Desmond took a step back and raised his hands in a gesture of surrender. "I’m sorry. I didn't mean to stalk you." He said quickly with an apologetic voice. "I didn’t mean to upset you. I just... I wanted to say hi and talk with you."
"Talk about what?" Anabel shot back with a sharp and unyielding voice. "What could we possibly have to talk about? What business do we have?" She asked, and Desmond hesitated for a moment before speaking up again. "I saw you are coming from antenatal. So I just wanted to ask... how our baby is doing." He said softly, but Anabel’s expression hardened, and she crossed her arms over her chest.
"Point of correction." She said coldly, "My baby, not our baby. Don’t you dare talk as if I’m carrying your child. It’s not yours, Desmond. I left your house a barren woman, remember?" She added, and Desmond flinched at her words.
"I’m sorry," he said again. This time, his voice was barely above a whisper. "I didn’t mean to upset you. I just... I care about you, Anabel. I care about the baby, about us." He said, and Anabel let out a bitter laugh, shaking her head. "Care? Don’t make me laugh, Desmond. You don’t care. If you cared, you wouldn’t have let things get to this point. You wouldn’t have let me walk away."
"I did that out of foolishness. Yes, I regret everything from the moment you walked away. Please understand me."
"There is nothing to understand here. We have gone our separate ways. Just be on your own. As you can see, I'm doing well on my own."
"How will you be doing well when you are with that thief of a friend?" Desmond said.
"And who are you calling a thief?" Anabel questioned.
"Sylvester, of course. He doesn't love you. Open your eyes. All he wants is the money. I hope you have not sent it to him." Desmond asked.
"First of all, my boyfriend is not a thief. And don’t you dare ask me about the money. Whether I gave it to him or not. It's none of your fucking business. Stay out of it, Desmond. Stop acting like you care."
"I do care," Desmond replied. "I care about you, Anabel. I don't want you to fall for his dirty scheme. I may have treated you badly before, but I won't let you fall into his trap. I don’t want you to make a mistake. I don’t want you to regret anything."
Anabel’s eyes narrowed, and she took a step closer to him. "Oh, now you are worried about me making mistakes? That’s rich, coming from you."
Desmond sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I’m not trying to fight with you, Anabel. I just... I want to make sure you are safe."
"Well, I’m fine," Anabel snapped. "And I don’t need your help. Help yourself first." She added, and Desmond hesitated, unsure of what to say next.
"You know," Anabel said, fixing her gaze on him, "Daniella told me about your divorce. She said she was going to take everything from you. Your properties, your company, and the car you bought for her."
"She told you?" Desmond asked.
"Yeah, she did. And you know what? I really hope she will succeed. I wish she would take everything from you, Desmond. Because you deserve it." Anabel voiced it out, but deep down in her heart, she doesn't actually mean that.
Desmond’s heart sank at her words, and he looked up at her. "Anabel, I never wished you bad. Not once. How can you wish that for me?"
Anabel’s expression faltered for a moment, but she quickly regained her composure. "Because you deserve it," she repeated with a firm voice. "Yes, you deserve to lose everything because you brought it upon yourself."
"Well, I didn't lose anything, and she's out of my life." Desmond replied, and she looked up at him in surprise, then chuckled. "You must be lying to me so you won't feel embarrassed because, with the way she was telling me, she was one hundred percent sure of getting everything."
"Yeah, but I was ahead of her. I noticed that something wasn't right about her and made her sign a prenup without her knowledge. I added the prenuptial agreement paper to the marriage paperwork, and she signed it."
"Lucky you. Though it's none of my business. I have somewhere important to go." She said and turned to leave, and Desmond tried to stop her.
"Hey! What again?"
"Now that you know that I'm single again, I mean, now that we are both single, I don't know if..." Desmond couldn't go on with what he wanted to say. He wanted to tell her how much he missed her and how much he wanted her back, but with the look in her eyes, it seemed there was no chance.
"Listen to me, Desmond, you are the one single. I'm not single. This should be the first and last time you stop me on my way."