Chapter 5 CH 5: Who Is She?

(Vincent’s POV)

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I woke up the next day sleeping on the sofa placed next to Rachel. She was still sleeping and looking calm and well rested. Rachel was indeed beautiful in my eyes.

But, my stepmother had once said I was lucky to have married Julia. In her eyes, Julia was gorgeous and kind. Someone that needed in my life.

I wondered why I could not see that in Julia. All I ever wanted was to be with Rachel.

How could I be with Julia who looked weak and came from a poor family? I’m Vincent Verdi, a CEO of a billion dollar worth of a group of companies. I needed a strong woman to marry and someone that would love me unconditionally. Not the Julia I married.

The Doctor came in and mentioned to me that Rachel was going to get better and would soon be able to return home. But, I was warned not to put any hurtful thoughts in her mind. Not to stress her up.

Her mind was not stable as she struggled to get better from a rare sickness which I did not quite understand what it was. I would leave to the Doctors to decide what treatment was best for her.

It was early morning and I had to attend a meeting at the office. I needed to go home to get changed and hope my weak and sad wife would still be there waiting for me.

“Of course she will wait for me. She would look forward for the million dollars she would earn from our divorce” I scoffed to that thought and got up to exit Rachel’s room.

The ride in the car was in silence. I did not even switched on the music to soothe my mind. Some bad thoughts were playing in my head. It started with what I did to Julia the day before. “Was I wrong to treat her like that? She did try to harm Rachel. Did she?”

I parked the car at the basement and took the private lift up to my penthouse. My home which I did not return for several weeks leaving my wife waiting for me each night. “She should have understood the terms of the marriage. It was just a temporary act. Did she fall in love with me?”

I smiled to that thought. Maybe, she did.

As I stepped in the house, I felt the silence hitting me. I was so used to Julia greeting me each time I got home and helped me remove my coat. She would prepare some refreshments for me and cook for me delicious food.

But, that day she was not in sight. “Julia!” I called her name several time but there was no answer. I checked every room in the penthouse with a thought that she might be weeping somewhere in the house.

I was wrong. She was clearly gone.

My wife had left me.

When I saw the divorce agreement was signed with her name, my heart felt hurt. A feeling I do not understand why I felt that way. “She left me? She left me who would provide luxury to her life. Money and status? What is wrong with her?”

Next to the agreement, I saw the expensive wedding ring that my mother had given to me to gift my wife. A diamond bracelet was also placed next to the wedding ring.

“Why are you this stupid to leave all these gifts behind, Julia? Are you that angry with me?” I shook my head as I then saw the bank card I gave her to spend for her daily necessity. I have placed a million dollars in it each month. Another hundred million dollars would be given to her if I decided to divorce her in less than a year.

“Did she not want my money?” I laughed to that thought but froze when I saw a box with a gift card attached to it. I did not remember buying such gift to her.

Reading the card, I smiled, “Dear Vincent, I know you have everything you want in your life. You could buy anything you want. This is a gift I bought for you as I thought you would like it. I had hoped we would still be married on your special day. But, you clearly wanted me gone. You chose Rachel. This is the end of us. Happy birthday in advance and good bye”

I shook my head, “The end of us? You will come crawling back to me for money, Julia”. I unwrapped the present and saw an expensive limited edition watch that I did plan to buy. Behind the watch was an engraved note stating, “Love from Julia”

“Love? So, she did love me. You are one silly woman, Julia” I smiled to that thought. “Did she buy this gift with my money? How could a poor nurse like her afford to buy this watch?” I smiled and checked the balance of the funds in her bank card to see how much she had spent so far during our marriage.

Seeing the bank balance, I sat down in shock and rubbed my forehead realising my poor wife did not spend a single cent of my money.

“Who are you, Julia? How could you afford to buy me this gift?” I stared at a blank space for a moment before I reached for my phone to make a call to find out the truth.