REVENGE of the RAGDOLL TRILLIONAIRE

I am still in disbelief. It was like everything was all part of an unwanted dream that I wish I could simply wake up at and shake everything off my mind. Clutching my handbag so tightly my knuckles turned white. Inside was the divorce decree—the final proof that six years of glorious, agonizing hell were finally over. I wasn't just here to deliver a piece of paper; I was here to take my daughter back.

As I stand here in front of the mansion, looking at the extravagant fortress that I once thought was home, everything comes back to life. Every pain and guilt I had to bear daily, every cry that I silently hid, every sleepless night of wandering and thinking, that only the massive interior bore witness off. All the cold memories from my six years of living here all flooded back in me like angry tides during a stormy night.

Taking a deep breath, I pushed the doors open. The familiar chill of the massive foyer hit me instantly, bringing a flood of memories I didn't want. But before I could drown in them, a small, demanding voice cut through the air.

"Why can't Mom live here with you, Dad? I hate switching houses."

“You are too young to understand everything, princess.”

“I’m almost turning seven months from now, Daddy. I am not little anymore.”

A smile appeared from the corners of my lips as I listened to her reasoning. Conversing with Michelle was like dealing with an adult. She was far ahead from her year and was smarter than normal children of her age.

“Sometimes things happen because it was destined to happen. There is nothing we could do about it, but to accept it and go on with our lives” He explained with gentleness and patience, laced with unadulterated love, obviously choosing those perfect words for our daughter to understand.

Gentleness, patience and love.

Something that he never did to me ever. Something that was deprived from me for the past years that I was with him. He was always cold towards me during our six years of marriage. Always void and flat of any emotions, none at all. It was as if I was the dark cloud that glooms over him every single day. I didn’t remember hearing him speaking to me with that same amount of affection and diligence as to how he spoke now with her.

“Don’t you love her anymore, Daddy? Don’t you even care for Mommy and her welfare?”

I tightly gripped the strap of my handbag at her heartfelt question, waiting in anticipation for what he was about to answer. There’s still a part of me that hopes for a miracle, for some compassion in him towards me. Hope that somehow he did love me back, one way or another.

But I already knew his answer. Since day one, I already knew what his reply would be if asked about it. Everyone, except our daughter, knew what the answer was. The reality that was shoveled into my face since day one. The truth that I blindly disregarded over the years.

The truth is he doesn’t love me. He never had and he never will. There will never be a time where I think he would go to such an extent. But even already knowing about it as he had planted the truth in me years ago, I still wanted to hear what his response would be to her.

“I loved her for giving me you. I loved her for bringing you into this world. You are the best thing that ever happened to me. You are worth every sacrifice I’ve made, princess. You are the only beacon of light I had during the darkest days of my life. I love you, Michelle, always remember that. Daddy loves you so much. Whatever your Mom and I are going through right now, my love for you will never cease” He finally says after sighing in defeat.

I shut my eyes close as the rush of pain filled me all over again. It still hurts, it still does. I thought it wouldn’t anymore after months of separation, but I was wrong, completely damn wrong. After all this time, it still hurts and it still breaks my heart into a thousand agonizing pieces. I placed a hand on my chest and gently rubbed it to somehow ease the pain, but as usual, it didn’t.

He never told me those three magical words. He never did, not during the time we got married and not even when I gave birth to our precious little angel. He held himself back during the duration of our marriage. He reserved himself sacredly for someone whom I will never stand a chance to compete with. For six years, he never considered me as his wife. I am just someone who bore a child for him, nothing more, nothing less.

Our marriage was a mistake. Everything about us was a mistake right from the very beginning. I knew about this all along, but still pushed through it, all because of my deep love for him. I had a chance to be with the man of my dreams and I didn’t let it pass. I embraced the opportunity as if my life depended on it, even though I knew that it would create a huge commotion and would change everything around me forever.

We were never a couple during our marriage. It was always him, me and the woman who stole his heart away. He kept her living inside his heart for six long years. He treasured that woman like a rare piece of stone, something that only he possessed and completely took me out of the picture.

I did my very best and gave my all. Everything I could give and all that I could share just for him to see how much I loved him. I was expecting some kind of affections that would backfire on me, even a little, but I gained none. All he gave back was heartaches, pain and sufferings, and it was all because of her.

