Read My Billionaire Ex-husband's Regret

CHAPTER ONE

Chapter 1

Olivia

Olivia ~•~ I was used to checking the news because of the kind of man I married, but for the past week, I’d been avoiding every news outlet. My name was trending and so was my husband’s. To outsiders, it was a good thing but they didn’t know exactly what was going on inside. Ever the perfect wife, I stayed downstairs, waiting for my husband to return as I tried my best to ignore the voices in my head, telling me that my marriage was crumbling. I wanted to save it but I didn’t know how. We both forgot about our anniversary which was a few days ago. Alex was trending because of an expensive necklace he bought at an auction. They all thought it was for me and were waiting to see it on my neck, but our anniversary had passed and he still hadn’t given it to me. It had to be for her. I hated that this was what we had turned into and most especially, I hated that I couldn’t do anything about it. I’d gone shopping earlier today and gotten some random gifts, hoping to salvage it, but I knew we still had a lot of talking to do, which was why I was still up, waiting for him to return. I sat on the couch and waited for a few more minutes before I heard the familiar sound of his car pulling up in the driveway. I stood up at once and met him at the door. He seemed surprised to see me, but that emotion only lasted a second. “You’re still awake.” I smiled tightly. “I was waiting for you.” He nodded and handed me his suit jacket when I reached for it, not saying anything else. “I just microwaved your food. Come eat.” “It’s fine. I’ve had dinner already.” “Oh.” I closed my eyes briefly. Trailing quietly behind him, I followed him up to our room and stood by the side as he took off his tie and unbuttoned his white shirt. He noticed me idling by the corner and paused. “Is something wrong?” I blinked at the question. He was asking me if something was wrong like our whole marriage wasn’t wrong. The media painted us as a perfect couple; they painted me as a woman who got spoiled by her husband, who got showered with gifts from her husband when we couldn’t even remember something as important as our anniversary. I couldn’t even blame him for not remembering because I also forgot, but how could he think nothing was wrong when we couldn’t even have a regular conversation like other married couples did? “I got you something.” For the first time since he arrived tonight, he looked interested in what I had to say. “You got me something?” I nodded. “Wait here.” I dashed into the closet and brought out the perfectly wrapped presents. Maybe he was waiting for me to give him his present before he gave me mine. Alex could be a petty man sometimes. He seemed surprised when I handed the box to him. “Happy anniversary.” His eyebrows shot up but he said nothing and I watched eagerly as he unwrapped the box. I wanted to see his reaction. The box revealed an expensive watch and his favorite cologne. His gaze traveled to my face to see me watching him. He cleared his throat and took a step back. My face fell. “You don’t like the gifts?” “I don’t like this cologne.” I wasn’t expecting that. I bought it every time for him and he appreciated it. Was he mad that the gifts came late? In my defense, he hadn’t given me anything as well so I also had a right to be mad at him yet I wasn’t. “I’m sorry they came late, but–“ “That’s not the reason.” “Then what is it?” “I prefer silver watches.” He said, staring at the gold watch I’d gotten him. “And this cologne makes me sick.” My eyebrows furrowed. “You said you like it.” “That’s because I didn’t have the energy to argue with you and I didn’t want to make you feel bad.” I let out a bitter laugh. So he didn’t care about making me feel bad now? His actions were confirming my suspicions but I still didn’t want to believe it was because of her. If he had told me from the start that he hated it, I would have found something else for him. This was exactly the problem between us. We barely communicated and it wasn’t because I didn’t want to. He never had the time to sit down and have a real talk. He was always busy at the office and these days, he was even busier. “We need to talk, don’t we?” I chuckled humorlessly, wrapping my arms around myself. If we didn’t want to go on like this, we needed to talk about it and fix our marriage. “Yeah, we do.” He agreed. Well, at least, I thought he was agreeing with me. He placed the worthless presents on the bed and opened his bag to retrieve a file. I frowned when he handed it to me. He never told me about anything going on in his office so why was he giving me a file now? Was he trying to be a better husband by letting me in his life? Still wary of his intention, I took the file and brought out the paper in it. It took me less than a second to know what was going on. After all, the words were written boldly at the heading. “Alex, you can’t be serious.” Unfortunately, he looked more serious than he’d ever been in his life. “Olivia, let’s get a divorce.” My mouth parted and I tried to speak but my brain just couldn’t form words after what I just heard.

