Chapter 7

Leonica was sitting upright on the bed, staring emptily into the space. The hickeys Gabriel left on her were still fresh, yet instead of excitement like anytime before, it only made her shudder and sick. She hated him. Hated him with a new growing passion. When he was the one who asked for the divorce, the one who brought his mistress home regardless of her opinions as his wife, the one who said he'd rather die than marry her, how the hell could he do all that to her last night? In order not to hurt the baby, she dropped all her pride to beg him yet he still cared about his feelings only. And after all this, he stepped out of bed before she could wake up as if nothing happened. What the hell did he think she was? A free whore at his beck and call? Gabriel Bryce that bastard surely had no heart for her! Leonica didn't know how long she kept this position until the doorbell rang. She had planned on ignoring it, but the person on the other end was persistent and rang the bell repeatedly, annoying her. "Who could it be?" She muttered, heading towards the door after dressing up. As she opened the door, she was greeted by the familiar sight of a young man, Gabriel's attorney. "Good afternoon, Mrs." Daniel greeted politely. Nearly at once, Leonica realized the reason for his sudden visit. As if to confirm her suspicions, Daniel reached into his brown briefcase and pulled out a stack of papers, offering them to her. "I'm here to deliver the divorce papers." It felt like her heart had stopped, the world was slowly fading around her, and Leonica was being suffocated by her own emotions. It took her a while to suppress those stupid feelings and Leonica reached for the papers and took them, forcing a smile on her lips and saying. "Thank you, Daniel." "You're welcome, Mrs. Bryce. And...there was one more thing." Leonica felt being stabbed hard in her chest the moment she recognized what the pills lying on his palm were. The oral contraceptive. "Mr. Bryce asked me to give you this..." Daniel scratched his head awkwardly as he explained, "He said..." "I see." Leonica cut his words while grabbing a pill and threw it in her mouth. "Now, he can rest assured and you can leave." As her voice had turned cold and her eyes so sharp, Daniel knew he shouldn't stay longer. "Wish you a good day, Mrs. Bryce." Daniel tipped his fedora hat and said his goodbye, turning and walking down the stairs towards the car parked at the side of the road. As soon as Daniel was out of sight, Leonica rushed back home and gouged out the pill stuck in her throat. Tears streaming down her face as she coughed hard. Her broken heart screamed in pain. How could she be so stupid? How could she even expect him to change his mind after last night? Gabriel never wanted her but only took her as an unpaid whore. How would he want a child from a whore in his eyes? If he was so heartless, there was no need for her to be indecisive. Leonica slowly took the wedding ring from her hand and put it on the table before she calmed herself to sign the paper. Gabriel Bryce, you'd better not regret what you've done today! *** Gabriel sat in the comfort of his office, face mildly scrunched up. He was trying to focus greatly on the work at hand but images with Leonica last night kept dangling in front of his eyes. Did that woman put a spell on him? He picked up the glass of whiskey resting on his table and took a shot. Even the soft music of the classical song playing on the radio which usually helped him calm didn't work at all today. Something was out of control. A knock sounded on his door and Gabriel replied, “Come in.” “Mr. Bryce, I came here to return the documents.” Daniel, his attorney, said and walked towards his desk, putting the divorce documents on it. "She signed it?" Gabriel questioned as his brows frowned. Daniel nodded and Gabriel quickly opened the documents and sure enough, he saw Leonica’s signature written in attractive cursive letters on the bottom of the first page. For some reason, he felt as if a corner of his heart had gone missing at that moment. He had expected her to show up at his office, weeping and begging at his feet after receiving the divorce papers, or better yet, he had anticipated returning home and finding her a crying mess, who’d later make promises and once more, proclaim her love for him, all in the bid to keep their marriage standing. But she signed it, quickly and quietly. Not like her at all. How could Leonica sign their divorce documents as quietly as an ant? And this should be what he wanted, but why wasn't he feeling as relieved and happy as he had expected? *** Club Parrish, was one of the best nightclubs in the whole of New York and had the largest VIP room with the most expensive champagne and the finest liquor money could buy. Only the elite ranks gained access to the place. Weaving throw the crowd of people, Gabriel walked straight to his private room and upon opening the door, was instantly greeted by Lloyd Riley and Christian Andersen. Lloyd and Christian were just as famous as Gabriel, only out of the three, one of them was a business tycoon, the other a famous doctor who owned his hospital, and the last one a hotelier with more than a hundred hotels worldwide. The three of them, despite their difference in character all, had influential family backgrounds, thus making them the perfect match. The unholy Trinity, as they had been called back in their college days. "Yo! Gabriel!" Lloyd greeted loudly as soon as he spotted his best friend step into the room. Beside him, Christian gave a subtle nod of acknowledgment in Gabriel's way. "Suddenly getting a text like that from you out of the blue sure did concern us. So what's up?" Christian asked whilst taking a sip from the transparent glass that held his liquor. "You don't look so good, man." Lloyd pointed out, observing his friend. "Is everything alright?" He questioned, cocking his head to the side. "It's nothing," Gabriel assured, taking a seat at the center of the three-seater couch, across from them. Almost immediately he reached for a glass and poured himself a measurable amount of whiskey before downing it in one gulp, which surprised both Lloyd and Christian, causing them to share glances. "It's obviously Not Nothing if you're drinking like this." Christian pointed out. Gabriel, instead of responding, glared at his friend, not because his words were annoying, but rather because they were true. Ever since holding the signed divorce papers in his hands, Gabriel had felt uneasy and his heart heavy, as if something was bothering him and he didn't know what it was. The more he tried not to think about it, the more he ended up thinking about it, and the worse he felt. "Ah, I think I know what all this is about," Christian snickered after a while. At his words, all eyes were on him. "Gabriel Bryce is panicking," Christian stated nonchalantly as if saying the obvious. This caused another round of confused glances at him. "Panicking about what?" Lloyd asked, sharing a confused glance with Gabriel. "Why, about his wife, of course." Christian clarified, the look in his eyes mischievous and playful. "You mean Leonica? Why would Gabriel panic about her?" Lloyd asked, confused, even Gabriel was confused too. There was no way Christian knew about his divorce. It was still fresh news. "Well, I saw Leonica by the gynecology yesterday." Christian suddenly began, causing Gabriel's movement to halt. The gynecology? Why had Leonica gone there? A sudden thought hit Gabriel like a brick and his eyes narrowed dangerously. The only reason a woman would go to gynecology would be... "You don't mean..." Lloyd started, catching on to Gabriel's silent horror. "Yes." Christian nodded his head, confirming it. "Gabe's lovely wife, might be pregnant."