"Sign the file!"
Laurie stared at the folder her husband had handed her. Her hands were shaking because her heartbeat suddenly became twice as fast. She had a bad feeling about the contents of the file in the folder.
"Honey, can we talk about something else first?" Laurie asked as she looked up, trying to delay looking at the contents of the folder. "I have important news to tell you."
Tommy's eyebrows furrowed and his lips pursed. "Come on, Laurie, don't waste my time. We already know that there's nothing more to talk about between us. I want a divorce and you already know why."
"But," Laurie's breath caught in her throat and made her chest feel tight. "You should know that--"
"I will give you enough support, at least until you get a job or maybe, you need capital to start a business, just tell me, I will send the money," said Tommy, cutting Laurie off impatiently.
Laurie looked into Tommy's eyes and there was only a sea of ice in them, making her shiver and realize that there was no warmth left for her in Tommy's heart at all.
Laurie's hand moved to open the folder and pulled out several sheets of paper from it. Her heart bled, when she read the title of the letter. Divorce Documents.
Tommy handed her a pen. An expensive pen that he always used when signing important agreements or contracts in his business affairs.
Laurie took the pen. Laurie's heart was broken. Before signing the divorce papers, she asked Tommy, "If I get pregnant, are you still going to divorce me?
"Of course not!" replied Tommy. "But, Laurie, you're weak and sterile. Elle isn't. So, just sign it and go."
Laurie took an inhaler from her bag and sprayed it into her mouth, helping to relieve the tightness that was making it difficult for her to breathe.
Tommy clicked his tongue at what Laurie was doing. The woman who would soon become his ex-wife was wasting time.
Laurie read the contents of the document and signed it. She stood up and looked Tommy in the eye with a feeling of hurt that she did not try to hide at all.
Just as Laurie was about to open her mouth to say something, Tommy's office door swung open. Millie, Laurie's mother-in-law, and the twins Jenny and Jessy, Tommy's younger sisters, walked in quickly. Their faces looked anxious.
Millie grabbed the document on the table and read it quickly. Her face changed from anxious to a wide smile.
"Good. Apparently you are quite self-aware, Laurie. You must have realized that you have been a burden to Tommy for too long, right?" Millie said in a soft tone.
"Tommy, does that mean Elle will be living with us soon? After Laurie leaves?" Jenny asked.