I didn't respond or talk at the time. I'm at a loss for words in response to his statements. I can't weep just yet. I'm still in anguish, but my body becomes numb whenever we talk about the divorce.
Snap!
"I'm still talking; are you paying attention?" He asked, snapping his finger in front of my face. That piqued my attention. "You appear to be on the verge of going insane and becoming a zombie."
"Could you just go before I kick your ass out of my office?"
"Who's ass is flatter?" he yelled.
"How could you?" I said, slamming the table. This jerk did not just—he is not afraid of me. Then he cleaned his hand and extended his hand.
"Let's go out? Just a short stroll around your company's grounds." I just stared at his hand and face. Now he has that smile, which I'm not sure if it's still part of his teasing.
I accepted his hand, thinking that I needed a breath of fresh air to clear my head. We left my office and walked outside the building's grounds, where other employees rest and relax, but there were only a few people there because it was working hours. We went calmly until he said anything.
"Can you tell me about the lady Mister Valentin is seeing?" he inquired. I mentioned it as one of the reasons for our divorce, but he was never made aware of the facts.
"She has melanoma and is undergoing treatment. She is close to recovering. Athena performed a background check on her, and she began her chemo last year. She should recover this year or next year and be cancer free in the next several years." I said, and he simply hummed as he continued to walk.
"You know, she's lovely without make-up. She also appears to be divine. I appear to be looking for a brawl. Didn't you say something like that?" I felt him look at me when I said it, and I recall him saying that a few times before. "So, am I ugly without make-up?"
"I never said you're unattractive without make-up on, and what I mean by that is you look ferocious, like a strong woman, Zavia. You're the strongest woman I've ever known to handle this all," he replied, and I smiled at his words.
"You know, over all these years, those are the words you spoke that I've always waited for you to say."
"I'm simply trying to make you happy."
"No, you attempted to cheer me up by snatching and burning my documents so they wouldn't bother me. That's the type of cheering me up you knew." He rubs his neck. I know he's trying to help at that moment, but it's not the kind of assistance I need. "Anyways, I thought you were going to pursue being a pilot?"
"I changed my mind. I just believe being a divorce lawyer would be useful to me. There are many divorce cases here in Russia." I faintly smile, knowing that I was part of that high rate. "Ah, Zavia," I murmured, looking at him. "Are you planning to file a complaint against your husband's other woman?"
"What kind of case can I even bring against her? There's no concubinage here, and I'm not the type of person who will put an ill person in jail." I feel like I don't have the right to stop them from being together. Blair loves Aleksei. Aleksei loves Blair. I loved Aleksei, and Aleksei fell out of love with me.
After a few more minutes of talking and strolling, Caleb escorted me back to my office again. When he comes to visit, I feel relieved in my chair. He irritates me all the time, but he's also hilarious and upbeat, which makes me feel light around him.
I've known Caleb for quite some time. He's my high school ex-lover, but we're not in love. To us, our relationship is more of a farce. I'm meant to get married to him when I reach 18, so our parents force us to start dating to get to know each other. I can't say that it was really enjoyable. I wouldn't say it's that horrible, but I ended my relationship with him after not receiving the desired response.
"Lev, what do you appreciate about me?" I inquired, curious.
"Ahm, you're affluent and an heir; both of us are like that, so we complement one another's position." This is one of the reasons we're going down the arranged marriage route.
"Aside from that?"
"You're lovely, and I'm attractive. Don't we look stunning if we're together?" I can't deny he's attractive.
"Is there anything else?"
"Is there anything about you that I should like?"
I never spoke to him again after that; I left the school and moved to another on the same day, and I never saw him again.
We only saw each other again after graduation and at my father's company's founding day celebration, when he went there with my hand in his and asked me for marriage because I had turned 18, but I denied all of their proposals.
Caleb even wrote an entire stupid study paper on me and him and why I should accept his proposal to marry him and he placed everything he liked about me there, but I still rejected him and I never want us to have a playful relationship again. I'm not sure whether Caleb is joking since I'm not sure if he's serious or not, but second chances don't exist for me. I didn't give him an opportunity to show himself since I wasn't prepared at the time yet.
We used to always fight and compete with one another. Caleb was my academic opponent at our former school. He has an ego and is a bully, whereas I am proud and domineering. We often contradict each other, and I don't believe we'd work if we started dating seriously. But, as I already stated, I will never dispute that he is a wonderful man who can be frustrating at times. That's why we've been tinkering with our relationship for the past year.
I'm curious about what would happen if we were the ones to get married. What would it be like?
I'm beginning to believe that if we marry at a young age, we'll start arguing over little matters, and the house where we'll live will be in shambles. I recall how we made my room a shambles simply because I wanted the other light on and he argued it was a waste of power because it was already bright inside my room. We battled because I wanted it open and I wanted him out of my room. He didn't, so I began tossing my belongings at him, and to my astonishment, he fought back, and we smashed the windows, bookcases, and valuable and expensive items in my room.
It makes me giggle simply thinking about it. We'll probably be divorced if we get married again, and we won't last a month together.
I take out my phone and text him a "Thank you" for coming to see me. If he's usually busy and comes here only to say there won't be a hearing next month, there's more to it. Even though our history has been turbulent, we are quickly reconciled.
To Crazy Attorney: If you're not too busy, let's hang out the next time.
From Crazy Attorney: Hangouts will always be available to me.
From Crazy Attorney: Please do not hesitate to contact me.