3. Annulment Not Divorce

"Where's your boss?" Gavin asked one of the bar hosts as soon as he arrived there.

"In her office. She's talking to a..."

He immediately left for Madam Bella's office once the person pointed there.

He burst into the room without even bothering to knock.

"Um... please excuse me. Let's continue later." Bella said to the person with her and dismissed them right afterwards.

Gavin went and sat on the empty couch next to hers.

"President Gav... um, sorry, John, what is it? Why are you panting like you had to run here? Is everything alright?" Madam Bella could guess why he was there, but she asked anyway.

"Where is she? And don't you dare ask me 'who?' Bella. I've been coming here every day for a month now, and nobody wants to tell me where she's gone to. And you too chose to be absent all this while; just how convenient! I know you know where she is, so tell me, Bella. Please. I'm at my wits end here."

"I am also in the dark about her whereabouts, Pres... Gav... um, I mean, John. I really do not know where she is."

"Ha!" Gavin let out a short laugh.

He combed his fingers through his fake chin-length hair that he wears when disguising himself as 'John' in frustration.

"So this is your answer for me, right? Fine. Then maybe I have to do something drastic for you to see how serious I am."

Bella's stomach fluttered in worry that she forgot to address him by his fake name.

"What are you implying, President Gavin? I am really telling you the truth here. You know how Rosa is; you have been with her yourself. Do you really think that she would let me know where she is when she intended to hide that from you? Hm?"

"Well, but she's your favourite worker here, isn't she? I know she loves this place, so I'm very sure that she'll show up once she hears that it's facing some troubles. Now, how about I start to wreak some havoc here? I can have them reopen that recent case of yours with the prosecution that I made go away..."

"Wait! I have a better idea that I believe will work if only you'll listen to me, please." Bella interjected.

Gavin raised his brows at her in question.

"I mean, even if she comes back because you messed with this place, I doubt that she's going to see you in the same light as she used to.

So how about having someone follow that close friend of hers? I heard that the two have been meeting still. If we have someone tail her, I am very sure that she would lead us to her one day. What do you think?"

Gavin gave it a long thought before finally agreeing to it. "Fine. I'll send you someone for the job, but be sure to get me some real results soon."

There were many people flooding into the bar, and Bella's attention was needed, so he decided to leave then.

His next stop was at the small apartment that he and his Rosa used to share together until a month ago, where he had returned home from a trip only to find it empty.

"Rosa, baby, where are you?" Gavin said as he picked up the duvet on the bed that the two of them shared and slumped onto the mattress before covering himself with it.

"I miss you, baby." That was the last thing he said before drifting off to sleep, completely forgetting about his new bride that he had left at home.

*

"Whoooh..." Lauren yawned. She checked the time on the TV screen and saw that it was past 9pm, but her supposed husband was still not back.

She was very sleepy but didn't want to go into the master's bedroom lest she invoke his wrath.

Kai, who has been checking on her periodically, could easily tell that she wanted to sleep.

"Ma'am, you can sleep in the master's bedroom that I told you about. It's a bit late, and you must be very tired after the event."

Lauren shook her head. "Don't worry about me. I can sleep on the sofa. You go and have a rest too. You seem very tired from all the runs that you had to do, Kai. I'm good here."

Kai knows that he couldn't tell his new madam what she should do, and so he decided to obey her wishes. He let her be while he too retired to bed at the staff's quarters.

*

When Gavin woke up, it was past midnight. He immediately called his personal guard, Kai, who seemed to be drowsy, so he couldn't make much sense of what he was saying.

Under normal circumstances, he would've loved to spend the entire night here, but then he remembered that he hadn't made any sleeping arrangements for that lady he had tied the knot with earlier in the day, and so he had to leave the apartment.

*

The house was very quiet and some of the lights have been turned off, which was quite expected. The only people still awake were the night guards. Just like Kai and Elvie, all the other staff have also retired to bed.

"Hahaha..." Gavin couldn't help the laughter that escaped his lips upon seeing the messy figure splayed down on the floor of his living room.

It was obvious that she had fallen off the sofa onto the floor in her sleep.

Her mouth made some chewing sounds as she unsuccessfully tried to push back her hair that had fallen on her face.

Gavin had a silly smile plastered on his face until the familiarity of it all jolted him out of his reverie, and in its place was now a frown.

He hated the fact that she had her face and now her sleeping habits too.

Gavin tapped her by the hand several times, but she didn't wake up, only turning and tossing on the floor. So eventually, he had no choice but to carry her into his room.

Not wanting to see her face, he threw her onto his neck like a sack of rice.

Once inside, he leaned down and slowly laid her onto the mattress before covering her with a duvet. She occasionally talked in her sleep, but nothing made sense anyway.

Gavin just shook his head in amusement and left for the living room to his study.

