Harrison was, lo and behold, late, again. Mandy wondered what would be his excuse this time around… she was just about ready to leave the restaurant too when he strode in.
"Sorry about that," he said as he placed a kiss on her cheek. "I had unexpected albeit urgent business matters to handle."
"I bet," she scoffed, doing her best not to roll her eyes at him.
"Come on, Mandy," he cajoled almost sweetly.
She shall not be convinced or, worse, ridiculed.
"Don't patronize me," she basically hissed at him just as the waiter came to take their order.
She allowed Harrison to order for her since she wasn't in the best mood to eat to begin with. How could he so callously invite her here? This was the restaurant where they had celebrated their first year anniversary as a married couple… it brought too many memories, memories of when she was blissfully ignorant, unaware of what went unseen behind the scenes, and somewhat happy – content with what she had.
"I don't know what I did wrong," he began matter-of-factly. Precise and straight to the point as always. She used to love that about him. "But surely, we can come to an agreement."
"An agreement, he said," she repeated after him in a half-incredulous half-derisive tone. "You are not in the boardroom, Harrison."
"I am aware," he told her flatly, confusion painted on his handsome face. "You should know that I rarely compromise in the boardroom."
"So, you're doing me a favor?" She bit out.
"Okay," he drawled wearily. "You are definitely angry at me. And I just want to know why."
"Should I make you a PowerPoint presentation?" She said sarcastically.
He grimaced slightly. "I hate those. I much prefer listening to an eloquent person."
"You are impossible," she told him with an eye-roll.
Their entrée was served, and she completely disregarded it, in favor of fighting with her cheating husband.
"If you mean to say I am impossible to read, I take that as a compliment," he tried to make light of her statement.
"No, I meant that in the most vulgar and most repulsive way," she retorted, her eyes glaring daggers at him.
"Okay," he heaved a sigh and looked at her straight in the eyes. Oh, how she used to love looking into them! "Noted."
"You drive me mad with your indifference," she spat at him, close to tears.
"Indifference?" He echoed after her, a frown marring his face. "What kind of nonsense is this?"
"Nonsense? Really, Harrison?" She raised an eyebrow at him. "I feel like you're going to accuse me of going crazy next…"
"I might, all things considered," was his calmly spoken retort.
Her glare intensified.
How could he? How dare he?
And then, his eyes lit up. "Could you be pregnant?" He asked, sounding both curious and elated at the same time.
"No! God no!" She shook her head negatively with vehemence, shuddering at the mere suggestion.
"Why do you sound so reluctant to bear my child?" Hurt and anger warred in his tone of voice.
"Considering the circumstances, I'd rather not be pregnant, it's a given," she told him coldly, dismissing any feelings of empathy and hope she might harbor.
The light in his eyes dimmed at once, and he asked the one-billion dollar question after a sigh, "Do you wish for a divorce perhaps?"
She stilled at that, her heart squeezed painfully, but her mind got the answer it needed to finally be at peace – if there was such a thing.
"See you in court then, Harrison," she smiled at him. Her smile was not a genuine one per se. It was one of bittersweet victory.
And then, she rose off her chair, and left without further ado.
The sad thing about it all was that he didn't follow her. But then again, she expected no less from him.
** ** ** ** ** **
Harrison had only suggested the divorce on a whim. He didn't know what prompted him to say those words if not anger.
No person had ever managed to annoy him so in or outside the boardroom. He rarely spoke in jest, and seldom said something he didn't mean.
What did Mandy do to him?
He realized as he looked at her retreating back that it was the worst time for him to act rashly.
He had always been a meticulous and straightforward person whose only weakness was family – and even then, not always.
Having a child of his own had always been nothing short of a dream to him.
How was he to react?
He knew he had done quite the mistake by suggesting a divorce. He also knew he should have followed her out of the restaurant.
Hell, why hadn't he?
He had never believed in love to begin with, and thus a marriage of convenience had never bothered him much.
That being said, he had grown accustomed to Mandy's endearing smiles and frequent I-love-you. He had also grown quite attached to the way she gave herself freely to him without any restraints, no inhibitions whatsoever.
He didn't know whether he could find as many qualities in somebody else… but he guessed it was worth a shot.
If she could dismiss their marriage so easily, and jump on the first occasion she had to get rid of him, why shouldn't he do the same?
Nevertheless, the very thought of going home to an empty penthouse pained him instead of it being liberating.
Just what had he done wrong? The question haunted him.
He couldn't recall – at all – any valid reason he might have given her to be so damn angry at him.
Could she be simply going through a phase?
A man could hope.