Chapter One: The Divorce

It was another day at Hems Corporation, George was mobbing the hallway in the company when one of the Managers walks over the already mopped floor, his shoes were muddy, he sneered at George as he met his weak gaze.

"You wanna say something?" He shouted and George just shook his head.

The Manager hissed and kicked the bucket, and water poured all over the floor he had taken almost an hour mopping.

He chuckles, walking away, as he walks past him, he nudges his shoulder and George slipped and fell on the the wet floor, his trouser becomes soaked. One of the collegues who has been watching the scene while taking a video of it was laughing at him. George knows he was going to upload it on jibs, his social media group where George was the topic of riddicule and humiliation.

He frowned at him but he doesn't say anything, George reached out to pick up his bucket, glancing around the water that was poured on the already mopped ground, he knew he had to start all over again to avoid getting reprimanded by his Boss. He groaned and just then, he heard footsteps approaching. Thinking that it was still the Manager, he looked up only to see the mother-in-law approach with some papers in her hand.

Just as he was about to greet her, she flings the papers to his face

"Sign the agreement Papers and all of this will be over, We won't have to see your ugly face, everything will be settled and you can be on your way" 

  Margaret River stated disdainfully as she barged into his workplace where he worked as a cleaner.

"Mum!" 

  George was shocked, and stared up the divorce agreement papers, he bit his lips tight not wanting to say anything because if he did, the tears that he was fighting so hard not to drop on his cheeks will freely brim down his face.

"Don't you think you are being unfair to your son-in-law?"

"And so? Get on with your miserable life and stop tying my daughter down. She needs to achieve great things, Vanessa is meant for greatness and you are hindering her"

"Honestly Mum, -Vanessa and I–"

"Stop the nonsense explanation" 

  Margaret was quick to rudely cut him off. Just as George was about to speak up, a heavy palm collides with his face, a tear almost escaped his eyes as he had not had time to sink everything in, one of the female collegues stood right before him with some wet paper.

"I spent hours on this documents"

  The female colleague yelled. As George wanted to aplogoze, she lands another slap on his face.

"Don't talk while I'm talking, you know what, I am sick and tired of seeing people like you, you have no idea what you just did, I swear that you are going to pay for this"

She pushed him out of the way and walks away, enraged.

"Make sure he pays dearly for it"

His Mother-in-law adds before the collegue vanished into the elevator.

"Mum"

 "Just sign the damn papers, it's your signature that I need on the divorce agreement papers" 

  Her voice echoed through the door attracting the eyes and ears of his inquisitive colleagues, they stood outside his door and whispered.

"What have I done? Why do you want to separate me from Vanessa, I love her and you know that" 

  His face grows pale.

"But you don’t deserve my daughter’s love, as a lowlife, Hehe." 

  she sneered.

"But--"

"Stop talking! Just sign the papers! Sign it" 

 She barked, her eyes blazing with anger.

"I won't sign it!"

He shook his head, his eyes sofens.

As he attempts to hold his Mother-in-law to reason with her, she pushed him and he fell on the ground.

"You are a peasant, a lowlife! I don't want a son-in-law who works for as a mere cleaner. You are not good enough for my daughter, are you going to be stuck in this wretched place until your death?"

"You don't belong here with us but in the slum" 

Alison, who has been sitting silent for a while added. He tagged along with his mother and barged into George's workplace.

"Look at him, mother, always with his cheap dirty clothes  how can you live with yourself, George? Can't you see you are nothing but filth? You are poor"

He kicked the bucket and the remaining water poured on the floor.

"Look what you just did"

George was not happy he was ruining the floor, he lowered and picked up the bucket.

"You still care about your stupid job, I dont care what you care about, just sign those papers and let us get on our way"

Margaret glared at him.

"I'm not signing it"

Alison was enraged as he rushed towards him and grabbed his collar, almost about to throw a punch to his nose when he a weird smell fills his nose.

