Liam's POV.
I'd just finished with a meeting and was preparing for another, when my phone rang. I growled, annoyed by the sound of my ringtone. If I didn't get mad at Zoey yesterday for spitting rubbish about having my child, and sent her back to Country A, I would have asked her to take the call like she always did.
Maybe I shouldn't have sent her home, but the action needed to be taken. It seemed that my silence had made her forget her place.
Zoey was my ex, whom I loved dearly, but we couldn't be together because of my grandfather. She'd married another man, who never treated her like a human.
When I found Zoey on one of my business trips, six months ago, she was bruised all over, and was mercilessly raped. She didn't want to return to her family because they'd been the ones who forced her to marry a monster.
I was the only one she had, so when I brought her back to Country A, she was too scared to be alone, so I had her stay in the house with Jessica and I.
But Jessica wouldn't have it. I couldn't tell her about Zoey's troubles - I'm not talkative, and I believe that when one is trusted with secrets, it should never be divulged, which was why I couldn't tell Jessica anything about Zoey.
I knew she was curious to know why Zoey was living with us, but I expected her to trust me. However, my wife kept disappointing me, repeatedly.
Zoey lived in the guestroom, downstairs, every night, she couldn't sleep as a result of nightmares. I moved her into Jessica's room, close to mine, hoping Jessica and I would share the same room, but instead, Jessica chose the guest room.
Bringing Zoey to my Wife's room didn't help, so I got her a therapist, who suggested that someone Zoey trusted, stay with her at night. That was why I allowed Zoey to spend the nights in the room...we never shared the bed. I've always taken the couch.
She told me she wanted to work beside me and I didn't see anything wrong with that. Zoey was still healing. As my childhood friend and ex, whom I have loved and cherished dearly, the one thing I wanted for her was to get well and find happiness.
The therapist told me to allow her to do whatever she wanted - she wanted me to let Zoey know that she was safe and supported, so when she asked for a ring, one Zoey said she'd always loved but wasn't able to get, I didn't see any problem and got it for her. Out of excitement, she kissed me. And after that, we went to meet a client at the hotel.
Surprisingly, Zoey's ex-husband was a Crawford, which was why I said nothing when she was addressed as Mrs. Crawford. Although she'd divorced her husband, she refused to give up the name, for reasons best known to her.
The incessant ringing of my phone broke my reverie and I begrudgingly answered the call without looking at the screen.
"Hello, Mr. Crawford, this is Miss Jessica's lawyer."
I sat up, my brows creased, "If this is about Jessica, hold your peace." I ended the call before he could speak further.
I was beginning to grow impatient with Jessica's childish behavior. She knew I detested the idea of getting others involved in our marriage, yet she kept doing it. From her friend, to her annoying mother and sister, our family doctor, and now, her lawyer?
I've been giving her the cold shoulder, hoping she'd sit back and think about what she was doing wrong, but instead, she keeps diving head first into more things that annoy me.
My phone rang again, dragging me back from my thoughts. I didn't want to take the call but since the number called again, maybe it wasn't about Jessica.
"What do you want, Mr. John?" I asked, impatience lacing my tone. My head was aching and I needed a little rest before the next meeting.
"Well, Mr. Crawford, Miss Jessica has issued a divorce and has signed the papers. Your signature is also needed to dissolve the marriage, so when will you be free?"
My eyes snapped wide, did I hear that correctly? Jessica was divorcing me? I shook my head, that must be another cheap stunt she was pulling.
She'd done this before, threatening the maids to lie to me about her health, for that, I left an important meeting and ended up losing the deal. Only to hurry home and find her doing alright.
Jessica wouldn't agree to a divorce even if I initiated it, because she needed this marriage, not only because she loved me, but to remain relevant in her family.
I ended the call without a word said and put the number on the blacklist. I was here, in Country M for an important deal with the Silverwoods and didn't want any unnecessary distractions.
But surprisingly, after meeting the Silverwoods, a deal that was supposed to have gone well, fell through. It came as a great shock to me, because the Silverwoods and my company had come to an understanding, and I was just here for the contract signing.
What went wrong?
I didn't stay back in Country M and returned home, reeling from what had happened to me. I'm not one to handle failures well. In fact, I don't count failures as an option, I couldn't afford to fail, because my brother and his family were impatiently waiting for reasons to pull me down as the head of the family.
My headache with a thousand thoughts, and the thought of my wife crossed my mind. Her fingers were divine, the best at giving soothing massages.
That was when I realized that I've not had body contact with her in a long while. "Turn the car around, I'm going home." I told Micheal, my assistant.
"Are you sure? The board is waiting for your arrival."
I sighed, feeling a throbbing pain in my temple. I massaged it a little, still it did nothing to ease my migraines. "Michael, I'm not in the best mood right now."
"I understand." He said and turned the car around.
I rested my head on the leather seat, my mind sinking into thoughts, trying to find loopholes and whatnot, as to why my deal fell through. But no matter what I did, I couldn't find anything, rather, my migraines grew worse, so I set the thoughts aside and tried to clear my head.