I
I
Jade paced the dining room nervously. She chewed on the ends of her nails, waiting for her husband to arrive at any moment. Jade had discovered what would have been the most wonderful news -at least for her- Jade married young. She was eighteen when she got married to her husband, Austin Moore. They met when they were five years old, and Jade can remember always having a soft spot for Austin. On the other hand, Austin didn’t pay any attention to Jade until they were fourteen. They were now eight years into their marriage at twenty-six, living the life of celebrities as Austin made a name for himself at a young age.
It was hard to believe that Austin was a millionaire who owned five of the most famous restaurant in the United States at twenty-six. Austin looked to cook by watching his mother, and soon enough, he was cooking meals for everyone else. It was his passion, and Jade vowed to herself to help him achieve his goals. She encouraged him to start his Youtube channel to share his knowledge and gain a following. Whenever he felt like quitting, Jade would remind him of his accomplishments.
After getting married, they dedicated all their time to his restaurant. When he finally achieved his goals, Jade burst into tears of happiness. She sacrificed her own career to help the man she loved.
Jade is an innovative and beautiful woman. As you can already tell, she’s kind and always puts the people she cherishes the most first. Besides being beautiful, Jade is a talented woman. To be quite frank, she is beyond talented. If only the world could see all her sketches and dresses she created, she would be a well-known socialite.
The door to their mansion opened. Jade sent all the maids away as she knew they all liked to gossip. She wanted to keep her little secret for as long as she could before the world found out.
“I’m in the dining room, honey!” Jade shouted, crossing her arms around her chest. Austin walked into the dining room with disgust after being called ‘honey.’ Austin avoided Jade’s eyes as he walked into the dining room. Jade didn’t notice the yellow envelope in Austin’s hands.
She walked up to him with a shy smile, “I have news for you, Austin. I think you’ll love it; maybe not as much as me, but you’ll love it.”
Austin nodded his head, still with a stern look, not looking Jade in the eyes. Jade noted this and took a deep breath before she continued, “I know we agreed to keep children out of the picture until you were making more money, but, I mean… It’s not really a bad idea if we start now. I would really love to have my last child at thirty-five, and I know you wouldn’t have the patience to deal with a crying baby in our forties-”
Austin opens the bottle of whiskey and pours himself a glass, “I have news for you too, Jade.”
Jade tried to swallow the lump in her throat, “Well then, you go first.”
Austin showed Jade the yellow envelope he was hiding behind his back, “Everything you need to know is here, so I’ll just let you get to it.”
Austin stood there and started pacing the room, slowly walking towards the kitchen. Jade gave him a weird look and opened the envelope. She put her fingers inside the envelope and felt a stack of papers. She felt her heart drop, although she doubted the thought that came into her mind.
Jade walks into the kitchen and wipes the tears pouring out of her eyes. Jade felt her heart sink. “Could you explain why you’re giving me these papers, Austin?”
Austin looked at the ceiling, shrugging before folding his arms against his chest, “You’re overreacting. They’re just divorce papers, Jade.”
Jade starts laughing. They were big and bold, just to get the message in her head. How could she not overreact?
“Who is she?” Jades asked, scanning everything with her eyes. Austin shrugged, moving back and forth like he did whenever he was in an uncomfortable situation, “Someone.”
Austin walked out of the kitchen. Jade quickly followed him, “Who is someone, Austin, cause someone can be just about anyone? Someone can be a maid, someone can be a friend, someone can be the cashier, someone can be a homeless person-”
Austin slams the glass cup onto the table and glares at Jade, “I could be wanting this divorce because I don’t love you anymore. Or, I just want to be by myself. It can be for any reason. It doesn’t mean because there’s another woman involved.”
Jade looked up with a stern look on her face, she was furious, and she would not allow Austin to brush her off, “Who is she, Austin? Tell me now. I want to know who she is.”
