Chapter Eight

Angel's head snapped to the voice beside her. It was a man dressed sharply in a suit. He was clearly a bodyguard.

"Oh, I'm a reporter," Angel said as she lifted her name card up for him to see. The bodyguard squinted at her name card dubiously before he sent her a weird glance.

"Why are you in the President's yard?"

"Haven't you heard?" Angel laughed nervously. "There was a vandal attack. I'm supposed to cover it."

"The graffiti is out in front."

"I was just looking to see how those criminals got inside," Angel said cautiously.

"Oh," the bodyguard said, rolling his eyes. "Are you done?"

"Y-Yeah," Angel muttered as she sped past the side of the bodyguard, all the way out of his lawn and back into the news van.

❃❃❃

The steaming water pattered onto the top of his head, pouring down his temples and falling across his chest, down to the floor. He wrapped one hand around the faucet, pushing it all the way towards the left, heating the water further up and drowning the restroom in hot vapour. The water was scalding, but he wanted it to hurt right now.

He hated this house. Because it reminded him of her. But he heard that some assholes targeted Freya because they hated him, so he had no choice but to visit her home again. She seemed nonchalant about the entire thing, but he knew she was actually shaken. She told him that she would be fine, so he let her leave for work as he settled things for her. But as he walked through her home earlier, the memories of Shannon came crashing back to him like a rising tide.

This home used to be their safe haven. Their idea of perfection. Shannon picked it out herself after almost a year of viewing home after home, and she only decided on this one because it mirrored the home she had in her dreams the most. They moved in not long after and tied the knot another year later. It wasn't long before Freya came along. Their friends often chided them for settling down so early, but they were certain that they were right for each other.

Until she decided they were not.

It was subtle at first. She stopped laughing at his jokes, and started spending more time at work or out with friends. Every time he tried to kiss her, she would draw away with an excuse that she was too tired and like a fool, he believed her. They went without sex for very long, and it failed to hit him that there was something wrong with their marriage. When Shannon revealed to him that she had fallen for another man, he felt as if his life had begun to crumble around him.

He begged her. He did everything he could. He asked her what was wrong about him, and he paid more attention than he ever had, far more than before they were married. He adjusted every part of himself to cater to her, but nothing got a reaction from her. She was cold and aloof and she refused to listen to him. He could no longer coax love for him out of her heart, and he was only left to stare on hopelessly as the love of his life slipped through his fingers. He still remembered the day she left him for good - it was as clear as day to him.

"Fuck, please, Shannon!" Darrow begged. "Put down the suitcase. Let's talk about this!"

Shannon's grip on the suitcase handle only tightened. "Move away from the door."

"Think about Freya - " he said. "Think about everything we've worked on together. All those years!"

"It's over, Darrow. I said that a long time ago," she said coldly. "With you, Freya is set for life. Take care of her."

"What? Why? I don't understand. Why is it over? What the fuck did I do?"

"You didn't do anything," she said, sighing in exhaustion.

"Then why the fuck are you leaving me?"

"Haven't I told you already? I don't love you, Darrow. I used to, but I don't anymore. I feel nothing for you. There is someone else I want now and I love him, not you."

"Who is this other man? Why won't you let me meet him, or even talk to him?"

"We spent most of our lives together," she said. "And I know you have no limits when it comes to getting what you want. I'm keeping his identity a secret to protect him from you."

"What does he have that I don't? I gave you this home, Shannon. I gave you all the money you could ever want, all the luxury bags you asked for, I got for you. Every car you wanted to drive, I gave to you. I provided a listening ear every time you were going through something tough and I poured my heart into giving you emotional support. I tell you daily how much I love you and there is nothing I wouldn't give up for you. Why can't you see that I'm the one for you?"

"Oh, Darrow! I know! You're perfect! You treat me like I was a fucking saint in my past life and I really couldn't ask for more. I was truly happy being with you. But I just don't feel that way for you anymore. Life with you was perfect, but lately, I've been feeling that it's just too perfect!"

"What the fuck? What the fuck kind of reason is that?"

"It's so ridiculously annoying! I can't find a single thing wrong with my life, and I'm the envy of all my friends. I know I shouldn't feel this way, but I hate my life! Everything is too perfect, and life is such a bore," she said. "Move away from the door, please. I'm not asking again."

"Shannon, please! You can't seriously be saying that! How am I supposed to rectify this?"

"Rectify it? You can't do anything about it," she spat. "I don't want you anymore. Don't you understand? I married you for your money. I never loved you, I just wanted out of that miserable life of poverty. Well now, after the divorce, I'll be rich enough to live the rest of life comfortably without a single day of work. And you can have women queueing up for you again."

"I don't want those women. I want you!"

"Fuck, Darrow! Fuck you! Get this into your head!" Shannon yelled. "THERE IS NO US."

"W-Wha - " Darrow said, tears leaving his eyes.

"I DON'T FUCKING LOVE YOU, DARROW. NEVER DID, AND NEVER WILL."