Dear Ex-Wife; Will You Marry Me, Again?

~ KATERINA~

My hand was shaking like a leaf as I stared at the pictures on my phone, tears flowing down my cheeks. It felt as though time was moving in slow motion. I blinked a couple times in the hopes that the picture would change but…reality hit me harder than a physical blow.

Even though the man's back was facing the camera, I knew whom those broad shoulders and those strong arms wrapped around the smiling woman belonged to. I knew whom that midnight black hair belonged to... 

It belonged to no one else but Lucas Thompson, my husband.

The woman in the picture hugged him so tightly with a smirk on her face. Even though it has been four damn years, I couldn't forget that face. The woman was none other than Monalisa Mackenzie, my stepsister whom I hadn't seen in four years.

" No! This can't!" I muttered under my breath, my voice barely a whisper. There is no way Monalisa has come back. I haven't heard from her for the past four years. I tried to reach her but each time I called her number sent me directly to the voicemail. I asked Lucas if he ever heard from her and… he told me that he never heard from Monalisa since the night she ran away during her wedding day.

Lucas told me that he didn't want to hear anything from her ever again because of what happened. How come they were together? Does this mean he has been lying to me all this time? Many questions buzzed as I tried to make sense of what I had just seen.

' There must be something wrong. Maybe someone photoshopped the picture to play with my mind.' I shook my head in denial, hard for me to accept the damn truth, desperately hanging on to the theory that the picture might be photoshopped.

I scrolled the picture and my heart jumped in my throat. It was a picture of Lucas, Monalisa and a little boy. The three were hugging so tightly and they looked like those happy families that I see on magazines or on TV shows.

Does this mean…

I shook my head almost immediately when a thought popped in my head.

" This can't be!" My voice came out as a whisper, afraid to accept what my eyes had seen. Fear crept in my heart when the possibility of my thoughts being right crossed my mind and tears streamed down my cheeks uncontrollably.

The more I scrolled through the pictures the more my heart ached. Even though I tried to deny it at first, I couldn't anymore because the evidence was right before my eyes.

There were more pictures of Lucas, Monalisa and the little boy eating, laughing and hugging each other. Even if I didn't want to admit it because it hurt so fucking bad, they looked like a beautiful family. A family that I imagined in my head with our little angel growing inside my belly.

Our family.

I closed my eyes, more tears streaming down my cheeks when the possibility of not having the family that I had imagined popped in my head. I felt as though someone was ripping my heart out of my chest and it was becoming hard for me to breathe.

I subconsciously wrapped my hands around my stomach, trying to protect the innocent soul that was growing inside my belly from the tormenting pain. I should have known that something was wrong when Lucas hesitated to hug me back. However, I was too excited to realise it. I should have read in between the lines when he told me that he didn't feel hungry. It turns out that he had already eaten with his new found family.

I stared at the phone that was laying on the table with tears in my eyes. The picture of the three happy faces stared back at me. God, it hurt so fucking bad.

What about me? What about our unborn child? How will I raise her without a family? I couldn't help it but question myself. I didn't need someone to tell me that Lucas had already chosen the family that he would like to build because I already had proof.

I didn't know exactly how many minutes I had stayed in the dining room. However, I could tell that a couple of minutes had passed. I thought Lucas would come back and tell me that the divorce papers were a prank and that the pictures that anonymous number had sent to me were photoshopped. However, he didn't care to come to check on me to see how I was holding up with the divorce agreement.

Swallowing the lump down my throat, I picked up the envelope and headed to our room. My legs felt heavy, every step a struggle for me and my body was drained of energy. I hadn't eaten because I was waiting for Lucas to come home back to me so that we could have dinner together. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever imagine that things would turn out this way.

I magined us eating under the candle lights, talking softly, laughing and joking as we planned our future plans, our little angel included. I didn't have any idea that Lucas had already planned his future excluding me…

With shaky hands and an aching heart, I held the doorknob and pushed the door open. I swallowed when my eyes fell on Lucas, he was standing before the full-length mirror, a white towel wrapped around his waist as he dried his hair.

Our eyes locked in the mirror and he didn't give any emotion. It seemed as if everything was normal to him. How was everything normal? My heart twisted inside my chest, the pain unbearable. How was it normal when there was a baby on the way? Tears burned in my eyes when I gave it a thought. However, I blinked countless times to hold it back.

" Have you gone through the documents?" He asked as if it wasn't a big deal to him. It felt like he was asking about the weather. How was I supposed to go through the divorce agreement as though I was reading a newspaper? I couldn't bring myself to do it. It was hard for me. I just couldn't…

"Is it because of her?" I asked, the words too painful for me to speak out, ripping my heart into a million tiny pieces. I wanted Lucas to tell me that he wasn't divorcing me because of Monalisa. I wanted him to tell me that it was something else…just anything.

I know there would never have been us if Monalisa hadn't run away on the day of their wedding. I know it's not in my position to cling to this marriage because it was never mine in the first place but…it was hard to let go.

 I was a substitute bride, my step-sister's replacement when she ran away on the night of her wedding.Since I loved Lucas so much, I didn't complain when my father asked me to marry him. I accepted without any obligations because I thought the heavens had finally answered my silent prayers. 

Lucas turned around and stared at me, his face hard to read. Those blue eyes which used to look at me gently now send shivers down my spine. He looked at me as if we were strangers and this was the first time that we were seeing each other. 

" No and Yes!"My breath caught in my throat when I heard his response to my question. He answered without a care in the world as if that was the simplest question that someone has ever asked him. 

" A- are you choosing her over me? Don't you remember she stood you up four years ago on the altar?" I asked calmly, trying to remind him what happened in case he had forgotten.

I remembered the promise that Lucas made to me when we got married. He told me that he would never hurt me in any way or leave me because I saved him from embarrassment. I remembered asking him if he would go back to Monalisa in case she comes back in our lives and he said that he would never ever go back to her because of what she did to him on their wedding day.

What happened? Why did he go back to her without a second thought?

" I haven't forgotten about that day." He then heaved a deep sigh, " Why are you reminding me about that day when you're the one who was behind everything that happened?" He asked with a raised eyebrow, the corner of his lips curving into a sarcastic smile.

A deep frown formed on my face when I heard his words.

" Wha-what are you talking about?" I stuttered, trying to wrap my head around his accusations. I couldn't remember doing anything to sabotage the wedding. I would never do anything to destroy someone's happiness. Not even if it cost my own happiness.

It's true that I was madly in love with Lucas and I wanted to marry him and have a future with him. However, I kept my distance when he chose Monalisa over me and got engaged to her. I respected his decision because all I wanted was for him to be happy. Even though it broke my heart into a million pieces. I never got in between the two because I believed I would find my happiness someday…

" There! You look more guilty than I thought you would be." He chuckled, shaking his head in disbelief. 

" I…I don't know what you're talking about." I tried to defend myself even though I didn't know what he was accusing me of.

" Come on Katerina. I know all the truth now. Drop that mask that you're putting on because it doesn't suite you. Monalisa has already told me the truth!" He said in a cold voice…