"What is that smell?"

He squeezed her face disgusted, sick to the stomach.

"It must be his cheap perfume and aftershave" 

Alison eyes up and down his clothes, disgusted. Margaret ran her hand through her hair, anger seeped through her. 

"You are just a leech to my Daughter, Vanessa and a hindrance to her success as a CEO of Ford Corporation"

She strikes a hard slap on his face.

"Ford Corporation? I know that company" George heard one of his colleagues whisper from the door. 

"It is better than here and the pay is triple of what we earn here"

"I never believed George is a loser, he is no good, How can you make your wife earn more than you do?"

  George heard another of his colleagues add.

"I can't believe his wife is a CEO, he is just a sole loser" 

Another added as they talked about him among themselves as if he wasn't there and couldn't hear them. 

"If I was him, I would die rather than choose a life like this, what a scum!" 

 George ran his hand through his hair, Anger seeped through him as he heard it all, the whispers from his colleagues, the humiliation from his mother-in-law, Vanessa was a CEO while he has been a janitor for years. He was helpless and angered.

"Vanessa will not accept this, I will die without her"

"Then die! What good is your being alive? If only you can drop dead now then we won't have to pass through this, but since that's not possible, I suggest you sign the agreement Papers now!" 

"I already made my decision"

  He attempted to be stern but his voice still came out shaky at the end.

"I am not your mother! You are nothing to me" 

She rebuked.

"If i had a son like you, I would have killed you a million times in my heart so that you wouldn't exist and be such a big disappointment all the time"

"You can't make me sign those papers"

He clenches his jaw, his knees wobbly.

"Is that what you think?" 

She ordered, her eyes blazed wth anger. George has never seen anything like it before.

"I am not signing those papers" 

  George shook his head, almost tiring out

"You are not going to change my mind, Vanessa is my wife and I love her more than you can ever imagine. I won't let you destroy the love that we both share, She will be mad at you, Mother, No one can put my signature on these papers, not until I talk to my wife"

  Alison scoffed but before he could get to say a word, a voice suddenly asked  

"What love do you share?" 

That piqued his interest and he turned only to see Vanessa walking towards him with Damon Ford, he was her new lover.  He was surprised seeing him holding her waist so possessively, his jaw dropped but he was quick to close his mouth.

"What do you mean what love do we share?"

"There is no love that is shared between us, George"

"Vanessa, I thought you loved me" 

  He whispered.

"Love? Give me a break George, how can I love a man like you? You have nothing to your name, all those years of marriage, you have always been the problem. How can I let my heart beat for someone as pathetic as you are?" 

  Vanessa said in a heartbeat.

"How can a wretched man know what it's like to love a woman? You have nothing to offer, little George" 

Vanessa wrapped her arm around Damon.

"At first I didn't want to come here but seeing you making a fuss and hearing that you are refusing to sign the papers, I was angered. How can you think I will ever go back to you, do you know why I left?" 

"Left? What do you mean? You didn't leave but got that call and had to make it so you could close that deal" 

 George was confused.

  She shook her head.

 "You are so foolish, and naive, Do you honestly think I was away these past few days because of a business deal, Please George" 

 She rolled her eyes. 

"You suffocated me and I didn't know how to tell you, but Damon made me breathe those past few days" 

Vanessa added leaving George confused, his legs and muscles weakened. 

For a moment, he couldn't bring himself to move or speak. Tears crowded his eyes and he blinked continuously, he knew better than to cry while everyone was giving him the look.

"What do you mean?"

"Are you just dumb or plain stupid? But since you can't connect the dots and figure it out by yourself, I will tell you myself that way you can get it through your thick skull once and for all, I didn't go on a business trip" 

 Vanessa admitted

"Where have you been these past few days?" 

 He was surprised

"Do you really want to know?"

She smirks trimphantly.

"Yes"

"Damon and I have been together these past few days" 

 she said, leaving George shocked.