Faithfully

“I want a divorce,” Maya declared as soon as their car passed the streets near their house.

“What?” Emmett slammed his foot on the break, staring at his wife completely stunned.

“I thought I was clear about the divorce yesterday at dinner,” Maya passed him the papers.

“What kind of joke is this?” He chuckled, not even looking at the papers.

“I’m serious. I want divorce. I’ve signed them, now it’s your turn,” she stated. Emmett broke out in goosebumps at seeing her signature on them.

“Maya, what has gotten into you? Why do you want a divorce so suddenly?” He exclaimed.

“You know the reason so let’s drop the act and go our separate ways,” she breathed out, watching the cars pass by .

“No, that’s impossible. Are you hurt over my gambling? Or is it because of my affair with Ms. Wilson? I swear that the widow is lying. We just had a few drinks and she started spreading rumors.”

Maya clenched her teeth. “Stop that nonsense! So now you are trying to tell me that the blonde bimbo that I caught you in our bed with you was a figment of my imagination? Was that a lollipop that she was sucking? Or was that a horse that she was riding with such joy?”

Emmett’s lips twitched when a good girl like Maya snapped using those types of words that he never expected to hear out of her mouth.

“Okay, I admit it,” he sternly confessed. Maya chuckled at his statement. He had to admit as he had no excuses left. His mask had already come loose but now he completely ripped it off. “You need to understand that a man has needs, that he must have sated by other women sometimes. If you can’t be flexible then I’m afraid that the future will be hard for us.”

The word ‘flexible’ stabbed at Maya’s patience, after hearing it at least a hundred times she could only smile. “True, the days of our inflexible relationship are numbered. As you know I have nothing left to give you. So keep these divorce papers as our parting gift,” she pushed the papers firmly into his hand. “Now that things are cleared up between us there’s no point in going to the restaurant to celebrate our anniversary, right? I’ll be taking my leave,” she grabbed the door handle but felt a cold hand wrap tightly around her arm.

“Is this marriage a joke to you?” He tossed the papers back in her lap, finally showing his true color. His eyes turned red at receiving such an unexpected gift at their first wedding anniversary. “There is no way that I’m divorcing you,” he growled. Maya closed her eyes as a flash of anger rushed through her veins but she remained calm.

“I have no desire to stay in this toxic relationship any longer,” she announced.

“Toxic?” Emmett sneered. “You ungrateful bitch. I fed you, clothed you, lavished every luxury on you…”

“All of that was already mine,” Maya cut him off with a glare. “A year ago, I made the mistake of falling in love with a con like you who had his greedy eyes set on my money and business. Don’t force me to start on your sick sexual fantasies and hideous habits. You bit the hand that fed you and now you act like you’re my owner?” She laughed bitterly, remembering that snowy night on the street when Emmett had helped her with her car.

He had approached her with a plan and had already run a background check of her, knowing that she owned a small yet successful restaurant. He had faked everything about his life from his job, his house, even his family. He had followed her around like a love sick puppy for a year in order to win her heart. He had only begun to reveal his true nature slowly six months after their wedding. He turned into a completely different person.

Emmett’s expressions turned ugly when Maya mentioned her business. “I’m just handling the business on your behalf. You and I are married so why does it matter that the business is in my name now?”

“You literally stole it from me, Emmett. You took advantage of me days after surgery to fake my signatures, transferred my business into your name, with the ultimate goal of tying me to you using the business as leverage? No way,” Maya chuckled, remembering how badly she had lost the case against him a month ago. When he had shoved a wad of money down every possible person’s throat to insure the case would be found in his favor. She could not get recover anything, instead she was labeled a greedy bitch who wanted to rob her husband of his fortune.

He mockingly rolled his eyes, “So if you know that everything you own is in my possession then you should wipe this stupid notion of divorcing me from your head. It’s not happening,” he was ready to start the car.

“I don’t need any of that anymore,” Maya remarked, causing her husband to pause.

“What?” He shifted his gaze at her.

“I refuse to fight over what you stole from me. I won’t ruin my future on you any longer. Keep my money and rot in hell. Even though it’ll take a few months or even years, I’ll build my future once again but it won’t be under your shadow,” Maya threw the divorce papers in Emmett’s face. “I’m done with you,” she grabbed the car keys before getting out of the car.

Emmett sat there speechless like a rejected piece of trash. He had hardly tied Maya to him using her business and money so that she would live like his slave t forever but she hadn’t even paused when she slammed all of that in his face. He expected her to beg, cry, and crawl back to him yet she spit on him by asking for a divorce. His ego was crushed, he felt insecure, and fear of losing her raised his ire to that level that his eyes turned red. He needed Maya, he could not let her go.

