Stella lay cozily in bed, playing "Snake" on her mobile phone. However, her game came to an end when her snake crashed, she was unable to direct the snake as her phone began to ring.
She picked up the call angrily, it was Federick. She asked impatiently, "is there anything?"
"Federick, baby, quick, I want you!" The voice of Federick's assistant rang out loudly over the phone.
Stella was stunned for a while, she got up and leaned against the bed frame. She was clueless and asked again, "Hello?"
"You little devil, nothing can ever fulfill you, where do you want it? Is it here?" she could finally hear Federick's voice
"Stop that, you'll break it! You're so bad." The assistant cried coyly.
"Oh, I'm bad? So do you still want me?"Federick sounded so charming but evil.
"Yes, I do..."
The voices and sounds coming over the phone were getting out of control, it was despicable.
Stella held the phone, she was unexpectedly calm, her lashes trembling, and she knew what to do next.
Stella could feel her heartache, it felt as if she was being ground in a meat grinder. Even taking in a breath felt arduous.
But she did not want to hang up. She thought to herself, why does she insist on maintaining this marriage?
All she will ever get in return is never-ending heartache. And that was not good.
She remembered all the good things Federick had ever done for her, so she was always hopeful that he may come back to her one day. Hence, she continued on this difficult marriage with him.
But now it came clearly to her, all the cruel deeds he had done to hurt her. She promised not to be soft-hearted again.
"Federick baby, if Stella ever finds out we are behaving this way, will she take revenge on us?" Federick's assistant continued on the phone.
"Yes!" Federick exclaimed grumpily, "and don't mention her name!"
"Why can't I mention her?", the assistant, Charmaine, asked purposefully.
"That would ruin my mood!" Federick retorted.
As the conversation continued, Stella listened on the other end of the call with tears rolling down her cheeks. She cried not because of her love for Federick, but because she felt so sorry for her past self. She was trapped, betrayed, and hurt by someone she loved so much. Stella felt that she could never forgive herself if she insisted to carry on with the marriage.
The phone call was switched off from the other side.
Stella lay down on her bed, looking up at the pearly white ceiling, feeling her heartache spread to all parts of her body.
……
In Federick's villa, Charmaine was pleased with herself – she had successfully hurt Stella. The conversation Stella had just heard had been recorded by Charmaine a while ago, and now she had managed to infuriate and humiliate Stella further.
Federick came out of the bathroom, wrapped in a towel, charming as always.
He glanced at his phone, checked his conversation history, and saw his wife, Stella's name. He questioned Charmaine angrily, "Did you just call Stella?"
Charmaine was in shock, she began to shiver, her eyes growing red and tears began to roll down her cheeks. "Frederick baby, help me, I had just wanted to apologize to her. I was afraid she might go to the media and tell me. If she were to say anything, and if my parents found out about this, how will I live?"
"Are you still in contact with that group?" Federick frowned, staring at Charmaine, his eyes were deadly.
"Of course not, I have left them a long time ago, After getting to know you, I started to love myself more, and I'll never go back. What Stella knows were things I did when I was only 18, I was mindless. Those were mistakes! I love you so much, please help me." said Charmaine, while crying.
He stared at Charmaine with bloodshot eyes.
He wanted Stella to come home, but she did not. He grew furious and invited other women over. This incident had just added more fire to the fury he had towards Stella.
Stella picked up his phone call again, calmly.
"If you ever post anything about Charmaine online, I'll never forgive you," said Federick angrily.
"Huh." Stella laughed, tears rolled down her cheeks, but she replied arrogantly, "What are you going to do to me?"
"Do you think you can still work as a doctor? I'll revoke your medical license, all it takes is just a simple word from me." Federick threatened Stella.
Or perhaps he was not threatening her, he was merely describing an extremely likely future.
Stella decided to no longer live a life like this.
She has a choice to end this, hasn't she?
"Federick, let's end this, let's file for divorce, I'll not ask for anything, and there are no conditions. I'll see you tomorrow at the Civil Affairs Bureau," she said, coldly and calmly.
Stella noticed her intense relief after asking him for the divorce.
"What did you just say?" Federick frowned, his stomach-churning.
Federick could not believe that it was Stella who asked for divorce first.
Stelle knew that Federick was the one who planned her kidnapping, who forced the marriage, but now she was willing to divorce him without any conditions.
"Are you insane?" said Federick angrily.
"I've never been in a clearer state of mind, whenever you said I'm a filthy woman, I had never felt any much nobler. In contrast, you're basically rubbish to me." Stella replied.
"Why did you marry me then, if I am rubbish to you?" Federick shouted, his eyes turning red, his fists tightly clenched.
"I was kidnapped by your lover, the moment I managed to escape, I witnessed your filthy escapades with that woman! Then I realized you were in it on the kidnapping as well!" Stella retorted.
" But I never meant for you to have been raped by another man!" Federick replied furiously.
"Even if you didn't plan that, how can you be sure she did not plan it? Even so, if you both had not kidnapped me and sent me to such a secluded area, would that incident have even happened? All this time I have wondered, why have you done such a thing to me." Stella shouted, her temper flaring within her.
"it's because you're filthy," said Federick mindlessly.
"So I decided to marry you - you brought me endless torture, and I wanted to bind myself to you. To remind you every day of what you have done, to make you suffer the same way I am, to never let you truly be happy or free." Stella continued.
"Why don't you continue then, why are you ending this now?" ask Federick, coldly.
"It's because I want to set myself free. You are now free from me, you can do anything you want, and whatever you encounter or any illness you contract will no longer be of any concern to me." Stella said these last words and hung up the phone.
Federick clutched his phone so tightly, he could almost break it into pieces.
Charmaine asked worriedly:" What did Stella say?"
Federick did not reply and ignored her coldly.
Charmaine has no idea what Stella had just said, but his livid expression alone made her tremble.
"What did you say to her earlier?" ask Federick coldly, his tone full of anger.