***

Lauren was a bit disoriented waking up in the unfamiliar bed at an unfamiliar place.

It took a while for her to recollect the events that took place the previous.

'Is this the supposed master's bedroom? How did I get into this bed? Was it Kai? Or did I just wake up by myself and get in here?' She kept wondering to herself.

"What of the man? Does it mean that he didn't return home?" Lauren asked as she saw that there was no sign of the room's owner.

She pulled herself up into a sitting position and leaned her back on the headboard, quietly going over everything in her head.

"Hehehe..." Lauren couldn't help laughing at the shocked faces of her parents after they realised what she had done.

"Hehehe..." She continued to laugh more as she imagined how berserk her sister would go once they updated her on things.

Who says that revenge isn't sweet? Well, to Lauren, seeing the expressions on the faces of her estranged family yesterday was everything she needed to know that all the efforts put in this petty revenge of hers were worth it.

"Hmm." She sighed after a long while.

"So it's finally over. Now what? Whooohh!!!" She muttered to herself and yawned loudly as she got off the bed, but then thud! Her ass hit the floor as she lost her balance because her foot got entangled in the blanket.

The worst of it all, the door opened right then, and in came the man. The one that she had shared vows with yesterday.

Awkward.

"You're awake. Good. Let's talk after you wash up. If there's anything that you'll like to have for breakfast then tell Elvis or Kai to have it prepared for you."

Lauren managed to get off the floor by herself as she tried to listen to whatever he was saying, not that the man had even offered to help. No.

And neither did he even bother to offer her an awkward "sorry."

Knock. Knock.

Kai also entered the room, and with him were Elvis and two other female servants.

"Good morning, ma'am." All four employees greeted Lauren, who responded with only a nod and an awkward smile.

"You can use the washroom here in the meantime as they prepare a room that you'll be using while you're still here." Gavin said and then signalled Kai to take charge while he left the room.

"These ladies will assist you with anything that you need from your bathing and dressing up." Kai pointed to the two servants.

Lauren's eyes darted to what they were holding in their hands, and they looked like different types of toiletries.

"And what would you like us to prepare for you as breakfast, ma'am?" Elvis also asked.

"Um... I'll just take cereals. Don't prepare anything, please."

"Alright. Then we'll leave you for now." Kai said and exited the room along with Elvis.

*

"Where's your master? Has he had his breakfast already?" Lauren asked Elvis as he pulled a chair for her to settle into at the dining table.

Fresh fruits like strawberries, apples, and bananas were already prepared for her along with a jar of fresh milk, a plate of toast, and different bowls of cereal spread on the table.

On the side was a water jar, an empty bowl with a spoon, plus a neatly folded napkin beside it.

"He's in his study. Master doesn't take breakfast." Elvis replied.

"Oh." Lauren nodded as she chewed on some toast.Kai showed up about thirty minutes later.

"The boss said to have you come to his study after you're done with your breakfast."

Lauren grabbed the napkin to wipe her mouth. "Um... okay. I'm good now, so let's go. Take me there."

She got off the chair and signalled Kai to lead the way to the study.

*

"Oh, you're done already. Good. Have a seat over there." Gavin gestured for her to sit in the living area in the study. Are these the divorce papers?" Lauren asked when she spotted him holding some documents as he moved from his desk and joined her at the sitting area.

"No. We're not getting a divorce." Gavin placed some documents in front of her on the centre table while he sat opposite her.

Lauren's heart skipped a beat. 'Not getting a divorce? What does he mean?'

She may have married him to screw her sister up, but that doesn't mean that she intended to stay married to him for long.

No. This is not looking good.

"Wha... what do you mean, Mr. Mulligan? Then what are these papers for?" She stuttered as she picked the papers to have a look at them, but her hands were unsteady.

"These are only drafts for the nullification of our marriage. I'm seeking an annulment and not a divorce."

"Oh. Annulment. Okay." Lauren let out a sigh of relief.

"We wouldn't have to do this if only we had not signed the marriage certificate in the first place. I wonder whose idea it was to make us do that in front of all those people. And I'm guessing that my mother is the culprit for that."

"Hehe..." Lauren let out a nervous laugh while scratching the back of her neck.

"Go through the papers and let me know if there's anything that you want me to add, change, or take out. I'll forward the final draft to my lawyer once we come to an agreement."

"Okay. But can you give me some time to give you a response? I'm too exhausted from yesterday's event and would like to relax for today. Can we discuss this later?"

Gavin tapped the table with his index finger while he contemplated. He really wants to be done with this whole thing as quickly as he can.

"Um... okay. But don't take too long to come to a decision..."

Rrring!

He couldn't complete his sentence as he got distracted by the ringing of his phone.

Rrring!! Rrring!!!