“Maya,” he followed her out only to find that she had pulled out a large suitcase from the trunk of the car already. His mouth gaped at seeing how she had left the house with the full intention of never returning. Maya had recognized the red flags long ago and today she had finally reached the point where she had a proper plan. Emmett was a poisonous snake lurking in the grass. He had bitten her so badly that she was left with nothing.

“Maya, listen to me,” he grabbed her hand.

“Let go,” she pushed his hand away.

“Let’s talk.”

“Emmett,” Maya said quietly. She was fed up with his lies and betrayal. “You make me sick. Let’s part ways. I’m going that way so don’t follow me,” she remarked, grabbing her luggage to walk away.

“What the fuck! You think that I’m a joke because I treat you so well?” He blocked her path towering over her. “Get in the car quietly like a good girl. We’ll talk it over at home like a normal couple and divorce won’t ever be mentioned again. Do you understand me?” His expressions were stern, the blue veins in his neck popped out.

“Are you done?” Maya instantly asked, passing by him. Emmett felt completely insulted by her actions. He lost his patience and violently pushed her against the car’s door.

“You fucking still love to play hard to get don’t you?” His threatening eyes glared down at her. “People are watching. Don’t create a scene, get in the car before I make you get in, and show you who I really am.”

“There’s no need. I’ve already shown who you really are to my lawyer. They’ll be visiting you anytime now with the police if you so much as scratch me let alone forcing me anywhere.”

“What do you mean?” Emmett frowned. Lawyers and the police were the last things that he expected from Maya.

“What you did to me over these past few months, the medical report, the photos and videos of your violence in the bedroom, I’ve submitted all of it to my lawyer.”

“What the fuck are you saying…”

“Seeing how quietly this situation can be handled, I told my lawyer to take action if you act like an asshole just like you are now. If you don’t want to go to jail for your actions then don’t forget to hand over the signed papers to my lawyer who is waiting for you at the house.”

Maya passed by him as Emmett was frozen in shock. The only sound was the wheels rolling on the road.

“Fuck!” Emmett kicked the tire in defeat, his furious eyes boring a hole in Maya’s straight back. Even setting cameras throughout the house so that he could keep an eye on her every moment of the day and a person to stalk her everywhere she went, she had managed to plan all of this behind his back. She collected proof and trapped him so thoroughly that divorcing her was the only option for him. He misjudged her and now she escaped from the gilded cage.

Maya walked calmly ignoring the growls and glares coming from Emmett before she hailed a taxi and left.

“Miss, where to?” The taxi driver asked.

“To the airport,” she leaned back in the seat, watching the beauty of the city as it passed by. After a few minutes her eyes went down to her phone screen where she got a message. It was from her friend and lawyer.

Cherry: You took down that asshole, girl. He bought your lie about the proof and signed the papers.

The cool breeze brushed through Maya’s brown hair as the corner of her lips curled slightly. Maya breathed in the invigorating air of freedom that she had earned through her own hardship.

Under Emmett’s eagle eyes and sick personality Maya had never been able to collect proof. She used his prejudice and cowardice to attack his secret. Maya had managed to go though Emmett’s background check with the help of Cherry. She discovered that he was an ex-convict, who had gone to jail two years ago for violence against his girlfriend, all of which Maya pretended to be unaware of to catch him perfectly off guard.

Emmett could not afford to face the police again. Maya would have had the upper hand in that situation so he had to divorce her in the end.

Maya: Thanks for the work, Cherry. I’ll deposit the money tonight.

Maya tossed her phone back into her bag and enjoyed the long ride to the airport until the next street was taken over by some military group. The whole street was jammed with cars and people.

The driver sighed irritated. “We’re stuck for an hour or two.”

Maya looked behind them where ten vehicles had already blocked the road, but she had no time to waste. It was her last chance she had to catch the flight under any circumstances. “Then I’ll walk and grab another taxi. Thank you for the ride,” she paid the fare and merged with the crowd pulling her luggage. After a long struggle she managed to get to the other side, she hailed a passing taxi only to find her purse had a big hole.

“Shit!” She went through her purse remembering a ten years old boy that had bumped into her. “Oh no,” the child she thought was a poor homeless boy was a pickpocketer. Maya checked her small purse that she had all her money, gold wedding ring, and even her cell phone was safe. The only thing that was missing was something that she could not afford to lose. “Why did the child only steal my passport?” Maya murmured in confusion.

“Ma’am?″ The taxi driver pressed the horn impatiently to grab her attention. She closed the door shaking her head. Now there was no use in going to the airport. She headed to the police station to file a theft report, she explained the whole situation before moving on to inform the passport office, and applied for a re-issue of her passport. It took a large amount of time and drained her energy. Her stomach grumbled. She grabbed a sandwich in a nearby restaurant as she pondered her next move.

