Divorce

It is a sad thing when a marriage goes sour, it is even worse when a wife has an affair under her husband's nose; that was the situation that Trish Black was in. Trish Black was a beautiful woman that had grown up poor but that all changed when she managed to meet and marry Eric Black, an artist and an art collector, but it was hardly two years into their marriage that Trish became bored with her husband and she wanted out of her marriage.

"I want a divorce." Trish told Eric, one night during a candlelit dinner and the candle flames flickered for a moment.

"No." Eric told her, with no hesitation, and she looked at him in surprise.

"I know all about your affair with Joshua and your repeated tries to get our marriage annulled without my knowledge." Eric continued before sipping his wine, he was being very calm.

Trish could not understand how he was so calm; how could he have known about the affair or the annulment attempts? She had made sure that it was all a secret, she just wanted to have the fire and passion that Joshua gave her, she had that with Eric but it seemed to die after they got married.

"Then why not give me a divorce?" Trish asked, she was confused about how he knew about those things and why he was not reacting.

"Because, my darling, I take my marriage vows very seriously and we said that we would be together until death." Eric replied.

That was what got Trish thinking about her marriage, she remembered that they said the traditional vows, and they had also signed a pre-nuptial agreement that said that she would get absolutely no money if they did divorce and that did not sit well with her now. Trish had become accustomed to the wealth that Eric's paintings had brought to her and she did not want to have to join the work force again. She had done that before and she did not want to work while Eric could just sit around and enjoyed the money. No, she wanted to enjoy his money for the two years that she was married to him, she did not want to let go of the money or the glamorous life of the wealthy.

Trish left the dinner table without another word and she left Eric to clean up the romantic dinner that he had panned. Trish went to her bedroom, she had to get to her room, there she could think and try to figure out what to do. The room was actually a guest room but Trish had been sleeping in there for the past eight months, ever since she started her affair with her husband's assistant. She wanted to call Joshua and see what they could do. Joshua always seemed to know and he was the one that knew her husband the best. Joshua would know what to do.

"Trish?" asked Joshua's voice after a couple rings.

"He knows about us but he doesn't want a divorce." Trish said, her voice starting to break.

"What? How can he know and not want a divorce?" Joshua asked, even he was confused by Eric's reaction or lack thereof.

"I don't know, he said that he took his vows seriously, that he knew about us but he would not agree to a divorce."

"No one takes their vows seriously anymore, that's why divorce is so popular."

"What should we do? He told me that he wouldn't give me a divorce."

"What do you want to do then?" Joshua asked and Trish was silent for a few moments as she thought of what they could do.

"What...what if he were to die?" Trish finally asked and Joshua was silent for a moment.

"It would be...difficult. Eric is very healthy and he does not have any bad habits that could kill him."

"I know someone that would be willing to help us, it wouldn't cost much; he's willing to do anything for a little cash."

"Trish, let's wait, maybe he is just in shock." Joshua said, he was nervous at where Trish was taking this.

"Wait? Why wait? He won't give me a divorce and I can't get any money even if he did." Trish said and she heard him sigh over the phone.

"Try to convince him, maybe you can get him to agree to something." Joshua told her before he hung up.

Trish stared at the phone in her hand, trying to figure if she could convince Eric to give her a divorce. She never noticed the owl glaring at her from a tree outside her window, the owl should never have been in the city, but it was and it was watching the woman. The owl continued to watch Trish as she put her phone on the receiver and she prepared for bed. The owl only left the tree when Trish was asleep in bed, she never noticed it.

Eric woke her up the next morning, like he always did, with her favorite tea and her breakfast in bed. He did only one thing differently, he sat down on the edge of her bed, and he waited for her to look at him before he spoke.

"Will you let me paint you today? The painting is almost done, I should only need you to sit for an hour." Eric said and Trish looked at him in confusion.

"You still need me to model for you? Why don't you hire a model?" Trish asked, annoyed that he wanted her to spend time with him.

"You were the one that asked me to paint you. You wanted me to paint your portrait so that your beauty would live on forever." Eric said simply.

