Matilda stumbled out of her bed, grabbed a cup of coffee and ran to catch her 1.50 pm bus. She wanted only to lie down for five minutes. Her sleepless nights finally caught up with her and she dozed off the minute her head hit the pillows. The past few weeks had been a slap on her face. She knew she couldn’t be late. She didn’t want to prove him right. The words kept flashing back in her head, “mentally incapable of performing even the simplest of tasks.” She could feel the angry flushes build up again. That bastard she thought, he will not have his way.
She reached the coach station with less than 30 seconds to spare. The coach was half packed but she was able to get a window seat. She took out her kindle but she couldn’t decide what she wanted to read. She browsed her way through the collection and stopped at romance. It was her favorite section, or it had been her favorite section. She wanted to throw her kindle out, why do people write such godforsaken books, she thought. It is their fault; they make life to be all rosy and posy. What pleasure do they have in fooling innocent people like her, she thought. It’s their fault she kept telling herself.
As the coach pulled up at the next stop, a young girl and boy, around eighteen or nineteen, got in and sat in the adjacent seat. It’s not going to last, she thought with a smirk on her face. She looked their way to see them cuddle each other, staring in to each other’s eyes, blind to everything around them. She remembered the time when she would stare into his green eyes, the way she couldn’t keep her hands off him, all she wanted was him to feel safe. She still wanted him, as much as she tried to deny that thought, she still wanted him. No. No I don’t need him she tried to tell herself. I am better off without that bastard. I am. I know I am. She looked away from the ignorant young couple; she couldn’t help but wish bad upon them. She wanted them to end things. She wanted them to have an uproar. That would make her feel better, she thought.
She looked at her watch, it’s only been 30 minutes into the journey and she had to survive two and a half more hours in this seat. She didn’t want to keep thinking about him. She wished she could stop the flashing thoughts. She looked out her window, hoping the scenery would take her mind off things. She was trying to concentrate on what was right in front of her but she couldn’t help but stare into the distance, aimlessly.
“Miss, miss, this is the last stop, you have to get out.”
She woke up in a startle to find the bus driver hovering in front of her. She immediately checked her watch; she let out a sigh of relief when she saw it was only 5pm. She gathered her things, apologized to the bus driver and got out of the coach. A cold chill passed through her and she buttoned her coat. She walked straight ahead; she knew exactly where she was going. She shrugged when she saw the sign on the door, “Aggressive Representation, Family Law is Our Business.” She knew she couldn’t walk back now, she had to move forward.
“I’ve got a six o’clock appointment with Mr. Seaward,” she said confidently to the plump looking lady at the reception. She was taken to room 205 and she saw him seating at the other end of the room. He was wearing a pink shirt and was leaning forward in his chair with his fist on the table. She couldn’t stand men who wore pink. She knew he knew that. He did it purposely to annoy her, she knew that.
“I want everything, every single thing in the house, if not I will not sign the papers,” she said staring him straight in the eyes. He started to argue, but she interrupted, “I said I want everything, take it or leave it.”
“Whatever, give her whatever she wants,” he finally told Mr. Seaward, knowing he wouldn’t get his way.
She was doing well, she kept telling herself, she was doing really well. She was ready to sign the papers, when she heard him mumbling, “See I told you she was deranged.” She could feel the angry flushes again when she heard those words. She could feel her upper lip twitch. She wanted to scream, but no sound was coming out. She could feel her heart racing; she knew she was at the edge.
She dashed her phone on the floor, picked up the papers and started tearing them as he stared in disbelief. “Let’s see how you do something as simple as get a divorce, you.. you.. you..” She mumbled something unrecognizable under her breath. She ran out before anyone could stop her and stopped the first taxi that passed. “Take me straight to the airport,” she told the driver, and watched him throw his fist at the wall as the taxi was pulling away.
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