A Successful Career After Divorce

Ranita put down her phone and couldn’t help but ask, “Is it because of Shannon?”

Brendon looked upset, like an angry lion emitting a fierce and intimidating aura. “I’m sorry…” Those words made her feel sick to her stomach.

“Okay, I’ll help you pack,” Ranita pretended to be nonchalant and turned around, but Brendon grabbed her arm and said hoarsely, “Ranita, I’ll go back and check on things. I’ll be back soon.” He hugged her tightly.

Ranita’s heart felt like it was thrown into a blender – everything was chaotic.

“Wait for me,” Brendon took the car keys and left.

Ranita walked out onto the balcony and saw his car disappearing in the distance.Property © of NôvelDrama.Org.

It was noon with bright sunshine outside.

Although she should have felt hot under such weather conditions, Ranita didn’t seem to notice anything at all; she stood there until her legs went numb while sweating profusely from head to toe.

“Ranita…” A soft voice came from the phone; it was Vincent’s call that hadn’t been hung up yet.

“Are you okay?” How could she be okay? She wasn’t okay at all!

Ranita tried hard to swallow the bitterness in her throat before picking up the phone again, “Vincent… sorry.”

“Do you need me to come pick you up?” Vincent didn’t ask anything else but smiled instead, “Of course if you want some alone time, that’s fine too, but I hope that if I send a message or call, you can reply.”

“It won’t bother you too much.”

Ranita pursed her lips with a bitter smile on them.

“Vincent… I’m fine… you don’t have to worry about me.”

There were several seconds of silence on Vincent’s end before he asked, “Maybe you can talk about it with me?”

Ranita felt terrible inside but knew that everyone had their own unique experiences when it came to love affairs – besides being an adult meant not having to shout out personal feelings everywhere they went.

“Vincent, really, I’m fine! You don’t have to worry about me. I’m an adult and know how to handle relationship issues.”

Vincent didn’t insist, and after a few words, he shifted the conversation to Boatleigh Manor. Vincent seemed quite familiar with this place, mentioning many interesting places for Ranita to explore.

Using these two days off work, Ranita visited every corner of Boatleigh Manor. The place had everything one could wish for – sunny weather, birds chirping, flowers blooming – except for one thing: Brendon. She waited for him for two whole days without any news.

Brendon didn’t come back, he only called her at night to remind her to go to bed early. Without Brendon, she always had nightmares.

In her dreams, there were clanging iron chains…

She couldn’t sleep well and ate very little. The little bit of flesh she had managed to put on was gone again. Her delicate face was pale, small and fragile like a palm-sized porcelain doll that could be blown away by the wind.

As the check-out date approached, Ranita packed up her things and sat in a lounge chair on the balcony enjoying the breeze.

Brendon said he would come back for her but she knew he wouldn’t.

Ranita saw Shannon’s news sporadically in the media – weak yet full of spring breeze with both love and career flourishing. In comparison, Ranita felt pathetic.

Her waiting was worthless and meaningless.

“Ring ring!” Her phone rang and Ranita took it out to see who it was. The light in her eyes disappeared instantly when she saw who it was calling, “Hello? What can I do for you, Caleb?”

“Ms. Bowman, Mr. Stuart is unable to make it due to some urgent matters so he has sent a driver over…” Caleb paused before adding an explanation, “The CEO from Cubrews suddenly called for a meeting which is why Mr. Stuart couldn’t come personally.”

Ranita pursed her lips but remained silent.