"I forgot, it has been so long," Trish said; she had forgotten that she had demanded Eric to paint her portrait.

"Will you sit for me today? I would like to finish it for the next gallery showing."

"Yes, I'll meet you in the studio." Trish said and she turned away from her husband, not wanting to see him.

Eric simply got up and left without saying another word to his wife. He knew that she would not want him and that she would eventually get to the studio, he would just have to wait and finish what he could on her portrait, time was running out and he wanted to finish as soon as he could. Today was also the perfect day to paint, it was cloudy and gray, and it was not going to rain until that night so it was the perfect day to stay inside.

Eric was wearing his paint smock, it was covered in old and new paint as he worked on a canvas, one of the paintings that Eric was keeping covered. Trish was only wearing a short white robe when she came into the studio, she watched Eric for a moment, seeing the light in his eyes as he painted, the same light that he had when they used to make love but that was before Trish started sleeping with Joshua; now Eric's eyes seem to only light up when he is painting.

"I'm here." Trish said and Eric blinked, he was so focused that he had not heard her come in.

"Ah, alright. I'll be there in a moment." Eric said as he motioned for her to sit in front of a different easel, using his paintbrush to point to a chair.

"What are you working on?" Trish asked as she sat down in the chair and waited as Eric finished whatever he was doing on the other canvas.

"Just another painting for the gallery, it will be finished soon. Could you please face me?" Eric said as he finally came to the covered canvas closest to her.

"You can't tell your own wife? Are you trying to keep secrets from me?" Trish asked and Eric was very calm as he just uncovered the canvas and picked up a paintbrush again to start painting again.

"I thought you had promised to have no secrets; that you would share everything with me."

"I never said that, I said that I would be faithful to you and never stray; a vow that you also spoke but have gleefully broken several times, just in the last week."

"If you are angry about the affair then why do you want to stay together?"

"Because our vows were until death, not divorce or until you cheated on me, I take wedding vows seriously."

"But I'm not happy, you're not happy, it would be better for us to divorce so that we can find someone that will make us happy!"

"I have already told you that I do not believe in divorce." Eric said, his voice was just starting to get a little forceful.

"Most marriages end in divorce! Why can't you see that we don't belong together?" Trish yelled, angry that he so stuck in his ways.

"Your love for money is one reason you should stay. There is no possibility for divorce, if you want my money. Or do you not remember our pre-nuptial agreement? It stated that you get nothing if we divorce, and that the only things that you will take is some clothing and the things that you came into our marriage with. You will leave without your designer clothes, the purses, the shoes, and you will leave here without your jewelry." Eric said, his brushstrokes were calm and slow, his voice was raised and he was irritated.

Trish was silent, her mouth hanging open, she had forgotten about that clause in the pre-nuptial agreement; she remembered now that there was almost no way for her to get any of Eric's money if they did get a divorce. She was brought out of her thoughts when she realized that Eric was speaking again.

"The Black family is an old family and the family fortune cannot be put into an outsider's hands. We have made sure that any spouses can have access to a small account for them to use but they lose everything from the marriage if they leave the family. I knew that you were marrying me for my money and that is why I insisted on the pre-nup."

"Why would you marry me if you knew that I just wanted your money? Did no one want you?" Trish questioned, her tone like a biting cobra.

Eric put his brush down and he covered the portrait before walking around the canvas to glare at his wife. His eyes had lost the light from painting, his face was red; she had never seen him angry before.

"There were plenty of women that wanted me, I did not love them however; I loved you so you were the one that I married. Since I do not believe in divorce, there is no way for you to get out of this marriage." Eric said, his voice sounded like a growl.

Trish jumped when thunder boomed outside and she realized that the sky had darkened and it was starting to pour outside. The potential night rain had come early and it looked like it would be a bad storm.

"I am not going to stay married to you. I will find a way!" Trish vowed, she was angry and was getting red in the face.

"There is no way." Eric said, a sneer on his face; something that Trish had never seen.

