Mrs. Sanders looked at Alex with suspecting eyes, "Well, this was quite unexpected, it seems now you can recognize what's happening. Mark is the one who really deserve Elisa. You cannot change anything."
Elisa snatched the document from her mother, ripping it out of its file. The empty file ended up landing on the floor. She quickly read through the papers and then looked up at Alex.
He wasn't lying. The documents were legal divorce papers and he wasn't requesting for a dime despite the injustice she had served him in the past few days. Even though Elisa had grown to know him in the past three years not to be a cheap man, she wasn't expecting such composure from him after everything that went down.
She could see him getting settled on one of the couches. Elisa couldn't help but wonder.
Who shows up at his wife's, looking prim and proper with divorce papers acting so cool after he caught her cheating. She was expecting him to throw insults at her, remind her of the act with Mark, and sulk over his grandma but Alex just sat there, stroking his black tie.
On his part, Alex was studying the room. He could pick up the irritation spread across Mrs. Sanders's face. He saw the mocking chuckle escaping from Mark at intervals and then the confused expression Elisa bore.
He cleared his throat loudly and stood up. He then walked up to Elisa and with a calm tone, he said. "I'll be expecting you to sign the papers and deliver them to me ASAP." He then gave her a soft pat on the back which caused Elisa to wonder more.
Meanwhile, Alex had vowed not to display any feelings of regret or unwillingness so he kept flashing a reassuring smile when deep within, all he wanted to do was grab Mark and pin him against the wall or maybe grab one of the stools and smash it against his head.
Drenched with guilt, Elisa looked down at the papers in her hands. "I'll sign them."
"Good."
"I'm sorry." She blurted.
Alex arched a brow begging the question, sorry for what in particular.
She wiped her left eye repeatedly with the edge of her palm. "I'm sorry about your grandma."
Alex frowned and stopped her. "Do not ever mention her in front of me. You do not deserve."
"If you would require some compensation then I wouldn't mind considering it." Elisa said with a guilty voice.
Mrs. Sanders shot Elisa the look that said are you crazy?
Alex looked Elisa straight in the face. "There's no compensation greater than the thought of not having to be with you gain. We will both be free after this divorce and that's enough compensation for me."
Elisa was taken aback by his response. She thought he was going to keep it prim and proper all through.
"But Alex…"
The clearing of someone's throat forced Elisa to remain quiet. It was Mark. He had just stood up and was standing beside her, his arm spread around her, chin up, claiming her.
"One second!" Mark lifted his index finger and stepped backward. He reached for the briefcase that had been lying on the center table.
He pulled out a chequebook and walked back to Alex. "We all know you need compensation, Alex. You don't have to act so meek. It will hurt my ego if a few days later you retaliate. How would I feel if I start seeing blog posts you might sponsor to run narratives of how I broke your home why don't we keep things cool? How much do you need?"
Mrs. Sanders shot a bright smile. Mark was already playing the ideal son-in-law and she loved it. For the past three years that Alex was married to her daughter, she had only received two handbags on her birthday which barely cost 5,000 dollars each and were way below her standard.
Mark continued. "I learned that you have been surviving on the grace of your grandmother and now that your breadwinner is gone, you risk being on the street so this cheque will do you some good before the mortgage claims your ass."
"Of course, he needs the cheque." Mrs. Sanders spat. As far as she was concerned, Alex was very low on cash.
Mark tore out a blank sheet from the cheque book and just when he was about to scribble on it, he sighed and presented it to Alex. "On second thoughts, you should fill in any amount you want but on one condition."
Alex said nothing.
"Promise me that you won't ever bother Elisa or come between us again. If you violate any of the terms of our agreement then there will be a repercussion and you don't want to be prepared for it so sign the darn cheque."
Alex broke out laughing.
Mrs. Sanders allowed her hands to fall. "Seriously?"
Mark arched a brow. "Do you think I'm joking? Take the cheque and state your amount. I'm not poor like you. I'm the heir to Milton Group of companies."
Milton Group?
Alex found it was really interesting. A heir of that group almost went bankrupt? His father just begged Alex's sibling for an investment, and now the son dared to bark in front of him?
"Good, heir to Milton, right?" Alex smiled ironically.
He stretched out his hand toward Mark and took the Cheque.
"I knew he was going to take it." Mrs. Sanders muttered under her breath.
Alex took the pen Mark was offering and wrote on the cheque. Mark moved closer to him and saw the amount Alex had written down. His eyes widened in horror.
"10 billion!" Mark gasped and stared at Alex in disbelief. "Are you out of your mind?"
"Maybe you shouldn't show off when you don't have enough money." Alex fired back and flung the cheque at Mark.