33
Derek's alarm sounded the next morning and he stretched his arms expecting to meet warm flesh as usual but his arms met a cold bed, he opened his eyes and looked at the empty bed, memories of what happened flood into his brain and he closed his eyes as if to put away the pain he was feeling, he desperately wanted to believe her yesterday but he couldn't allow himself to get caught in her lies again, she had been seeing Stefan without his knowledge and had hid it from him and when he had come home that day after receiving those photos, he had heard them discussing, rather planning, she was with him for his money, she might have staged a damsel in distress act in the first place to get him to marry her, afterall, he was a known figure,he was such a fool for falling into her trap and he won't be her fool anymore, he could probably endure the pain of her betrayal but he would not be able to forget the pain of losing his child, he had been so happy thinking that his dreams are finally coming true. being an only child, he had always dreamed of a family of his own and he had thought he had finally gotten it but she shattered his dreams. He slowly walked into the shower and had his bath, he quickly got dressed, carried his suitcase, and swung the door open. His eyes narrowed when he saw Kathleen on the door just as she was about to knock, "what are you doing here?" He asked coldly
"Please Derek, I want to speak with you" she stared at him, her gaze pleading but he brushed past her, "I have a business to attend to"
"Please Derek, just a minute" she ran after him and he whirled around, " I don't have a minute to spare" on an afterthought be added," I might have a second..." Her face lit up with hope, "after you've signed our divorce papers" he finished.
Kathleen felt as if the ground shook beneath her and she stumbled, struggling to keep her balance, she stared at him, "what?"
"I'll send the divorce papers to you, quickly append your signature, maybe then, I'll have a second to spare"
Kathleen's head spun and her eyes swarm, she grabbed on a couch as she tried to stable herself, "he wanted a divorce, he wished to divorce her" the words rang in her head over and over again, she glanced up to stare at his retreating back.
"I won't sign the divorce papers" she whispered to his retreating back and he paused, for a second, she thought he would approach her but he said nothing as he simply walked out the door.
Kathleen was sitting in her room in the servant's quarter, she felt depressed, Derek wished to divorce her, she can't seem to think anything other than that, no, she wasn't going to sign any divorce papers, she would not leave that way, she had to do something to prove her Innocence, a knock sounded on her door and she looked up to see Mary enter, she looked at Kathleen sympathetically as she sat at the foot of the bed close to Kathleen, "you've not had anything to eat since morning"
Kathleen tried to smile but it fell flat, "I'm not hungry"
"But you have to eat something, the boss is just angry with you, he'll come around" Mary looked unsure at her words but she just needed to reassure Kathleen.
Kathleen scoffed at her words, "I didn't do it, I was falsely accused" Kathleen told her, desperately in need of someone to believe her, "do you think I would do something like that?"
Mary's gaze was unclear, "it's not a matter of whether you're right or wrong, you can't blame the boss for being angry with you, he saw you and that man on the bed and the news is everywhere in the papers, I am sure it will affect his business too".
Kathleen felt a pang in her heart, the last thing she wanted was for Derek to undergo through any difficulties because of her, she shook her head, "I know he has every right to be angry given that he warned me to stay away from Stefan, but believe me, I have no idea how he ended up in bed with me".
Mary touched her hands sympathetically, "give it time, everything will fall in place, you have to eat and keep up your strength so that you can get to the bottom of this"
"He wants a divorce" Kathleen whispered as tears streamed down her cheeks and Mary quickly hugged her, "don't think about it" breaking apart, Mary wiped the tears from her eyes with her palm, "I'll quickly get you something to eat" she stood up and quickly left.
Kathleen was still thinking of what to do when she heard a shout, her head jerked up as she quickly stood up and followed the noise to the kitchen, Marcella was screaming profanities on Mary, a plate of food thrown on the floor, "so, you think you're still a royalty that you had the guts to send a maid to serve you" Marcella lit on Kathleen immediately she entered the kitchen, "should I remind you that you're now more of a maid in this house?"
Kathleen opened her mouth but she was lost for words and Marcella continued with her rants, "henceforth, you'll eat servant's meal, stop acting like this is your house"
"But this is my house" Kath interjected and Marcella laughed scornfully, "don't kid yourself, your husband chased you to the maids quarter"
"I might live in the maid's quarter but as long as I still bear Mrs. Deloux, this is still my house".
The doorbell sounded before Marcella could think of a reply and she walked away to see who was at the door, Kathleen took a deep breath and turned to Mary, "I'm sorry, it's all my fault"
"I think this is for you" Marcella handed her a piece of paper with a look of victory, Kathleen looked confused and collected it, she stared at it and she felt like she has been dealt a blow, on her hand was the divorce papers, Derek kept true to his words and sent the divorce papers.
"I believe now, you know your exact place in this house, you don't belong here" Marcella's voice taunted her, Kathleen's eyes took on a determine look as she tore the papers, amidst Marcella's gasp of surprise, she put it back in the envelope and gave it to the messenger, "give it back to him".
The messenger thanked her and took his leave.