1. Love or not?

James walked through the bathroom door and leaned on the edge of the wet tub, sizing up his wife. Serious, worried thoughts sat on his tall form, like an unspoken bad thought. A tassel of his brownish blonde hair stuck out into his dark eyes.

In the large bathroom, scented candles lined the edge of the tub and a few shelves, lending a pleasant raspberry scent to the room. In addition to the toilet and hand basin, there was also a shower with obscured glass. Huge mirrors hung on the butter-coloured walls and dark green tiles, finally, fluffy carpets completed the overall look.

Diana, immersed in the fresh, cloudy lightness of the foam, gazed at her recently lacquered nails, which highlighted her dyed blonde hair.

"If you're not happy, sell the company," she reminded him, still looking at her nails.

"Dia, you know I..."

''Shh...'' she put her hand over her mouth Diana as her nails began to lose their bright red colour from the slightly colder environment. ''It's your life, your choice. Because we do always have a choice. And even if things don't work out, you've got reserves.''

James thought about that too. "You're right. I'll try to give it to my dad a little at a time, and see if he's more accepting. And then I'll finally be free. But..." he hesitated, "What if I lose my money?

Dia then smiled slightly, "You can't just lose that much money, and there's too much of it anyway.

The man picked up a bathing cloth, squeezed some shower gel on it, and began to gently massage his wife's back.

*

Oliver, James' best friend, sat the man down on a sofa in the peach-coloured lounge. They both stared at the ornate clock with its gigantic Roman numerals. You could almost cut the tension, but neither of them said anything.

As evening approached, the whole building began to empty out, most noticeably in the social areas. James looked out of the window where his villa stood a few hundred yards away. It was decorated with a beautiful row of lights for the gala.

Oliver looked at him in silence. "Why do you want a divorce? Dia's a nice girl and a good mother. Why don't you try to lure her back to you?"

"Oliver...I feel trapped. Dia was a mistake. We never had that burning passion, we just liked each other. And I was desperate, it was time to get married, and I thought she was the one. Because I was sure that passion and burning love would come. But that didn't happen."

They sat facing each other in silence for a while, then James suddenly spoke. "I'm filing for divorce on Monday."

"You take good care of it..."

''I have thought it over. I'm getting a divorce, I don't love Dia anymore."

Oliver nodded silently, then got up and walked out the door.

James looked after him, listening as his footsteps echoed with authority down the deserted corridor.

Oliver knew the man's words were not true. At least as far as his feelings were concerned. The love and care they had for each other was evident. But he knew that there was a reason his friend wanted it that way, and then he would have to accept it too.

*

Dia glanced back and forth over her shoulder at her mother while applying lipstick. Her mother, Nova Milley, gave her daughter a wry look. ''You look very desperate because your husband doesn't love you anymore. But that shouldn't stop you from making it through the last month with him."

"Mother, you know that's out of the question. I'm taking this last month off, and if James wants a divorce sooner, I'll have an 'unexpected accident' to buy me some time.''

At that Nova snorted, "The prenup says if you can last ten years with him, you get a third of his fortune," she held up a finger, then with a big sigh, she reached towards her daughter to help her put on her butter-colored ball gown.

"Mother, I don't want to be with him anymore either, but I don't want a divorce for the money. The children are the most important thing. The company wants James here, but I have nothing. If we get divorced, I'll go back to New Orleans and James will stay here. It will be very difficult for the children."

''Every day you spend more and more time putting on makeup to get the bags out from under your eyes," Nova agreed, ''and you have to face the fact that you're not so young anymore. But still charming. The gala is a perfect opportunity to seduce James and put off the divorce a little longer."

Meanwhile, a big bang sounded from the room. Dia nodded silently, then stood up and headed to the living room to put her children to bed and see what they'd been up to again.

''Ben, Jack, stop this immediately!" she shouted as she ran over to separate them.

"But, Mom, Jack started it..."

''I know, it started when the other one hit back," Dia rolled her eyes.

James then walked in and looked wearily at his wife, ''let's get them to bed, and then we need to talk.''

The man stood up and started walking towards the children's room. He glanced back slightly and was struck by the thought that despite Diana's late thirties, she had aged almost nothing since they first met. At least in his eyes. She was the same little girl she had been so many years ago. Her eyes sparkled as she took her little girl in her arms. But she put her down immediately afterwards because Sofi was twelve years old, a real big girl and Diana was a very thin and fragile woman. But he couldn't think about that now. The plan could not fail because of his momentary weakness.

Dia beckoned, and then she and the children headed for the bedrooms.

Once all three young children were in bed, their mother began the bedtime story. The children listened curiously to the story of love that never fades, of overcoming all obstacles.

At the end of the story, James stood up and kissed his children on the forehead, one by one. As the man's lips touched Sofi's forehead, Dia suddenly realised that divorce might not be the only thing she would lose. Because, as James' ebony eyes gazed at her, she suddenly felt something in her heart she hadn't felt for a long time. A flickering ray of love for the man in front of her.