CHAPTER TWO.

"Sandra, you have enough money to last for generations. What more could you be looking for? You're a successful CEO whose company makes a million dollars." David tried to reason with her, consciously diverting his words from sounding too desperate especially as her secretary was already shooting daggers at him.

"That's it. You never understand these things. Just sign them and name your price. I'm doing this out of the love we shared in the past," she said cooly, eyes piercing through his tears while still fighting to stop hers from betraying her strength and throwing her dignity to the grass.

She definitely couldn't remain married to an ex-convict. It will spoil her name and the career she had struggled to build for years.

"I never thought our relationship could be measured by money," he broke down briefly, and sniffed hurriedly, fighting them embarrassingly. "I thought you loved me genuinely and shared the same affection I had for you."

David still couldn't understand why she had chosen to act this way of all ways to act. How could she have deserted him within twenty-four hours of his arrest?

He still couldn't believe his ears. “I thought you loved me and our relationship.”

With that, Sandra looked away and took in a sharp breath from her diaphragm. "Our relationship was long troubled before this. This is the height of it. I can't continue with you," her voice grew colder. All the heartaches in her chest freezing into one burning ball of rage. "Sign the papers and let us end this. I'm tired,” her words slammed harshly on David's face like splatters of snow, disfiguring his thoughts and showing him what her true colours were.

As if her cold words immediately froze his emotions into ice, determination overshadowed everything, taking the lead together with the little pride he still had left in him and the mixture of helplessness that he could sense was a result of there being little or no possibility of Sandra changing her mind.

"Then." He dragged the papers closer and snatched the pen from the secretary's fingers with the intention to cause an injury to her. But she was swift enough to avoid that, her smile of triumph aggravating David's anger the more.

"You want this,” his nose flared. “You shall get it," then he scribbled his signature with as much boiling anger as possible while harbouring a strong self-hatred against himself for ever falling in love with someone like her.

He had known firsthand that she was a cold sophisticated woman and that things would only end in tears from his own end. But he had not heeded his common sense and had tried his luck. Now it was the end, he signed the papers with a promise on his lips.

A promise to make her pay, however he could.

"Very well," Sandra spoke sweetly. "My secretary will make sure you're duly settled with...

"Take your money with you. I'm not a commodity to be bought. All I need from you is the family pendant. Return it and get out of my life!" He yelled, eyes reddening, teeth clutching on his lower lip threatening to draw out blood and fist clenched, ready to punch the table into pieces.

"Sure!" Sandra continued with her sweet smile and bright eyes. "You shall receive it neatly packaged," she replied on her way to the door without batting an eye nor looking back at him, her face bland from all emotions that might betray her self-control and discipline.

However much she would have loved to remain married. Times changed and she needed to change with it.

Convicts deserved to date each other, not a high class lady like she. She couldn't imagine herself laying on the same bed with him again.

But that didn't change the fact that her chest still tightened with every pained look on his face and with the tear streak on his face haunted her till she got to her car.

On getting to her car, she could hold her wariness no longer. "Do you think I acted wisely?" She asked her secretary, fearing the guilt that might fly in knowing that she had wrongfully acted and had just thrown the one love of her life forever away.

"No, ma. In my opinion, that's one of the best decisions I've ever seen you make in my course of working with you. Good job," she applauded.

"He doesn't deserve to even act as a cleaner in your house. A convict?" Sylvia, Sandra's secretary made a face, finally giving way for her long time hatred to spurge out.

In contrast to Sandra's nonchalance, David felt like his head would erupt in flames if he wasn't hurried out of the visiting room. His world had just shattered and he didn't even know the best way to fix it.

He had not expected things to turn out this way or for her to get wind of his whereabouts within twenty four hours that he was to stay in prison. And to even appear with a divorce paper? It was too grand to ever think of it nor imagine it even in his wildest nightmare.

Bound by orders, he couldn't tell her the truth that he was on a mission and that he was, in fact, a freeman as any normal human could be. He hadn't even thought that she would get wind of it so quickly and if she did, for the sake of their love, would believe in his character as a person and let go of societal beliefs and rumours.

But clearly, he had overestimated his place in her heart. As the saying goes, “When disaster strikes, even the closest birds fly apart.” He did not blame her.

Just then a warden came in and saluted, cutting short his brooding. "Sir, the president wants to see you," he said, waiting for David to stand before leading him away to the dressing room to get a dress change.

“Congratulations, your mission has been completed.”