I wiped away my tears, telling myself not to think about our memories because they would only hurt me, but everything reminds me of them. Every area I go to has our memories woven into it. It's as though Aleksei is always with me everywhere I go, since he was always with me previously, but it's been 2 months since he left.
I've been missing him.
This is unusual for me. I wanted to fix our marriage. I attempted to mend our marriage, but Aleksei believes it is already broken and will never be fixed. His decisions are usually difficult to reverse; once he's made a decision, he'll adhere to it, and that is what he will do, and I have no control over it. There is one thing I can do to prolong our divorce proceedings as much as possible.
I still want to hang on until I can't and then finally let go.
I walked to my workplace, where many of our memories had occurred, after deciding to finally leave his former office. That's why I don't want to remain and move offices any longer. However, that office is specifically designed for the CEO of the corporation due to the hidden cases within that contain crucial information about the company that only the CEO has access to.
I arrived at my office and was ready to enter when I saw Athena hadn't even seen me going by her table. She was too preoccupied with her phone.
"Athena," she exclaims. Because of her reaction, she was astonished as well, and she panicked and attempted to fetch her phone. That piqued my interest in what she was looking at. "What exactly is it?"
"N-nothing..." I scowled at her, since nothing is not nothing. I'm familiar with her, and she's simple to read. Her behaviour and emotions also stated it all.
Athena gave up and handed me her phone. What she is gazing at is visible to me. I take her phone and notice he's on Aleksei's social media. It was a snapshot of him and Blair in the hospital's garden, and the description piqued my interest, but first I realised that he was just tagged in the photo. Blair's account has a photo of him and her.
"Thank you for being by my side since the beginning. You're the finest lover I could wish for."
It's your first day?I laughed when I saw the caption and returned Athena's phone.
"Can you find out when Blair's cancer started?"
"I'll email what I can obtain right away," Athena said as I entered my office, shut the door and went to my table, where I started my laptop and navigated to a certain website.
When I search for Aleksei's account in my following, his account is still there, and he's still following me, but when I look at his post, it's now full of Blair's images, instead of mine and ours together.
I'm not into social media, but I understand how it works, so I use Aleksei's social media to keep up with the latest trends. After looking through all of the images he had uploaded of her, I went into Blair's account, where I found several of their photos together.
It shows how Aleksei looks after her, how happy they are, and how in love they are. My heart is broken. cut into little bits.
Her first photo of them together was taken a year ago, only a month before Aleksei's first post. I looked through all of her captions for their images. They're filled with love and thanks, as well as support for Aleksei and joy at his achievement. I can tell she adored Aleksei from her captiona, but I never shared any photos of us together to show everyone how much I adore him. It wasn't private, but the way I made him feel loved was something no one saw.
"So the entire world already knows about them?" I chuckled as my eyes began to blur from tears. "I've been foolish for an entire year."
I'm not sure about this. Nobody informed me. It never gets to me. I had no idea Aleksei was already seeing Blair. I'm not sure when their connection began. I'm not sure whether Aleksei married me while he's still seeing Blair. I have no idea what's going on. I have no knowledge of this.
"Did you have a good time, Aleksei?" I tightened my hand. I fight for him, assuring everyone that he never cheated, although he did, for a whole year. Anyone who knew about them already thought I was a moron. He made me appear foolish.
But did he truly defraud? Should I consider it cheating if I don't already possess his heart and feelings?
I've been in love with someone who was compelled to marry me. I loved someone who is still in love with another person. I'm in love with someone I'm not meant to be.
Sure, he loved Blair, but is that why he made me feel this way? Did he truly despise the idea that he had been married to me and begin acting this way?
Instead of sobbing, I was enraged this time. I'm furious at the fact that he lied to me for so long. He waited so long before filing for divorce. He should have gone earlier if he still loved Blair.
I'm furious with him.
I'm angry at him for having me fall for him and believing I owned him.
I was a fool for Aleksei, and I've also been duped by love.
A few weeks have passed once more. Nothing interesting happened over the first several days. It's simple, dark, and feels cheap. It's never been the same since then.
