Chapter 6 - The Begging Man
They were escorted out of the boardroom by armed guards.
But Ethan broke away.
He pushed past a security guard and ran back toward Claire’s office door.
"Claire! Wait!" he shouted, tears streaming down his face.
Claire stood in the doorway, her arms crossed.
She signaled the guards to give them one minute.
"What do you want, Ethan?" she asked tiredly.
Ethan fell to his knees in the hallway, grabbing the hem of her expensive trousers.
"I love you," he cried, looking up at her with desperate, bloodshot eyes.
"I always loved you."
"My mother manipulated me!"
"Brooke meant nothing to me, it was just business, it was a mistake!"
"Please, Claire, we can tear up the divorce papers."
"We can start over."
Claire looked down at the man who had been her whole world.
She felt absolutely nothing.
No love, no hate, just a deep, empty pity.
"Ethan, do you remember when Lily had pneumonia?" Claire asked softly.
Ethan nodded frantically.
"Yes! Yes, I drove through a blizzard for you!"
"Because I loved you!"
Claire shook her head.
"You loved a woman who needed you."
"You loved feeling like a savior to a poor girl."
"But the moment your mother demanded you throw me away for a better deal, you didn't even hesitate."
She reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper.
It was the final page of their divorce agreement.
The one with her signature on it.
"I signed this last night, Ethan."
"And my lawyers filed it at the courthouse at exactly 8:01 AM this morning."
"It's over."
Ethan stared at the signature, his heart shattering into a million unfixable pieces.
"You can't do this to me," he whispered.
"I have nothing left."
"Then you finally understand how I felt last night," Claire replied coldly.
She pulled her pant leg out of his grasp.
"Goodbye, Ethan."
She turned around and walked back into her office.
The heavy wooden doors clicked shut, locking him out forever.
May you like
Ethan stayed on the floor of the hallway, sobbing uncontrollably as the security guards finally dragged him toward the elevator.
His life was completely and utterly over.
