The next morning, he came down thirty minutes later than usual for breakfast. Emily didn’t think too much of it because it was also a weekend so he didn't need to leave the house for work.

He glanced at her and opened his mouth like he wanted to say something but he immediately shut it again. Then he made his way to the coffeemaker and filled his cup with his favourite black coffee, adding a teaspoon of honey.

Emily felt awkward and also annoyed because he was ignoring her as usual, acting like everything was okay and back to normal even after their little argument last night.

Surprisingly though, he had exchanged more words with Emily than she had expected. He didn’t like talking to her much or even looking at her. But he did.

She had come to accept the way he distanced himself from her, not even giving himself a chance to try to love her. But she wished he could at least hide the fact that he hated her so much.

He never said it directly but it was too obvious for her to remain delusional.

The only time he'd ever kissed her was on their wedding day, he never tried to have conversations with her unless he needed to, while fucking her he'd look at the ceiling or the wall or anywhere else at all instead of meeting her eyes, having sex with her was like a punishment for him.

Even when they had to go out together for a function, she was just a doll at his side. He didn’t try to pretend he liked her in public.

But Emily had hoped and waited for her husband to love her. She fell in love with him at first sight when she saw him for the first time at a gala and she had continued to love him.

Even now she wished…. How she wished he would love her as much as she'd always loved him. It's been four years since they met and two years of being married but still nothing but a growing hatred from him.

She sighed, trying to push back all the bittersweet memories. There was no point thinking about the past and how much she still wanted him to love her, she had to leave this mess.

Emily could barely eat her breakfast because of the tension and discomfort she felt. She wondered how he was able to enjoy his own meal without feeling bothered. Did he think she was only bluffing about the divorce?

She thought of saying something to him but changed her mind, he'd only get irritated. She got up, picking her plate and cup, and headed to the sink to wash them.

“Looks like you're having a problem eating this morning, princess,” he said unexpectedly. “You need to eat more.” She glanced back at him but he wasn’t looking at her, he was going through his phone.

She continued to the sink and replied,”I don't have a problem eating, I'm just not hungry right now so I'll…”

He interrupted,”You always claim not to be hungry, how do you expect to grow a child inside you with that bad appetite of yours. You need to eat.” He sighed in frustration.

“I would eat more if you didn't make me feel so uncomfortable,” she mumbled quietly.

“No mumbling, princess. You know I hate it when you do that. If you can't say it out loud, then don't say it at all.” He got up from where he sat and let out a small yawn.

She watched as he walked to the fridge to get a bottle of water and kicked herself mentally for getting turned on just from watching him drink water shirtless. She needed to keep her desire for him under control or else she'd make bad decisions.

She partially couldn’t believe she finally asked him for a divorce, it felt a bit like a dream because the Emily of two years ago would have never believed it if anyone told her she'd ask for one.

She had believed that he would eventually get over the fact that he was forced to marry her and he would go back to being the sweet and funny Prince charming he was the first time they met.

She gave him about three months to get over it and start to love her but that never happened. She extended it to six months but after a year of their marriage it dawned on her that he was never going to forgive or love her.

Now she's had enough and was brave to voice out a part of her pain. But what she didn’t expect was for things to be as complicated as it was now.

She thought he would happily let her go but now he's practically keeping her hostage by using her sister. Such a manipulative asshole.

She would have to find a way to get a divorce without affecting her sister, Quinn and her brother-in-law, Dominic. They were expecting another child and they've also been saving money to buy their dream house.

If Nicolas suddenly ruined her business which meant a lot to her, it could affect Quinn in a bad way which is dangerous for her in her condition. And she was sure he'd go after Dominic too in some way using his connections.

Dominic finally got a job at one of the top law firms in the state and the pay is good but Nicolas could easily pull some strings and get him to lose the job.

It would be her fault if things go bad for them and Emily couldn’t stand the thought of that. She didn’t want to have issues with her sister again. It was really hard to get Quinn to trust her initially because of the issues she had with their dad who still doesn't accept her as his daughter.

Eventually she proved to Quinn that she was a good person and would love to be close to her as sisters. Things had been fine between them so far but what would happen now if…

Emily shook her head slightly to clear her thoughts, then started humming a song as she washed the dishes. She didn’t like doing much chores but for some reason, washing dishes helped her calm down in a way.

They had a bunch of staff for cleaning and other stuff because their house was a literal mansion, but she preferred washing her own dishes when she had the chance.

At first, Nicolas had taunted her and asked her to stop acting like she could be useful as a housewife but after a few weeks, he stopped and just let her wash the dishes without trying to make fun of her.

Nicolas.

She needed to stop thinking about him so much too.

She quickly washed, cleaned and arranged the dishes then she drank a cup of water before heading to her room.

She took a quick shower again to feel refreshed and then she changed into a pink t-shirt and black flay leggings. She looked at herself in the mirror for a while and decided to leave her long black hair flowing down instead of tying it in the usual bun.

She used a bit of her body spray, grabbed her bag and car keys then left the room to meet Nicolas. She knew he'd be in his study already to go through some of his many documents or whatever it is he did there during the weekends. Though, she had long suspected that he just stayed there to avoid her.

“Sorry to bother you but I just want to let you know I'm about to go out,” she stood awkwardly at the door and looked away slowly when he looked up at her. He had an unusual look in his eyes that she didn't want to think about.

He scoffed, “Where do you think…”

“Well, I'll be off now. You can focus on your work,” she rushed away before he could say or do something to stop her.

By the time he made it down, which surprised her because she hadn't expected him to be bothered enough to come after her, she was already driving out of the gate.

She didn’t actually have anywhere in mind to go yet but she enjoyed the look of anger Nicolas had on his face. She'd never gone out without him knowing exactly where she was going and when she'd be coming back.

She knew this would lead to a huge fight when she returned but she still felt good and a bit… free.