Hearing her voice in that manner -which Austin had never heard- made him snap out of his thoughts. He knew she would find out the truth at one point, so it would be best to tell her the truth. Austin looked at the tears building up in Jade’s eyes. Her face was red like blood; Austin could see the damage he’d done to her through her teary, shaky hazel eyes. He could see the wound he had left in her heart.
Austin sighed, “It’s Rebecca.”
Jade scuffed, “Rebecca, are you kidding me? She would never do such a thing to me. She knows you’re my husband.”
Austin shook his head. He felt the tears start building up in his own eyes. Austin knew Jade would break down knowing that he’s been sleeping around with her best friend. He thought Rebecca was actually the woman loved.
Jade finally broke down, “I’ve known Rebecca my whole life. She’s a person I would trust with my life. It never crossed my mind that she would stab me in the back like this. This explains why you’ve been coming home so late. You’ve been out sleeping with her while I stay home waiting for you to come back.”
Jade walks out of the dining room and runs up the stairs, ignoring Austin’s remarks behind her. The excitement of telling Austin the big news of their baby leaving her body. She collapsed in the middle of the staircase, crying morosely.
She felt Austin sit down on a step below her. He rested one of his hands on her thigh, “I’m sorry, I never meant to hurt you like this. I knew I should’ve told you earlier, but….” Austin stayed quiet for a while. “I guess I don’t have an excuse. I’m sorry.”
Jade shook her head. She wiped her tears and tried to calm herself. “Austin, why? Out of all the women in this world, why did it have to be my best friend?”
Austin didn’t say anything. He sat there like a statue. This made Jade furious, “Austin, why did you do this? Wasn’t I enough for you? Austin, I love you so much; I did everything just so you could be where you are today! How do you think this makes me feel? I dropped all my scholarships to my dream school for you! I became a housewife just so you could achieve all your dreams.”
Austin shook his head, laughing at her, “You’re pathetic, Jade. I didn’t tell you to become a housewife. Did I tell you to not go to your dream school? That’s all your fault. You should’ve gone to school. I would’ve done perfectly without you.”
Jade felt like punching Austin, but she held her anger. The only reason Austin was standing where he was at today was for hard work as well.
“Why did you marry me? I could’ve been something by now. I would be a successful socialite by now. I would’ve been well known around the world. My clothing line would be worn by celebrities!”
Jade looks into Austin shaking eyes, hoping to see some regret in their eyes. But as she scanned his eyes, she noticed how cold he was. No emotions, no remorse or love. How long has she been in a dull marriage?
“Tell me, Austin, why did you marry me?”
Austin rolled his eyes, sighing, “Jade, you married me, knowing why I wanted to marry. I didn’t want to live under my parents’ roof anymore. I needed to get out. Getting married and moving out was the best decision I ever made for myself.”
Jade looked up at the ceiling, “You used me, Austin.”
Jade shifted her body towards Austin. She looked down to see Austin’s green eyes staring right back into her hazel eyes, “Answer me this question, Austin. Did you love me before we married, or did you use me to pursue your dreams?”
Austin stayed silent. He started fidgeting his fingers. Jade knew when he did that, he was about to lie, “When we go our separate ways, I want you to know that I will always love you.”
Jade chuckled. She took a deep breath and wiped her tears, “How do you feel about Rebecca?” Maybe it hurts more that she knew Austin was lying to her face.
Austin smiled at the mention of Rebecca, “I love her, Jade. I think she’s the one I want to spend the rest of my life with.”
Jade nodded her head. She saw the tears pouring out of Austin’s eyes. She saw the love in his eyes, and she noticed his finger wasn’t fidgeting this time.
“Austin, can you tell me when your affair started with Rebecca?”
Austin looked at his hands and sighed, “About 2 years ago; we were just sleeping together at first. I guess we both started developing feelings for each other, and she told me to make things right and tell you the truth.”