My attention was drawn to my office door by a knock. It was Athena on the telephone, and she informed me that my aunt was on the line. She shuts the door and transfers the call to my telephone, and I hear my aunt's voice. Because of that, my heart was warmed.
"How's life going with my Via?"
"I'm doing great, aunt, and I'm delighted you phoned," I responded with a smile.
She was both my father's younger sister and my mother's greatest friend. She is also my favourite aunt. She never failed to call or just contact me to see how I was doing, especially after my father passed away. She intends to call at least once a month.
"I'm just going to remind you about my wedding," she said, causing me to sit up straight and attempt to recall the wedding she was referring to. "You know, your uncle is dead set on marrying me for the second time when I reach my golden years."
Oh, remember!
I'd been thinking about a lot of things and was so freaked out by the divorce process that I forgot about them. I spoke back to her as if I hadn't forgotten. I was almost overcome by my inability to reply to her remarks.
"Don't forget to bring Aleksei; I haven't seen the two of you since the previous New Year's celebration." I just hummed. My family was unaware of it at the time. I'm hoping none of them saw Blair and Aleksei's posts since I'm not ready to inform them yet.
"I'll be there, aunt," I answered, trying to seem cheerful. I was delighted for her, but not because of what I was going through at the time. "I missed you and Uncle as well."
"Oh dear, we'd been chatting about you before I phoned. He's been looking forward to meeting you again since receiving the present you sent him. He really enjoys it."
"It wasn't very pricey; it was simply a modest present."
"Only if you see his reaction," She said, but hearing my aunt laugh made me smile.
My aunt and uncle's connection is something I can only imagine happening in a book.
My aunt is often in the garden because she adores flowers. Their wedding destination would also be in the garden, and she and her husband met in the garden.
Their love tale begins during their college years when she pays a visit to my mom's house, where they have a vast and beautiful garden that is managed by their gardener, who is now my aunt's husband.
My aunt's family did not encourage their relationship since they are wealthy, despite the fact that her lover is a simple and impoverished gardener. She was offered the option of breaking up with him or being neglected. My uncle encouraged her to just break up with him, even if it was difficult for him, but my aunt chose him above her family, her lavish lifestyle, and her wealth.
That is when my mother, as her best friend, enters the story. My mother was the first person she went to when their family forced her to leave the house. My mother retains her and supports her studies, as well as their gardener, who is one of the greatest lads they have, and they also support his education. My uncle works for my mother's family in return for helping him graduate from college, but once he does, my mother's family retains him until he achieves his ambition.
The gardener quickly became an engineer and one of the greatest engineers in the world, and she built my house as a present from my father. My mom and my father had nothing to say about the gardener since he knew his sister was pleased with him and because Mom had informed him that he was a decent guy with a dream and was prepared to do whatever to help them accomplish it.
My grandparents embraced my uncle as a member of the family, and they got along well. When I learned why our grandparents behaved and acted the way they did, I understood their decision. If I were in their shoes, I would do the same, but our family's ideals are difficult to meet, especially if you're a woman.
"Also, Via, your dress is a corset type, so it should suit you as well; and Aleksei, I'm using your cousin's size as a reference because they have the same body type," she continued before saying goodbye and hanging up.
I tapped the button that connected me to Athena's line and asked her about the wedding, which was important but I had nearly forgotten about or perhaps I thought I simply didn't tell Athena about it. That's why she didn't inform me that it was approaching. But it was already on my calendar, and I was the only one who didn't inquire about it. So the issue is mine. Perhaps I've been preoccupied with divorce.
"I'll be there next Tuesday, and your schedule for that day and the next day has been cleared," Athena stated.
It would be the same day next Tuesday that my aunt and uncle met in my mother's garden. I laughed at the thought. I simply adore their love story, and it's the best, even better than my parents' love story, since their tale, like mine, did not go well.
"Can you call the owner of the shop where I get those gemstone figurines? I forgot the name but told him to make me a hydrangea out of colored diamonds in five days." My aunt likes hydrangeas, and because she was born with a golden spoon, she enjoys receiving and giving expensive gifts that her husband does not. All he wants is his wife's presence and happiness.
"I'll notify them immediately."
I hang up the phone and go back to work till it's time to go home again. Another day is approaching.
Oh, to have a hubby like Uncle.