CHAPTER 2

Paul heaved a sigh. He didn't want any more trouble from the Winstons but the dark glares that Lady Winston and Jude Bournemouth threw at him forced him to pause his movement.

“What are you still doing here? Have you not signed it?” Jude questioned, his eyebrows furrowed.

“Signed what?” Paul asked.

“The divorce agreement, you dummy,” Jude retorted. “Are you not tired of having a mistress who pushes you around? Pfff! Behave like a man for once and find something useful to do with your life because you don't have a place here”.

“Mr. Bournemouth, Sarah is still my wife despite our misunderstandings. We will work things out as long as you don't come in between us,” Paul protested.

Jude forced out a low chuckle which suddenly turned into full-blown mocking laughter. “You sissy of a man. Are you also going to take care of my child for me inside her belly? Sarah must have endured a lot staying with a pauper like you.”

Paul was rooted to the spot. Something inside of him hoped that Sarah was only pranking him about the pregnancy but there was a confirmation from the horse's mouth. It was true after all - he had been cuckolded.

His fists vibrated as a feeling of anger coursed through him. He felt like smashing Jude’s head to the wall. After all, he didn't have much to lose. Being locked behind bars would not be the worst thing to happen to him considering his new reality.

“Just don't waste your saliva on him,” Lady Winston tapped Jude on the shoulder as if to calm him. “Take this card. It contains 7 million dollars. This is for you to leave my daughter alone and sign the divorce agreement.”

Lady Winston carefully placed the card in Paul’s front pocket as she opened the scroll containing the divorce agreement, spreading it on a table.

“What?!” Jude barked. “Lady Winston, why would you give this lowlife 7 million just to sign a divorce agreement? We have been feeding and providing shelter for him the past years and now, is he going to actually accept such money when you can just force him into signing the damn agreement.”

“I have also contributed my quota in this family but because I don't boast about it, you all look down on me,” Paul defended himself earnestly as Jude folded his arm patiently waiting for the trash that was going to come out next from his mouth.

“I won't take the bribe,” he affirmed, returning the card. 

“Before Lord Winston died, he trusted me with negotiating and finalizing some contract deals which skyrocketed the finances of the corporation. He cautioned me not to tell anyone that I brokered those contracts myself because he knew people like you would kill me before I got the chance to breathe the next morning air.”

Paul wasn't lying. Lord Winston’s death was truly a setback for him. He was a master negotiator who always made clients believe that they took the better deal when in fact, they took the worst portion of the cake. He had wits and quick thinking which served Lord Winston well. He was Lord Winston’s secret card but since his death, his in-laws had relegated him to a lowly errand boy.

Jude’s shoulder vibrated with the burst of laughter that oozed out, his eyes full of malice. “I thought you couldn't possibly go lower than what you are but just look at you. How could Lord Winston have trusted you with even a strand of his hair?”

Jude spat on the ground. He was now getting irritated. “It seems this bastard is claiming that he deserves a place here. If you wanted money, you could have just rolled on the floor and begged but it seems you have some pride in you.”

Just then, Frank Winston, the Winston’s family first son, rushed out from the grand foyer of his apartment. “Don't tell me this lowly destitute of a man has not signed the divorce agreement”

“My son, he hasn't. Even with 7 million dollars to his name, he seems to be acting stubborn,” Lady Winston responded in a weary, pitiful tone as if trying to gain sympathy.

“What?!”

WACK!

Paul received a loud thud to the back of his head from Frank.

Frank Winston wasn't someone to be messed with. He was a no-nonsense man and this attitude somehow transcended into his professional life. 

He would usually leave negotiations angry anytime his partners or rivals raised a term he wasn't impressed with. His father, Lord Winston, tried severally to show him how it was done but he had one hell of an ego.

One time, he almost got his whole family into serious trouble when the late Lord Winston sent him to broker a deal with a beverage group. He ended up losing his temper during a disagreement, splashing his morning cup of coffee on his counterpart.

“Who do you think you are to think you can cause a problem for us in this family?” Frank seethed, dragging the dollar card off Lady Winston’s hand. “You are not receiving a dime from this family but you will sign the divorce. Am I understood? Look at any of us in this family, do we look like someone on your level?”

“I respect the late Lord Winston but because you are his first son, I will let this fly even though you have made a mistake,” his voice quavered as the words came out of his mouth. “In the meantime, I have decided to sign the divorce agreement.”

“Good! Look who is finally coming back to his senses,” Jude smirked, his words dripping with mockery.

Paul finally got the divorce papers and signed them as Sarah watched proudly from the terrace, a smug smile on her face as she sipped a cup of Lemonade. 

She was finally free from the pauper. 

The Bournemouths were quite richer than the Winston and she knew that marrying Jude was a big deal for her family and business.

However, as Paul left the manor hanging his head low, there was a change in her expression. She had a haunted look in her eyes and knew that this time, Paul had left for good. Her cheeks flushed as she struggled to come to terms with that.

Paul's eyes darkened and he felt his face burning with shame. He wished that the ground would open up and swallow him.

His train of thought was disrupted when his cell phone rang. 

“Am I onto Mr. Leonard?” the voice echoed through the phone.

“Yes, this is Mr. Leonard speaking. Who is this please?”

“Good Evening Sir, this is Officer Hall from the New York Police Department.” the voice from the other end of the phone responded.

“How can I help you?” Paul asked curiously.

“I am calling to inform you that you are under arrest for a Ponzi scheme-related offense”

“What?! A Ponzi scheme? Why would I be involved in that?” Paul was genuinely confused. He didn't own a single dollar. How could he be involved in an offense as complicated as a Ponzi? 

“We need you to come right away to our station. Don't be late or there will be consequences,” the voice sounded mean this time around.

Paul’s heart sank deep into his stomach. He thought the day couldn't have gone worse after the humiliation he faced at the hands of his in-laws but this was something else.

Something was wrong, Paul thought. He was determined to clear his name quickly so he took the next available taxi with his last dime and zoomed off.