It had been two whole days and Mark still hadn't heard anything from Josie, his calls and text were also left unanswered and unreplied to. Where could she have gone?
A knock on his bedroom door detached Mark from his thoughts. "What is it?"
"Sir, Miss Josie is at the dining and she has requested for your audience."
Josie? So she came back!
He went down to the dining and found his mother, sister and Josie all seated at the table.
"Good morning." She said as she spotted him, but he offered no response.
How dare she leave just like that without his knowledge?
"Well, what is this about? I don't have all day." Margaret, Mark's mother, was the first to speak.
Josie locked eyes with Mark, so he hadn't told them yet. She smiled to herself. "Mark and I are getting a divorce."
The entire room was engulfed in silence as they all shared shocked glances among themselves. As expected, Mark's mother was the first to recover from the shock.
"Finally!" She exclaimed. "So you mean to tell me you're finally going to leave this home? That's wonderful news!"
Mark's expression was hard to read, he didn't look happy about it, but he didn't look angry either. He just sat unmoving like a statue, observing the scene that was playing out in front of him.
On the other hand, Lucy, his younger sister was over the moon. The day that she had been eagerly waiting and hoping for had finally arrived. At long last, they would finally get rid of the uselees poor and wretched wife her brother had.
She didn't say a word though, instead she sat quietly, waiting for her brother to address the issue.
Mark was still having a hard time processing what was going on, the reason he didn't mention the divorce to his family was because he never thought she would actually go through with it. It wasn't the first time he would threaten her with a divorce, and all those times, it usually ended with her begging him and he never imagined it going any other way.
Before he had the chance to say anything though, Josie turned to face him, a cold look on her face. "And just so you know, I don't want your damn alimony so you can keep your money."
This woman was something else, Mark thought. How could she reject the alimony?
His mother rolled her eyes and said, "This isn't the time to try to act cool, If you reject the alimony –which in my opinion is a serious act of kindness – how are you planning on living your life then?
Are you going to roam around begging for loose change? Or dig around people's dumpsters for left overs? Although now that I think about it," She scoffed. "That lifestyle fits you perfectly.
After all, that is what you were doing before my son met you."
Seeing her mother insult Josie, Lucy decided it was her turn to say something too. "Ooh or maybe she could sell her body in exchange for money. Though I don't think any normal man would be interested in a cheap beggar like her."
Both women laughed, feeling proud of what they had just said.
Josie turned to face the mother– daughter duo, a hard glare on her smooth face and that action stunned both women.
All while she was married to Mark, Josie never dared to look at her mother -in -law or her sister -in -law directly. Her head was always bowed whenever she was talking to them, but it wasn't out of fear like they would have hoped, it was out of the respect that Josie had for her husband.
"What was it you said again?" She asked rhetorically, a faint laughter escaping her lips. "Right, right. You said that I would be a beggar if I left. But that's not right, truth is, I am a beggar presently. Am I not?
I mean, from the first day I married into this god- forsaken family, isn't that what you've always thought of me?
Isn't that what I've been doing?
Begging you two to accept me. Begging my so- called husband to love me.
The whole three years I spent as your daughter -in -law, wasn't I a beggar all through?"
Mark frowned at her statement but still remained quiet.
Lucy snorted at her words. "Well it's a good thing you know who you are then," She had a priggish smile on her face as she spoke. "You are a beggar. That's what you've always been, and that's what you'll always be."
Josie replied calmly, "Now that's where you're wrong. I was a beggar, but believe me I have learnt my lesson, and right from this moment onward… I cease to be a beggar. To him," she pointed at Mark. "To this family, and to everyone else in general." She paused for a while before adding, "You all despise and look down on me because of my financial status, but, I want you to keep this at the back of your mind. Most especially you, Lucy. Know it in your heart that there will come a day where you will have nothing, not a single penny to your name. And when that day does come, I want you to remember what you just said to me right now."
When she said that, Mark finally shot up from his seat, slapping the table hard in annoyance. "That's enough! Shut up with your nonsense already."
He didn't really care that she was being rude to his sister, what bothered Mark was the boldness behind every word Josie spoke. He hated it.
At his reaction, Josie's lips curved up into something that was too sad to be called a smile.
"You want me to stop?" she asked coldly. "You sat there, mute as a statue and watched your mother and sister call me names and insult me. Yet, the moment I start defending myself, you call it nonsense?"
Mark's reply was instant and cold. "Well, what they said wasn't far from the truth. Aren't you a cheap slut who clings to rich men for money? Isn't that why I was forced and trapped in a horrible marriage with you?!"
He hated her. He hated her with every fiber of his body. How dare she leave so suddenly and still have the guts to talk like that?
She should be crying, begging him to take her back, not refusing his alimony settlement and talking back at his family.
Margaret was angered by the way Josie had cursed her daughter. "Since you've said all you wanted to, I want you out of our house. Like right now! Pack your things and leave."
Josie barely paid any attention to her mother -in -law, her gaze was fixed on Mark. Her heart clung painfully to the words he said, and she didn't think she could ever forget them.
A cheap slut? Hearing those words from the mouth of the man she had loved so dearly for the past three years stung her heart like she was being stabbed over and over again. Breaking down at that moment would make him happy, and she was determined not to give him that pleasure.
"Oh not to worry, I already did." Margaret looked a bit surprised when she said that so Josie added. "Didn't your son tell you? I already moved out two days ago. I only came here today to let you know." She turned back to Mark. "You must be happy, you're finally leaving this horrible marriage after three painfully long years." Hot tears stung her eyes but Josie blinked them back, she would not be shedding tears, not for him. "Finally, you'll get to be with whoever you want."
She had a big smile on her face as she turned her attention back to her mother -in -law. "Well, now that that's done, I best be on my way." She pushed her chair backwards and rose to her feet. "Let's meet at the agency tomorrow morning by eight thirty to officially register our divorce," she said to Mark.
It was his mother who replied her. "You can keep acting all high and mighty now, I'll be here when you come back begging like the cheap beggar you are."
Josie merely smiled cooly. "We'll see about that."
And she left the mansion.