4 DIVORCE

Adrian was confused as to when and howErika became this confident. Was it because of what happened last night, he asked himself. But it couldn't be. She should have at least considered Grandma before leaving right? Or was she seeing someone else? Just the thought of that made him feel emotions he had never felt towards her before.

While Adrian was in his own thoughts, Mary and Juliet started mocking Erika and it somehow drew him out of his thoughts. Mary said"I am so happy today that we were finally able to get rid of that pest, Erika" She went back to the dining table and sat down to continue her meal as the whole dinner was interrupted earlier.

Juliet went to her mother's side and reminded her" But mom she didn't take any alimony remember, she might come back here again and then what do we do?”

Mary looked at the lovely daughter and replied, "It's also good that way at least she will know where she belongs, under my

feet. Also I will increase her workload here when she comes back." She said plainly and continued munching on her meal.

Adrian heard all that they said but then nothing piqued his interest so he just left. It was already known that Mary was the one who gave Erika workloads as a way she could repay them for letting her stay rent-free but they forgot that she was the daughter-in-law and not some servant or stranger. But before Adrian could totally disappear from their sight, Mary stopped him, "Hey wait! Make sure to go to the bureau office at the specific time and register the divorce while I will go and visit the Evans family then after that you can start planning your wedding with Felicia, okay?"

Adrian had been thinking about Erika and her changed attitude and totally forgot that he was supposed to be happy that he would finally marry the woman of his dreams but now he was confused. He didn't reply immediately and just said," I think we need to lay cool for a while, if the media found out I divorced my wife and married another

woman a day or two after that they will know something is up"

Mary thought about it and said, "You are right, let's give it a week or two." She couldn't wait for Felicia to be her daughter-in-law.

Adrian looked at his mom and said "Two weeks is too short at least a month.”

Mary was shocked, "A whole month but that is too long, I don't want to wait for a whole month". She said firmly but it didn't affect Adrian a bit.

Adrian looked at his stepmother and said coldly "Then maybe you should go marry her yourself" and left without giving her a chance to respond.

The atmosphere in the living room became tense. Adrian never really liked his stepmother, especially with the way she squeezed herself into the family and replaced his mother as the lady of the house so he never cared about however way she treated Erika but it seemed like she forgot that she was not his real mother and

tried to force him into marrying Felicia quickly.

The mother and daughter duo looked at each other and the same thought ran through their mind" Was he delaying this because he had started liking Erika?". They dispersed it immediately because they were getting divorced tomorrow.

Erika waited at the mansion's main gatesfor 10 minutes before a brand-new sports car pulled up. The windows rolled down and an extraordinarily beautiful face was seen. It was Monica, Erika's childhood best friend. When she was packing she called Monica to come pick her up she didn't explain why but Monica quickly understood. They smiled at each other and Erika got into the passenger seat. They looked at each other for a while without a word said until Erika's eyes flooded with tears and she burst out crying.

Erika had been holding herself for too long because she didn't want to cry in front of those people who thought of her to be worthless. Monica quickly scouted over and

tried to calm her down but Erika was crying uncontrollably. Her body was shaking and her eyes had turned red. Monica whispered to her "It's okay, am here. Let it all out". Erika's face was now buried in Monica's chest as she continued to sob. Monica's heart broke seeing her best friend like this, she also let out a few tears as she continued to hug Erika.

They stayed in that position for 5 minutes and the car was enveloped with silence, Erika's cry gradually reduced and they released themselves and sat back properly. Monica looked at her and said" Let's go home" and she started the car and zoomed in.

No one said a word until they drove into aresidential private estate that had bigger houses than the one the Harts lived in. They went into a mansion two times bigger than the Hart family mansion. It was Monica's gift from her parents. Erika knew her way around the house so she went to her room. Erika came here often in the past and even slept over but it changed when she got married to Adrian. Erika got ready

to go to bed, she didn't eat much dinner because of the drama that was caused in the Hart family but she wasn't hungry either. But then she heard a knock on her door and went to open it and saw Monica. She let her in. Monica knew that Erika didn't want to talk about it on her cell phone when she called or in the car when they were arriving here. She understood her friend and they were like telepathic twins but she was worried.

Monica first said, "It's been a while since you visited here, this room misses you a lot you know."

Erika replied with a smile "Yeah I know which is why I will be staying for a while before going to meet my family".

Monica was surprised" You are going back to the Walters family ?".

Erika replied "Well yes, I miss my family so much and besides....." she paused for a second and continued " Adrian and I are getting a divorce.

Monica wasn't surprised at all as she had

already suspected it to be the reason she left the house and she was glad that she could now see things clearly and not blindly follow their orders. They decided to change the topic and catch up on the times they missed. Monica was mostly the one who was talking and just listened and watched her cheerful friend till it was late and they called it a night.

The next morning, Erika woke up at 7 a. m. Got ready had breakfast and prepared for the bureau office. Since she doesn't have a car yet Monica will be driving her there but won't show herself. Erika knew that just as her friend was very cheerful she was also temperamental and would create a scene there so she was only allowed to stay in the car after dropping her off. When they got there, Adrian was already there and it was just 8:50 a. m. He came early, good, she thought. She went out before he could see her coming out of the expensive sports car. She doesn't want to reveal her real identity yet.

Adrian saw Erika and was perplexed. He just wanted to do this quickly to clear his

mind. The both of them stood face to face and stared at each other. Erika mostly has ponytail s on but today she let her hair free which made her face look smaller and cuter. Adrian for the first time thought she was beautiful. Erika said, "Let's go in".

They went in and the woman at the table welcomed them. They said what they had come there to do, they brought their IDs and the divorce papers and it was registered. They each got a copy. Adrian looked at the papers in his hands and looked at Erika who looked calm during the whole procedure. He thought she would stop mid-way and beg him to take her back but that didn't happen. He was single and free?

Erika faced him and said"Thank you for the torture and pain you caused me, I will make sure to pay you back, goodbye", and left when she was done. He stared at her until she disappeared into the alley where Monica had packed her car. He missed the evil glint that passed her eyes and just waved away what she said.