THE CROWDED MARRIAGE

Book 1: Epilogue Part I

Maeve Dominique Valencia
-Epilogue Part I-

Ivory and I weren't legally married.

It was a secret we kept between us. Aside from Shaun and Silas, no one else knew... not our families, not even our friends.

To keep our families' reputations intact, I still had to pretend we were together. The union of two powerful families in the business world carried weight... enough to shake its very foundation if these scandals ever came to light. But that didn't mean I intended to stay with him.

I'm done with all this bullshit. I just want to end it once and for all.

All I need now is to get a solid reason, something believable enough to justify a fake divorce. We faked the wedding, after all. Might as well fake the divorce, too.

And that's it. No more lies. No more pretending. We'll go our separate ways, finally free to live the lives we should've had from the start.

At least, that's what I keep telling myself.

After the confrontation with Ivory, I drove straight to his penthouse just so I could leave as quickly as possible.

On the way, I called the building management where my old condo was. It had been regularly cleaned, but since I'd be staying there for a while, I asked them to do a deep cleaning.

After the call, I started to pack and gather everything that mattered and leaving behind the things that didn't. I didn't care about the rest. All I wanted was to get out of this place, where every corner held a memory of him... of us.

It's been almost an hour, and I'm still here in my room in his penthouse.

I wanted to deny it, but I know deep down I waited. I waited for him to somehow follow me here.

But he never did. Just disappointment again and again.

And now, it's all starting to sink in.

The past we never resolved. The issues we kept burying. The relationship that quietly fell apart. The marriage that was never real to begin with.

And our child he still doesn't know about.

Para ng sasabog yung isipan ko sa sobrang dami kong iniisip. I shouldn't stress myself but I can't stop myself.

"Baby... can your mommy cry?" I whispered to the child growing inside me.

Maybe there was something that connected us. With all the weight pressing down on me, I sank to the floor and let it break me. I cried my heart out like a lost child, with no one left to hold it together.

I knew Ivory wouldn't come. So screw the world.

Just this once, I'd let myself fall apart. Just this once, I'd let myself be lost. Vulnerable. Human.

I let out my sobs. Pero kinokontrol ko pa rin ang aking mga hikbi dahil kahit may inhaler ako ay wala si Isha dito sa Pilipinas para tawagan ko kung sakaling atakihin na naman ako ng asthma at himatayin.

I needed someone. I needed my parents. I just wanted someone to hold me.

But all I had was myself and my unborn child.

The only sound in the room was my own sobs, raw and unending. It was the kind of cry that came from someone who carried too much to herself for too long.

When I finally felt like I had no more tears left, I wiped what remained from my eyes. I had to pull myself together because crying this hard could trigger my asthma.