The Millionaire Ex-Wife Returns

|EIGHT YEARS AGO|

"You can drop it there, I'll manage the rest myself."

Oliver looked over his shoulder at the old lady tottering behind him. The corners of his lips tugged up and he settled the heavy box on one hand,

"And leave you to climb all these stairs by yourself? No way." He flashed a bright smile at the woman, "I'll take it to your door."

Vanessa, which was her name, laughed and bobbed her hand, waving her hand in a gesture for him to do what he wanted.

They climbed the stairs together, Oliver looking over his shoulders to check if she was okay. By the time they approached her door, she was already panting while he hadn't even broken a sweat.

Oliver turned towards her, "You shouldn't be dealing with so many stairs at your age. They're too dangerous."

Vanessa waved him off, "I'll be fine, besides I need to get these bones moving," She winked and he chuckled, handing the box over.

"You didn't have to but thank you for helping me, you're a real nice young man," Oliver offered her a mock bow and she rolled her eyes, "Your wife is lucky to have a great man like you for a husband."

Oliver's grin faltered, how did she know he was married? Vanessa must've seen the look on his face because she gestured towards his finger,

"Well, the ring was an obvious indication, not to mention the pictures in the cab," She snorted, it was more teasing than condescending, "I can't believe you plastered her pictures all over, isn't there some kind of law against that?"

His smile widened. If there was anything anybody knew Oliver Brooke for, it was his dedication and schoolboy love for his wife Louisa. He talked about her almost all of the time, with literal hearts in his eyes some would say. And when he wasn't talking about her, you just had to look inside his cab to see just how much he adored her.

"A law against love? Who would want to do that?" Oliver asked cheekily and Vanessa chuckled, unlocking her door,

"Well, I wish you both a forever happy after. Happy holidays!"

"Happy holidays to you too, Vanessa."

He stayed outside until she was safely inside and the door was locked again before turning on his heels. Oliver whistled a jolly tune as he climbed back down, swinging the keys to his vehicle on a single finger.

The snow had already begun pouring heavily, and he recokned that it would get worse as the days progressed. The news last night had predicted that this Christmas would hold the heaviest storm Manhattan had ever seen.

He was finally done with the day's work and he could call it in. He just had to return the cab to the terminal, check off and then he could hit home. The thought of going back to see Louisa got him giddy and he hastened his footsteps.

Oliver wouldn't count himself as the world's luckiest man. In fact people had told him, both to his face and behind him, that he had the shittiest luck ever. After graduating from college with an impressive degree, he should've gotten a job and he probably would have but tragedy struck,

His dad died leaving them a huge pile of debt to pay and no resources to handle them. They were about to lose their house and his mother's coffee business was sinking fast. He couldn't afford wasting time with tireless interviews and dealing with rejections so he opted for the only choice thrown at him,

Becoming a cab driver was nothing short of embarrassing for him, he had to deal with the constant jeers from his colleagues but what kept him afloat was her. Louisa never judged him, or accused him of making her life miserable. She supported him every step of the way and now, the insults hurled at him didn't mean much anymore,

He didn't need Lady Luck or whatever bullcrap people believed in these days, he had his own fairy with a bag of magic that had the ability to make all of his worries fade away.

"That would be two dollars, ninety-nine," The waitress responded in a bored tone, "Will you be using a card or cash, sir?"

Oliver dug into his back pocket, retrieving the extra tip he'd made from today and counted the exact amount, even adding a little. The waitress wrapped up the donut in a cute heart-printed bag,

"Here you go, thank you for your patronage and a happy holidays to you."

Oliver tipped his hand and picked the bag off of the counter. He stole another peek at the pastry inside the bag, it was Louisa's favourite. He decided to call her to find out if she was back from work,

However, he was sent straight to voicemail. That was strange, this was the third time today. It was unusual for a day to go by without talking to themselves at least thrice, it was a pact they made during their college years.

He wondered if her battery had died and made a mental note to check how his savings was going along, he'd promised to get her a new phone before the year ended. He planned on giving it to her as a gift for Christmas,

Oliver could almost see the reaction on her face. The thought of her blushing sprung up the giddiness and he rushed to his car.

By the time Oliver arrived home, it was already well into the evening. He announced his arrival at the doorway whilst kicking his shoes off,

He shrugged off his coat, dusting the snowflakes from his jacket and beanie. He was beginning to crave his wife's special cocoa tea,

"Mom! Lou! I'm home!"

His announcement was met with silence and he frowned, sauntering into the living room. Oliver found his mother sitting on the couch, her gaze fixed on the coffee table,

"Mom?" He called, walking closer, "What's wrong?"

His mother's head snapped up, eyes widening slightly in surprise, "O-O-Oliver, you're back."

He frowned again, "I've been home for a while, didn't you hear when I-" The rest of the words died on his lips when he saw what she was so focused on.

His gaze darted between the single piece of paper and his mother, brows crinkling when he saw tears gathering in her eyes,

"I'm so sorry, Olly."

He wasn't listening. He grabbed the paper off of the table, eyes roaming through the dark letters. The more he read, his confusion deepened.

Annulment. Divorce. Signature. Louisa.

He waved the paper in the air, his throat closing up, "What's this? What the hell is this, Mom?"

His mother flinched, shutting her eyes tightly, "She just left, I didn't know what to do. I tried to stop her but-"

He didn't believe it. It must be a cruel prank or something, Louisa was fond of that. Her favourite holiday was Halloween after all. He stormed off, marching towards their room and tearing the door open,

He pulled open the wardrobe and a shaky gasp left him at the sight. Her clothes were gone, and so were her pictures and shoes,

Everything that belonged to her was gone.

Then he saw it, another neatly folded paper on the bed and Oliver almost didn't want to read it. He threaded forward with caution and picked the paper, unfolding it,

A warbled cry left his lips and he clutched at his throat, tears rapidly gathering in his eyes. This wasn't real, it couldn't be!

Oliver dashed for the door, running out of the house and into the streets. His bare feet pounding against the asphalt, the cold was biting into his legs and the frigid wind caused goosebumps to rise along his back,

The bright fairy lights, beautifully decorated Christmas trees, and snowmen decorating the lawns of his neighbours houses didn't bring him joy when he looked at them. In fact, they looked more like grotesque figurines.

People stared. Some whispered but he didn't care. He just wanted to find Lou, to hold her and beg her not to leave him.

He would be ruined if she did.

"Oliver!" His mother yelled, finally catching up to him, "She's gone, Oliver. She left."

That sent a fresh wave of pain to his chest, and his knees buckled sending him to the ground,

"Lou, please," He sobbed, clutching the paper to his chest, "Please come back."

He'd always cherished spending the holidays with his family, but this year was about to snatch everything from him. The one person he loved was gone, and all he felt was abysmal pain.

LOUISA'S POV

|PRESENT DAY|

The soles of her sneakers pounded against the asphalt with impressive velocity, her arms swung this way and that, chest rising and falling rapidly.

Louisa could proudly say that two things decided if her day would be great; her morning coffee coming out exactly the way she liked it, and her morning run. It had been a few years of keeping to those rituals and it never failed her, not once.

"...And then he told me to stop flashing my t*ts at him if I wasn't going to go all the way. Can you imagine that?" Lottie scoffed in disbelief, "I told him that he could go and shove his opinion where the sun doesn't shine."

"Charlotte!" She criticised, offering a sheepish smile at the lady who flinched at the sound, "You can't just go around cursing whoever annoys you, I thought you said he was important to your boss."

Lottie scoffed again and she could just imagine her blowing air on her neatly done nails,

"Yeah, 'was' as in pa