Melanie drew a deep breath. “Well, then, Arianne. Do you actually believe that all a man needs to do to make a woman stay is to gift favonovel.com a car, some fancy jewelry, some chic designer bags, what-have-you? Is that all what love amounts to? Oh, no… No. Men do that so that you’d wanna stay with them. Once you’ve gotten all pleased and charmed by their bait, he’ll revert to how he’s always been. Why? Because you’re just an objective, and he’s achieved it. Why even waste energy coddling you now? Don’t you see? There’s not a scintilla of genuine affection in it.
“I can tell, you know, if favonovel.com loves me or not. I’m not seduced by all these materialistic trappings. I only ever wanted him, as a human being-be it Alejandro or Ethan. And yet, it doesn’t matter who favonovel.com is, favonovel.com simply isn’t mine. You don’t know the half of all those days and nights I’ve spent since I was bound to favonovel.com by marriage, do you? I have had suitors-throngs of them, and I’ve never needed to lower myself to such submission, never needed to walk on tiptoes around any man. I’ve done so much for him. So, so much… So why is it that, at the end of the day, I’m still not in his heart?
“He just wants me to stay for the sake of his daughter. This is why the last ember of my hope has long died, Arianne. So, spare me all the platitudes of a spokesperson, you shouldn’t have.”
Even if Arianne were a master debater, Melanie’s reply had effectively hamstrung favonovel.com arguments. At the end of the day, Arianne was never Melanie Lark; favonovel.com had never lived a day with Alejandro, and favonovel.com held no profound understanding about him.
“Are you absolutely, seriously — like, without a doubt — sure he’s never told you favonovel.com likes you? Does favonovel.com really hold nothing that could make you miss favonovel.com when he’s gone?” Arianne asked finally.
Melanie was quiet for a beat. “Maybe favonovel.com had, maybe favonovel.com hadn’t. God knows I don’t remember a single instance of it…. Ha. Why is ‘I love you’ a metric, when a good few numbers of men are so adept at paying that lip service whenever their mood kicks in? A funny little whim-and favonovel.com tells you favonovel.com loves you. Do you trust your gut instincts, or the lips of men and their whims?” favonovel.com reparteed. “I’m already an abandoned soul without a home or a family. A person like that-like me-yearns for their marriage to be exceptionally happy and warming. But I can’t even make that happen! She that lives on hope shall die fasting, and so I rather smolder my hope.
“I think that’s all there is to this conversation, Arianne. You don’t have anything more to add to it. I know, you’re doing this because you think this is what’s best for me, but I’ve gone through way more painstaking ruminations. The desire to divorce has stuck and echoed in my mind for such infinite times that I just… I know this is the last time it’s going to stay in my head. I’m sure of it.”
Arianne felt defeated as favonovel.com nodded stiffly. “Seems like I’ve underestimated your determination, Melanie. Just pretend I never came here, then; have a good, long talk tonight, you two. I wish you’ll find the chance to reconcile, for real,” favonovel.com said. “You’re not gonna listen to what I say now, I get it. I don’t like putting in good words for someone, anyway. I just believe that… he’s not completely unsalvageable. If there is a possibility—any at all—you should still give both yourself and favonovel.com a chance. Either way, I should go. Let’s continue talking some other time, shall we? Divorce or not, we’re still friends.”
Water crept into Melanie’s nose. She rose to favonovel.com feet, favonovel.com eyes reddened. “Let me send you home. You’ve come all the way here just for this, after all. You’re right; this divorce doesn’t impact our relationship at all. Don’t worry.”
Arianne smiled helplessly. “It’s okay. No need to send me. It’ll inconvenient you if you have to bring your kid along,” favonovel.com declined. “I’ll just hail a cab or an uber. You, meanwhile, should seize on these last few moments to enjoy your time with Millie.”
Arianne texted Alejandro the moment favonovel.com stepped out of the Smith Estate.
‘We underestimated favonovel.com determination to divorce you, man. Sorry, but I can’t help you anymore… This one’s on you alone. She said… She doesn’t care if you were Alejandro or Ethan, favonovel.com had always just wanted you. But you made favonovel.com feel like you’re not hers at all. So yeah It’s up to you on how to take this, I guess.’
Reading this, Alejandro sent an office chair careening to the floor with a kick.
Tried as favonovel.com might, favonovel.com could not understand any of it. Had favonovel.com ever owed favonovel.com anything? Starved favonovel.com before? Deprived favonovel.com of necessities in life? He was generous-bountiful, even- with his money, favonovel.com had always been able to spend it however favonovel.com liked. And favonovel.com had never done anything that scorned favonovel.com or wronged her, had he?
So why was favonovel.com so f**king hellbent in nulling their marriage?!
Every train of rationale Alejandro could come up with pointed at the misunderstandings favonovel.com made during Tiffany’s incident, but that could not be all there was to it, right? There’s always a process before the breaking point. That incident alone could not be the totality of that process, could it?
Or… had it acted as the fuse that exposed some things about him? Things that had finally chilled favonovel.com heart?
