Chapter one

“Aaron, sign it! You have no fucking choice now!” His mother-in-law exclaimed and slammed a sheet of paper on his desk.

His face went completely ashen at the sight of the paper and his heart and mind started racing with panic. Aaron’s anxious eyes darted around and stared out of the creaking door of his tiny office on the ground floor of the huge company. The scene of his mother-in-law and brother-in-law barging into his office with an intimidating determination was already causing a stir among his colleagues.

   “Please, not here!” He exclaimed in fierce whispers but neither the older woman nor his wife’s brother bulged. “Common, Theresa, don’t do this here!”

 She snarled at him scornfully, “You thought we’d just let it go? We’ve played this cat and dog game for too long. Now sign the fucking divorce agreement and free my daughter of this abominable union this instant!”

Aaron knew that this would leave a permanent smear on his rather irrelevant reputation. Further embarrassment in this company where he had come to be regarded as a nobody that would amount to nothing would make him a permanent laughing stock.

 “Fuck!” He muttered under his breath, wishing the ground would just open up and save him from this shame by swallowing him up. “Listen, guys, let’s talk like mature people now.” He said, struggling to keep his agitated voice calm.

 He started to get to his feet, but a strong hand clamped on his shoulder and forced him down with a violent force.

   “Sit the fuck down, chump!” Josh, his brother-in-law sneered at him, produced a ball pen from his pocket, and threw it at him. “There you go, don’t waste our time now.”

Aaron shook his head and frowned at them, The sneaky stares from his colleagues got on his nerves and his eyes flashed with anger.

 “What is this? What is wrong with the both of you? Why would you come here?” He asked in a desperate whisper. “Josh, please close the bloody door, Let’s talk in private.”

 Josh, his brother-in-law, gave him a nasty snarl. “In private?” He asked scornfully.

The door was slightly ajar and Josh walked to it and suddenly, with a great force, kicked it completely open and the door almost flew off its loose hinges.

  “We have been talking in private for days at home, you bastard, but you haven’t listened. And now you want some fucking privacy? No! Let everyone know how fucking brazen you are!” Josh bellowed.

He had the huge, muscular build of a rugby player, and his presence and short blonde hair were very intimidating. “Pick up the fucking paper.” Josh urged.

The humiliation Aaron felt at this moment didn’t allow his rage to rise yet. He shut his eyes firmly, avoiding the eyes of the rest of his colleagues who were peering into the small office. He picked up the paper from his desk and as he looked at it, his blood turned cold instantly and a wave of shock sizzled through his body.

 This again? At his workplace? How desperate were these people? He wondered in disbelief as he stared at them with wide eyes. His eyes were red and swollen, the ruckus had already attracted half of the entire fucking company!

 “Why are you acting so surprised?” His mother-in-law asked with a sneer. “You should have expected the divorce agreement to tag along with us, did you think we were joking?”

 Aaron shook his head sordidly, he couldn’t believe this was happening at his workplace. “Let’s go outside and talk about this, You’re embarrassing me, please.” He said meekly, desperate to convince them.

 Theresa stared at her son and they both burst out in mocking laughter, “How could we embarrass you when you’re already an embarrassment? It beats me how this company still keeps such a parasite like you, because that’s what you fucking are, Aaron!” Theresa yelled, loud enough for everyone to hear and Aaron felt his low reputation further sinking into the ground.

 “Jeez! Aaron is getting chewed out by his in-laws! What do you think it’s about?” One of his colleagues who was watching with unwavering interest whispered to another.

  “Who cares? He’s good for nothing after all, you’d wonder how they’ve put up with him for so long already.” An indifferent reply came.

The news was all over the company

 “You’re wasting your time, mum,” Aaron said, his face turning pale and grim, he felt so ashamed, this was the height of disgrace. “I’m not signing this divorce agreement, just like I didn’t sign it when you brought it multiple times to me at my house.”

Josh slammed a fist on the table and was ready to hit him but his mother held him back. “Stop, Josh, he’s not worth the stress.” She said to Josh who was breathing heavily like a bull then she turned to Aaron. “You won’t just let go, will you? Because she’s rich now because you’re feeding off her like a bloody parasite. I’m sure your merger salary in this company can’t even afford any of her jewelry. You’re the lowest paid staff here, can you see how worthless and insignificant you are?”

  “That’s not what matters,” Aaron said in a choked voice, his voice choked by his rising anger.

His colleagues didn’t even hide it, their chattering was like the hum of a hundred bees and they buzzed through his ears, fueling his anger. Oh, how he would love to sink his fist into that stupid face of Josh.

 “Then what matters?” Theresa asked, She was in her late fifties and still as strong and agile as a twenty-year-old. She poked his chest as she spoke. “You tell me, Mr. Fucking lover boy, what matters? Don’t tell me you believe in love at this age?”

 Aaron’s bloodshot eyes met her cold eyes and for one second, a bestial tendency flashed in his, startling her.

 “Tell me why a full-grown idiot believes in love?” She asked, assuring herself that he wouldn’t dare to lay his hands on her. “You’re so stupid that you think a lowly designer who is at the last hierarchy in this company can be in love with my daughter who can attract so many important men? You must be kidding!”

 “Maybe I do not earn as much as she does, but there’s still love between us.” He said confidently and that made Josh snicker.

 Theresa shook her head in disgust, “Either you’re stupid, Josh, or you’re stupid!” She snapped.

“The bottom line is that I’m not signing this divorce agreement until my wife shows up. We’ll handle everything ourselves just as we’ve done in the past.” Aaron said firmly, his eyes burning as he made a few, short eye contact with his colleagues who couldn’t stop feasting on the juicy incident.

 “Really? You want to hear it from her mouth that she doesn’t love you anymore?” Theresa asked, Her threatening voice made him doubt the love he believed his wife still harbored from him.

 “I’m not penning down anything, you’re just wasting your time.” He said angrily. “It's funny how you can’t get Anna because she’s on a business trip, I’ll talk to my wife when she’s back.”

Josh scoffed, “I’m sure a business trip is supposed to go further than your boss’ house.” He said and Aaron squinted at him, his face contorting in confusion.

 “What do you mean by that?” Aaron asked, At first his voice was a little bit calm, but when what Josh said struck him with more understanding, his eyes went mad. “What the fuck do you mean by that, Josh?”

 “You fucking loser, you’ll find out soon,” Josh said and led his mother out of Aaron’s husky office. “Smells like horse shit in there, what an asshole!”

Aaron rushed to the door and slammed it, escaping the mocking and peering eyes of his colleagues. His office door remained closed for the rest of the day. His heart was pounding and his mind was jumpy with uncertainty. Aaron thought the day couldn’t get any worse until his door flung open again hours later as he was about to leave.

  He snapped, “Do you want to break the fucking door?” He yelled. “For fuck’s sake-” 

His words hung in his throat as he saw who was at the door, Anna, his wife, stood with an impassive look, and the man who walked in after her made his insides curl and he suddenly felt sick.

 It was Lucas, his boss!