“Ugh, I have to wait a month or more for my new passport.” She could not leave the country now. She had nowhere to stay and choosing to stay at a hotel in this city was dangerous as Emmett could show up. The sun was setting and she refused to play that dangerous game with that lunatic, so Maya decided to play it safe. She exited the restaurant with her luggage to stand at the bus station wondering where she should go.

After losing her parents a number of years she became an orphan. Her heart was cold with loneliness. Many buses passed her by but she did not catch any of them. No bus could lead her to a destination where someone would be waiting for her arrival.

She remained unmoved for long until a high school couple passed by her. A memory from four years earlier came to Maya’s mind’s eye.

“Maya…” she gasped when she heard his voice once again in her memory. Her heart beat took on a rapid pace. Even after four years, just his memory alone was enough to make her feel the warmth that she always craved and could only get from him.

She slipped her hand into her pocket to pull out a note. It had an address. The writing was as beautiful as ever and every word written on it seemed alive to her.

‘When you feel lonely, remember I’m there for you.’

Maya’s lips twitched hearing him saying those words to her like it had all happened yesterday. She still had no idea when he had slipped the note into her pocket but when she found it they were miles apart.

“There is no harm in going to see him before leaving the country forever,” she murmured. Next she googled the location, got on a bus then a taxi to travel to the next city where the address was located.

The taxi driver slowed down the car when they entered the woods. It was barely evening yet the forest looked dark and gloomy. “Ma’am, are you sure this is the place?”

“Yes, the map and the note says that it is,” Maya replied, looking around.

“I’m afraid I can’t go any further,” the driver stammered, stopping the taxi.

“What? Didn’t you agree to drive me to the address earlier? What are you scared of?” She frowned. As a woman she had not even flinched yet and he was already sweating.

“There are too many rumors about these woods in the city.”

“What rumors?” She asked.

“That there are ghosts and evil energies…” he started and Maya rolled her eyes. “I never knew you would want to enter this part of the woods. I wonder why you want to go there. I apologize, but I can’t drive you there.”

“Okay, but at least drop me after three or four km further. We have yet to reach the halfway point to the destination,” she remarked.

“Sorry, but I don’t dare,” he stammered. Maya looked at the cowardly man in disbelief. He had been acting cool and daring at the time he had agreed but now he was ditching her. Getting out of the taxi she slammed the door with a glare. The taxi hurriedly drove away.

“What a horrible day. Nothing is going to go my way,” she sighed, starting to walk. Other than the sounds of birds and animals only the rolling of her luggage wheels was audible. Her eyes were going back and forth from the map on the phone to the direction she was heading in. After an hour’s walk, she stopped in the middle of the woods for a break.

“Am I lost?” She wondered, looking at the map on her phone again and again. The path seemed to never end and the map looked the same. She had never thought that he lived in the woods. Come to think of it, she had never asked him about that. The address that he had given her was correct. She knew that she had messed up when some scary noises reached her ears, she could not avoid the frightening darkness of the woods. She was all alone and lost it.

“I should leave,” she made up her mind, and turned on her heels to follow the path she had come down. But then she stopped in her tracks to glance back once. “That was my last chance,” she spoke under her breath, her heart heavy before she continued to walk. Her eyes were fixed on the note in her hand. Why would he give her this address if it was in the middle of the woods? Has he moved already? Four years was certainly long enough to do so.

After she took three steps, she noticed the shrubs around her moving suspiciously followed by some growling. The nonsense the taxi driver had muttered about ghosts and evil energy crossed her mind. She did not believe what he said but the movement around her did not seem normal. She acted normal and pretended to be calm. Lowering her head, she walked speedily until two wolves leapt out of the shrubs and stood in her way.

Her feet froze in place at seeing the four large wolves’ red eyes set on her as they growled her way. She held her breath as she held the handle of her luggage. The taxi driver had mentioned ghosts and evil spirits, so how and why had wolves shown up? Their sharp teeth demonstrated their blood thrust. Unknowingly, she had entered into the wolves’ territory, they had already begun to move closer to her. Even taking a single step could cost her life, so Maya just stood there unmoving. Her body turned cold, the fine hair on her body rose at seeing her own death close up.

“GRRRRRRRR….” A commanding and aggressive growl broke through the woods. Maya opened her eyes in terror as they fixed on the darkness ahead where she heard the growl originate from. There was another wolf charging toward her. She witnessed the four wolves vanishing into the bushes. They seemed scared of something. Maya’s chest rose and fell as she looked around in shock and confusion. Leaving an intruder was not normal wolf behavior so their actions surprised her. Her eyes went to a huge shadow walking out of the darkness ahead of her. She tried to make out the outline of the figure but never expected to meet a pair of animalistic Amber eyes before a large black wolf stepped out only to walk to her side while exuding a majestic aura.

Maya’s mouth was slightly agape as she watched the unbelievable moment as the wolf’s bones cracked, rejoined, and shifted back into place before he turned into the man that she had come to visit. “Keith.”