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CHAPTER TWO

Chapter 2

Olivia ~•~ I blinked in confusion. “Why do you want to get divorced?” I asked but he didn’t respond. My eyes scanned through the papers and my pupils dilated in shock as I read the content. Alex had already signed his part and all that was left to finalize the divorce was my signature. I was confused because I wasn’t expecting to get a divorce anytime soon. Sure, our marriage wasn't every couple’s dream, but we got along pretty well. We tolerated each other. We were able to sleep next to each other at night. “What is the meaning of this, Alex?” I asked angrily but Alex still remained quiet.“Why are we getting a divorce? When did you get these papers?” “Today.” Came his short flaccid response. I narrowed my eyes in confusion. “It is because of her, right?” I sniffed, holding back the tears that were threatening to fall down but Alex scoffed. “You want a divorce because of her, right?” I added, my voice cracking slightly. He finally confirmed my suspicions. The necklace he got at the auction was for his ex girlfriend, Tricia. All these while, he had been preparing the divorce papers for me. He didn’t talk about it with me. He didn’t think I deserved to know prior to preparing the papers. Did he even regard me as someone important in his life? “Don’t you think it’s time we stop wasting each other’s time?” He seemed too calm for the words he just said and I could feel my heart breaking each passing second. My vision got blurry when I heard him say those words. “Don’t you think it’s time we stop wasting each other’s time?” I repeated his words in a whisper, trying to make sense of it. I was trying to process everything that was going on because it came as a surprise to me. When I looked up at him with a puzzled expression on my face, he continued speaking. “Olivia, it is clear you do not love me, you never did.” He cleared his throat and my lips parted in disbelief. “Wh…what?” I sputtered as I tried to form a coherent sentence. “What do you mean?” I asked. I loved Alex, I had always loved him. But there had always been a rift in our marriage because I’d always felt he didn’t completely move on from his ex. “I’m just trying to make things easier for us, for you.” “Of course, why didn’t I see this coming?” I asked rhetorically with a scoff. “You’ve been looking for a way out so you can rekindle your love with her? You’ve been waiting for the opportunity and you think today is just perfect!” I yelled at him while he sat there calmly. “Olivia, this has nothing to do with my ex.” He said. “I haven’t even seen Tricia in years.” I laughed but there was no humor in it.“So what’s the reason? Why do you want to do this?” I couldn’t go with the bull shit reason that he was doing this for me. If it was for me, why could I feel my heart breaking with each word that left his lips? “You forgot our anniversary, you gave me mediocre presents. That’s to show that you do not value this marriage. You never did.” He was calm; too calm for the kind of conversation we were having. It was messing with my head. I was confused for a second because he also forgot our anniversary but I was the one to blame? I knew the presents weren’t really thoughtful but he could have been a little more appreciative instead of dismissing my efforts just like that. I didn’t know what to get him because he literally had everything he wanted. “I’m sorry about the anniversary and the presents but that isn’t a good enough reason for you to end the marriage,” I told him, hoping he would change his mind about the divorce papers. “Olivia, just sign the papers. I’ve thought about it for a while and I’ve already made my decision.” My throat immediately went dry as I swallowed. Five years of my life were about to go down the drain, and for what? I didn’t know what to say or do anymore. I couldn’t stand there any longer, I couldn’t look at him anymore. My world was falling apart and I couldn’t do anything to stop it. Even if we didn’t have the perfect marriage, I didn’t want a divorce. I never thought about a divorce. It was heartbreaking and I felt really betrayed and hurt. With the file in my hand, I stormed out of the room. Alex looked like he had his mind made up and nothing I say was going to change anything. I wiped my eyes with the back of my hand to prevent the tears that welled up in my eyes from falling down my face as I trudged down the stairs. When I got to the living room, I picked up my phone from the table. I had left it there while waiting for Alex to return home. I needed to call my best friend to let her know what was going on. “Hey girl, I haven’t forgotten about the party, I’ll be there in time,” Sandra said as soon as she answered the call. She thought I was calling her to remind her about the party Alexander’s company was hosting the next day. “That’s not why I called you,” I responded, my lips trembling. “Why are you sounding like that? Is everything okay?” She sounded concerned but her voice was also laced with curiosity. I hesitated for a moment and tried to steady my voice before responding. I didn’t want to break down and cry while talking. “This evening.” I cleared my throat and resumed speaking. “This eve…evening..” Sandra interrupted. “What happened this evening?” “Alex gave me the divorce papers.” I rushed out, knowing I’d probably cry in a few seconds if I didn’t say it already. She was quiet for a few seconds as though it was hard for her to process as well. “What divorce papers? Why would he do something like that?” “I have no idea, Sandra,” I released an exhausted sigh. “He said I didn’t love him and we should stop wasting each other’s time.” A lone tear traveled down my cheek and I wiped it with another sigh. “I’m so sorry, Olivia,” Sandra said sympathetically. “What are you going to do? Didn’t you give him the anniversary presents? Why is he upset?” Sandra and I had picked out the presents when we went shopping earlier in the day. I paused for a few seconds and blinked before responding. “He wasn’t even impressed by the presents.” My heart ached as my conversation with him replayed in my head. “I had a feeling he wouldn’t like it when you picked it.” Sandra was right. She had asked me to think of something else but I was in a hurry and had to get something fast. “Five years of my life, Sandra. Five whole years!” I let out a humorless chuckle. “If the divorce is what he wants, then I’ll sign the papers and move on with my life,” I added. “I’m so sorry you have to go through this, Olivia.” Sandra sympathized with me. “But are you sure you want to sign the papers? Are you sure you want to give up on your marriage? “Yes, I’m sure.” I lied. “It doesn’t even feel like I’m married anymore, so there is no use fighting for it.” I added, biting my lips. Sandra and I talked for a few more minutes before the call ended. The divorce papers were still in my hands. I didn’t want to sign them but there was no use holding on to someone who wanted to get rid of me. Just as I reached out to the table to get a pen, I heard footsteps from the staircase and Alex appeared. “Have you signed the papers yet?” He asked. I rolled my eyes at him and showed him the pen I had just gotten from the table. “I’m about to sign it,” I replied and placed the paper on the table to sign. “Don’t sign it yet.” He stopped me and reached out to take the pen from my hand.