Austin looks up at her and notices she has zoned out. She had gone pale, and the shine in her eyes had left. He knew what he’d done to her, but he couldn’t live knowing that Jade would waste her years with a man who didn’t love her.
“Jade, weren’t you going to tell me something earlier too?”
Jade stands up and signals him to follow her. She walked into their bedroom and grabbed the pregnancy test from the drawer.
Jade handed him the pregnancy test, “It tells you what the lines mean on the side.”
She observes Austin as his eyes scan the test. She noticed a vein pop out of his forehead, “It’s not mine.”
“Are you fucking serious right now? You’re the only man I have been with my whole life. Why would I lie about this and tell me why you think this child isn’t yours.”
Austin starts laughing, “I don’t believe you. You’re trying to keep me in this marriage. I have not touched you in three months, Jade. How the fuck are you-”
Austin’s face went blank. He looks at Jade’s stern face, “When was the last time you got your period?”
“Three months ago.”
Austin banged the counter, “Fuck! Are you on birth control?”
Jade wiped the tears that dared to fall down her face, “You piece of shit! There’s still a chance of me getting pregnant! It’s your fault for not using a condom.”
Austin messages his face, tears on the edge of his eyes threatening to slide down his face. He turns around and paces the room, “Have you gotten in confirmed by a doctor yet? Those tests are never accurate.”
Jade shakes her head, “Austin, these are the pricy ones. They’re never wrong. 99% accurate, but if you feel like this is all a lie, I have an appointment on Wednesday.”
Austin walks out of the room, slamming the door behind him. Jade followed behind him, “Where are you going? We’re not done here. We still have a lot to talk about!”
Austin sits down on the couch, extending his arm, stopping Jade from getting closer to him, “Jade, stop! I need my own space right now! I need to process this. You literally just dropped a bomb at me. How the fuck do you expect to react? We never planned this! This is all a shocker for me as it is for you! I need my space to think. What is Rebecca going to think? I promised to have my first child with her, not you.”
Jade balls up her fist, “Austin, you’re wrong if you think I’m holding you back. I’ll sign those divorce papers if you want me out of your life.”
Jade stomped up the stairs into their room and started packing up her belongings. Fuck him. We don’t need him. He’s not going to hold me back this time. If he doesn’t want to be in our lives, that’s his problem.
Jade zipped up the luggage and grabbed her keys. She walks down the stairs and sees Austin standing by the door, “So that’s it, you’re leaving now?”
Jade looked at Austin with disbelief, “Austin, this was honestly long overdue. I wasted eight years of my life with you, and now we’re both paying the consequences. I’m not going to force you to be in our baby’s life. If you want to come with me to our baby’s appointment, I’ll gladly let you know. But if you’re just going to play around with my feelings and give me false hope, you can exit my life.”
Jade walks past him, reaching for the doorknob, but Austin yanks her arm, pulling her towards him.
“I never said I didn’t want anything to do with our child. I just said I didn’t believe it was mine. I realized how bad that sounded, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want anything to do with our baby.”
Jade huffed in annoyance, “Stop lying, Austin. I know you’re lying. You’re playing with your fingers. Your pupils are dilated. You’re pale and nervous. You don’t want anything with our baby.”
Jade opened the door and walked out. She opened the trunk and loaded her luggage with her other bags.
“At least stay here tonight. We need to sort things out. You’re leaving, and we haven’t even come to an agreement.”
Jade shakes her head, opening the door to the driver’s seat, “I’ll call you when I’m ready to talk. I’ll mail you the divorce papers. The sooner we’re divorced, the sooner you’re free from us.”
Austin helps Jade into the car, closing the door for her, “At least tell me where you’re staying tonight.”
Jade sighs, “I will stay with Nana for some time. I’ll be there if you need anything. Goodbye, Austin.”
Jade drove out of their driveway and looked at him one last time. There was no regret or heartbreak in his eyes. He wasn’t fighting for her. He was allowing her to leave. Not a single tear slipped down his face, which shattered her heart.
