing her pride and hurt, Leonica blinked her tears back and fixed her composure, keeping her chin up as she returned to attend to the guest. A few hours later, the funeral finally concluded and Leonica and Gabriel got into the back of their shared Rolls-Royce. The moment the car started moving, Leonica stole a glance at her husband who had his face turned to the window, his attention focused on the moving scenery. The handsome side of his face made her trance a bit. How on earth had she fallen for such an aloof man? He didn't give her much passion except in bed. But even so, Leonica was content. She never thought of a divorce. "I'm moving out," Gabriel spoke up, breaking the silence between them. His eyes still trained on the scenery, while her face was pale and confusion-ridden. "Tell me why?" She asked as she lowered her head and clenched her dress. "That's none of your business, Leonica," Gabriel said coldly, almost calling her name with disgust. "I'm your wife, Gabriel, I have the right to know!" She countered. "The reason for you demanding a divorce, the reason for you suddenly wanting to move out of our matrimonial home, all this I have the right to know." She added, trying her best to keep her emotions and voice in check. "It's none of your fucking business, Leonica!" Gabriel snapped, turning to look at her. The look in his eyes, the anger, and coldness, was enough to make Leonica shrink and flinch. She had never seen Gabriel angry before. No, she had never seen him lose his cool. Ever. "Just why?" She muttered. "Everything has been okay, peaceful even. We eat meals together all the time and even make...make love at night. We are happy, Gabriel, So, why are you suddenly like this?" She asked, her voice trembling. "Happy?" Gabriel scoffed mockingly at her words. "Stop being delusional, Leonica. The only person who has been selfishly happy in this marriage is you." He hissed, "I haven't been happy with you ever since you showed up in my life. All you've done is annoy me to no end. You've become nothing but a thorn in my flesh." Leonica's heart constricted painfully at his words, the tears that threatened to spill back into her eyes, her lips quivering. How could he be so harsh and say such cruel words to her? She didn't remember she did anything wrong to annoy him. Or did something else bother him? "G-Gabriel..." She meekly called out, her words being disrupted at that very moment as his phone began to ring. Ignoring his heartbroken wife beside him, Gabriel fetched his phone from the inner pocket of his phone, glancing at the caller ID. The name on the screen displayed Angelina, with a red heart symbol beside it. And just with that glance, Leonica quickly realized why he was so desperate for a divorce. His past lover was back.