Chapter3 College Guy

These women were my lifeline when Joshua Martin broke me with his obsessive love. They reached out to help, though even they couldn't best Joshua. But that adversity revealed their true friendship, which I'll never forget.

So I confided in them my plans to divorce Joshua.

However, I chose not to share the details of my personal transformation with them.

After absorbing my news, they were silent for a few seconds before erupting into applause. "Yes! To celebrate Samantha's liberation from her lovesick haze, we're not stopping until we're absolutely plastered tonight!"

"Cheers!" I shouted joyfully, lifting my arms high like a champion.

With alcohol loosening our inhibitions, a newfound courage bubbled up among the four of us.

Charlotte slapped my back, "Samantha, scope out if there's any eye candy here. Go for it if you like someone! With Joshua constantly wrapped up in scandals, we can't be left behind!"

She made a fair point. My blurry eyes scoured the room until they landed on a tall, slender figure who, judging by his outfit, seemed very young. A college student, perhaps?

If Joshua Martin could snag himself a college girl, I sure as heck could land a college guy.

I tottered over with my drink in hand, reached out, and gave a tap on a young man's shoulder. "Hey, handsome, care for a drink? It's on me..."

As the young man turned around, his strikingly good looks took me by surprise, kinda like those boy-next-door types you see in the movies.

First, he looked at me, wide-eyed, then offered a polite shake of his head. "Sorry, miss, I have a girlfriend."

"Oh, really? My bad, I'll find someone else then..." I apologized to the young man with a slight nod. Drunk and babbling, I stumbled away in search of another prospect, not even sure of what I was saying.

But I didn't make it far. A messy shuffle of footsteps tripped me up, sending my glass shattering into pieces.

Dizzy and flushed, sprawled on the floor, I oddly felt the urge to just sleep right there.

"Miss, let me help you up!" It was the college guy, offering his hand.

Sitting there, looking up at him with my face glowing red, I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me – his face morphed into Joshua Martin's, staring at me, emotionless.

I tried to get up, only to slam my hand onto the broken glass. Blood gushed out, and after a two-second freeze, darkness enveloped me.

"Samantha Robinson, you think your family can keep me away?" In my dream, Joshua Martin's cruel, cold face haunted me again.

I sat there like a madwoman in the chaos of my living room, tears running like rivers.

When I learned about Joshua Martin's intent to divorce me, my folks and the Martin elders pressured him.

But Joshua wouldn't heed their advice. He was headstrong, even going to great lengths to ruin my family.

The Martin elders went from opposing him, rebuking him, to reluctantly supporting him, and then I heard they'd come around to accepting Evelyn Taylor.

With Joshua's unwavering support, she slowly earned the approval of his parents.

But what was most crucial was that by then, Evelyn Taylor was pregnant.

"Joshua Martin, I loved you for ten years. Don't you have any feelings for me?" I sobbed, covering my face as tears slipped through my fingers.

"None, Samantha Robinson. I gave you a chance to part on good terms, but you squandered it," Joshua told me coldly. Then his phone rang with that special ringtone; Evelyn Taylor's bright, melodious voice filled the room.

"Mr. Martin, please pick up the phone! Mr. Martin, your call is waiting!”

The melodious ringtone echoed as I watched Joshua Martin rush away from our shared breakfast nook, leaving me feeling like the room was spinning, my chest tightening with sharp pains.

Amidst the suffocating agony, I jolted awake.

Panting heavily, I realized I was actually in my own sun-soaked bedroom, with the scent of flowers wafting in through an open window.

How did that college guy end up bringing me home?

I glanced at my bandaged hand and then, cradling my throbbing temple, I tried to recall his figure, but Joshua's lazy voice drifted towards me from beyond the door.

"I'm not in the mood for games today," he drawled coolly, lounging against the balustrade upstairs with a cigarette between his fingers. His silhouette was as relaxed as a pine in the breeze.

Leaning on the doorframe, I caught sight of him approaching. "Where did you hide him?" I asked.

"Hide who?" Joshua's eyebrows knotted.

"The college guy," I replied.

It was rare to find a man I liked, other than Joshua. I wasn't ready to let him slip away so easily. After all, in a month, Joshua would go crazy for someone else. It was time to find myself a source of comfort, a diversion from my own heartache.

My response seemed to infuriate him; his handsome face clouded with anger. He cast a critical eye over my outfit, then, grabbing my wrist, he dragged me into the bedroom's walk-in closet. "Dammit, change out of this! Who said you could dress so provocatively?"

I looked down at the modest swell of my chest, barely supported by the fabric.

I didn't think the term suited me. Plus, if the love wasn't there, why should he care?

"Did you really hook up with an actress a couple of days ago, Joshua?" I asked calmly, not budging an inch.

"That's none of your business," he retorted, as predictable as ever.

"Then your business won't be mine either. If we're not going to divorce, let's just lead our own lives," I stated coolly.

For years, I'd been without the nourishment of love, so I had to seek out some hormonal comfort.

Succumbing to indifference felt surprisingly good. I no longer needed to tailor my happiness or sorrow to Joshua. My soul was finally reclaiming my body.

Joshua, like many men, afforded himself the liberty to roam, while expecting his wife to embody the epitome of fidelity.

Joshua was no different. He didn't love me, but by name, I was still his wife.

"Thinking of making me a cuckold?" Joshua sneered and then, quite nastily, flicked aside my black deep-V top with a hooked finger. "Do you think any man would fancy this figure?”

I looked down. My chest was modestly and completely covered, revealing nothing that could be deemed inappropriate.

This had to be the smallest size of a pastie.

I brushed the hand aside, calmly adjusted my clothes, and smirked coldly.

“Are you freaking out of your mind, Samantha Robinson?!” Joshua Martin couldn't take it anymore, his eyes boring into me, “What the hell got into you these last couple of days?”

“The old Samantha Robinson, composed, considerate, and caring—how on earth could she spew such nonsense?”

If my dad heard what I just said, he'd probably have a heart attack.

But it was clear that to escape from the madman Joshua Martin was about to become, you had to act a little crazy first.

Without Evelyn Taylor’s interference, he’d never divorce me. Marriages of convenience are serious commitments, not whimsical child's play. He was too calculating, a master at weighing pros and cons.

And I definitely didn't want to watch, wide-eyed, as he fell for someone else all over again.

“Then let's get a divorce,” I broached the topic once more.