MARK POV
I pulled into the driveway, exhausted. Another long day of both work and fun had left me drained, and all I wanted was to unwind and relax. I stepped out of the car and loosened my tie, eager to get inside and finally relax. When I entered the house, I saw Sydney sitting there, staring at me with her usual blank look. I barely spared her a glance while heading straight for my study.
"I want a divorce," Sydney said before I could even reach the sanctuary of my study.
Divorce? Ridiculous was the first word that came to my mind, and ridiculous it was indeed. The family business of Sydney's parents had been lent to the GT Group, which I owned. This was a contract that benefited both parties in every sense of the word. Sydney was only a woman I'd married, who depended on her parents and me for survival.
Divorce, huh? It was obviously her new way of crying for attention, like she was fond of doing. It used to be the pitiful demeanor she carried around her, which was enough to convince an outsider that she was being treated wrongly, even though that had never been the case. We'd been keeping up the married couple facade for three years already.
Now she was pulling a new stunt, which I wasn't going to fall for.
The next morning, I entered the dining room to have breakfast before leaving, but all I was met with was an empty table. A frown creased my brow as I asked one of the workers I was able to find lingering around.
“Where is she? And where's my food?"
"I've not seen her this morning, sir,” the worker replied. Later on, I got a report from eyes who'd happened to see her leaving with her suitcase last night. Most of her things were also gone from her room.
Oh. This perhaps had to do with the divorce thing she brought up. Did she expect me to fall for it or talk to her about it?
I shrugged off the thought, grabbed my suitcase and jacket, and headed out. She had probably just gone to her parents' house. Where else could she go? They would surely knock some sense into her head about how to be a good wife and send her back.
My eyes darted up from the files in front of me when my assistant entered the office. Without a word, he placed a file on the table in front of me with a curt bow.
"I think you need to see this, sir," he said before stepping back.
I took off my glasses and pulled the file closer, flipping it open to find the emboldened words "Divorce Proceedings." I frowned, continuing to scan the papers. She had already signed them.
“Thank you, you may leave," I said to my assistant, who bowed again before exiting the room.
Sydney had taken the first step in what seemed like a smart game to her, but to me, it was nonsense. Did she think I had the time for all this?
GT Group was not only my pride and joy, but also proof of my years of hard work and dedication. It was a large private equity firm based in Europe that specialized in investing in a variety of sectors like consumer goods, services, fashion, medical, and technology. With over 250 investment projects under our belt, we were a force to be reckoned with in the business world.
It was our third round of fundraising. We needed to secure a staggering $5 billion from investors worldwide. This was a critical moment for my firm, and the next month was going to be a whirlwind of activities. With me having to crisscross the globe and meet with potential investors from New York to Tokyo, London to Hong Kong. The next six months for me were packed with meetings, presentations, and negotiations.
And here someone was, bringing some useless papers to my table.
I angrily gathered up the papers and marched over to the shredder in the corner of my office, feeding them into the shredder and watching the machine devour every single one of them, before settling back down in my seat to resume what was a hundred times more important.
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: Billionaire, Let's Divorce (Mark and Sydney)