It took me a while to finally realize it, to finally see everything that I was only the one who worked hard for our marriage to work out. It took me six long agonizing years before I finally quit, threw the white flag of defeat and gave up fighting.

I would never be her in his life. I would never be the woman he had put on the pedestal. For him, I was nothing compared to her. He was totally hooked up with her memories that he didn’t give me a chance to even be a shadow of her.

I washed the beads of tears away and breathed. Composing myself, patching up my badly wounded heart, and summoning all that was left inside of me before walking inside with an awkward smile.

“Hi there.”

“Mommy! You’re here!” Michelle quickly ran towards me and gave me a warm and tight hug.

Feeling her warmth somewhat relieves the pain. She was everything to me. Actually, she was all that I had. Without her, I would have ended my life way back then. Without my daughter, I’d be a goner. She was my only saving grace, my source of strength and my life. My one and only redeemer.

“What are you doing here? We’ve already talked about this. I told you I would bring her to you later this afternoon, didn’t I? This was my time with her and you shouldn’t be interfering. You knew that, right?” He murmured under his breath, noticeably controlling his temper in front of our daughter.

“I know, but I got the divorce decree today, so I decided to come over to bring it to you personally and to take Michelle home with me as well.”

His face turned rock solid cold as his lips thinned. The muscles on his chiseled jaws clenched as his blue eyes were deeper and darker than the vast sea during a stormy night. Seeing him like this every time he faces me, continues to shatter me inside. Over and over he has broken my heart and continued breaking it up to this very moment.

“I will stay in my room first. You two needed time to talk. No fighting please, Dad” Michelle meekly whispered before slowly walking away with her head held down. At a very young age, she was observant of her surroundings and knew exactly what was happening.

I took the paper from my handbag and gently laid it on the tabletop. He looked at me and at the paper with a coldness that was overly familiar to me. I saw how the veins in his neck were bulging and how his dagger of stares almost tore the piece of document apart.

The moment Michelle was out of sight, Michael bangs the table so hard that it echoed at the four corners of the room. His deep blue eyes are icy and filled with rage as he addresses me.

“You could have just mailed it to me instead! You surely had ways of interrupting my quality time with my daughter! This was my precious time with her and you’ve just popped up like this! Great! Fucking great!”

“But…”

“Don’t! Fucking don’t, Penelope!” He obstructed me with frustration and hostility. “I don’t get it, I really don’t! You ruined my life six years ago, turned it upside down, and you did it again after asking for that stupid divorce! For what? You did that for what? Answer me!”

“Michael, I…”

“Is this your way to get revenge on me, Penelope? Is this your way of hurting me for not loving you all these years? By taking Michelle away from me? Was that it, huh Penelope? Well listen to me, you piece of shit! Fuck You to death! You hear me? Fuck you to death! I hate you more than ever! I hate you to the bone!”

“I… I’m so…”

“Fucking get out of sight. Get out while I can still control myself and not lay a finger on you, Penelope. I don’t want to see even that selfishly pathetic shadow of yours” He took a step back as he brushed his ash blonde hair with extreme frustration.

“Michael, I am also here to take Michelle home” I answered with desperation.

“I said fucking get out of my place! Get out! Out, Penelope! Or I will drag you out myself!”

My mouth opened to argue, but the shrill ring of my phone cut through the screaming. The sound was jarring in the tense silence that followed.

I fumbled for it, seeing my mother’s name flashing on the screen. My stomach dropped. She never called unless it was an emergency.

"Answer it and get out," Michael spat, running a hand through his ash-blonde hair, turning away from me in disgust.

I pressed the phone to my ear. "Mother—"

“Mother,” She didn’t give me a chance to continue.

"Hospital. Now, Penelope!" Her voice was a hysterical shriek that nearly shattered my eardrum. "Your father... he's been shot."

The phone slipped from my numb fingers, hitting the floor with a dull thud. The world tilted on its axis.

"What now?" Michael demanded, turning back around at the noise, his irritation palpable.

I looked up at him, the divorce decree forgotten on the table between us.

"Father," I whispered, the words tasting like ash. "He's been shot."