Trish jumped from the chair when she heard a loud bang. The chair toppled over and the wind blew against a tree branch, the branch hit the studio window and made a loud banging sound; Trish was surprised that the window did not break but she forgot about it as she stomped out of Eric's studio.

"Spoiled child." Eric muttered as he picked up the paintbrush and went over to the sink to clean it; the thunder rumbled outside as if to agree with him.

Trish ignored the storm that raging outside and she was concentrating on what to do. She could just leave Eric but that would not be what she wanted because she wanted her freedom back. She was not going back to working three jobs just to get by and to pay her college bills. Trish liked the rich life and she did not want to let it go, she just needed a way to keep the money but not the husband, she just had to think of a way.

She reached her bedroom and threw the door open before she slammed it shut again, she locked the door and she went to her bed. Sitting down with a huff, she grabbed her phone and dialed Joshua's phone, she needed to tell him about the talk she just had with Eric.

"Did you talk to him?" Joshua asked when he answered his phone.

"He won't give me a divorce and he mentioned something about the pre-nup." Trish said, her voice was shaky from her anger.

"What?"

"That if we even did get a divorce, I would get nothing, I would not be able to take anything except what I brought into the marriage; Eric would get everything that he bought me and everything that I bought with his money."

"How can he do that?"

"It was in the pre-nup that we signed, he said something about it preventing gold-diggers from getting the family fortune."

"So what do you want to do? Leave him, just take off?"

"That wouldn't work either, that method is also covered in the pre-nup; if I just leave him then I am cut off and everything is reclaimed. I have to stay with him." Trish said, her anger fading.

"So what should we do then?" Joshua asked and Trish was silent for several moments as she tried to think about what they could do.

"We have to kill him. We have to hire someone to kill him." Trish finally said.

"Who? I don't know anyone like that and I'm almost sure that you don't."

"My brother, George, he does that kind of thing, he'll do anything for some quick cash. He's quiet and he won't say a thing, he'll do it, and it won't cost us much."

"Are you sure that you want to do this?"

"It's the only way for us to be together and have Eric's money so we won't have to work." Trish said before she hung up and she looked at the phone.

She gasped when a tree branch slammed into the window and a large rumble of thunder was heard but there was no storm outside. Trish just took a breath and she started to dial her brother's phone number, she had not talked to him in several months but he was always willing to do anything for money, she knew that he would kill Eric if she asked him. She stared at the phone, the number already in and she just had to call him, but if she did then it was a big step and there would be no way to stop George once he started a job. Trish took a deep breath and hit the call button, raising the phone to her ear, she waited and listened to the rings.

"Hello?" a gruff voice asked after a few rings.

"George? It's Trish, I need you to help me." Trish said.

The plan was quickly made and it was only two weeks later when Trish found herself, strangely, excited that her husband was going to be killed and it was only going to cost her five thousand dollars. It was a rather cheap price for murder but it was easy to pay and it was for a good cause after all. She was supposed to be at home while Eric was out doing some errands, that was when George was going to strike and kill him, a simple hit and run is what George had told her.

"Goodbye darling, I'll be back for dinner." Eric told Trish before kissing her cheek and walking out.

He did not suspect a thing as he walked to his car and left to run his errands. Trish watched as he drove away and then all she had to do was wait. She tried to watch a show on TV but she could not concentrate on the plot so she decided to go and check out Eric's studio and see the hidden paintings, she wanted to see her portrait.

Trish crept quietly to the studio and opened the door, the door creaked as it opened and she stepped inside, her curiosity and her vanity was consuming her. She walked over to the covered canvas and threw the cover off, expecting to see her beautiful face, the face of a living queen; that was not portrait she saw. Trish saw a woman with her back to the viewer and she was looking into a mirror; it was the mirror that showed the woman's face, a horribly scarred and ugly face of a monster. Trish gasped and she ran to the other painting, uncovering them and not finding beauty, but monsters and ugliness. She was seething with rage, this was the gallery that he was dedicating to her, the one that was inspired by her, she was really glad that George was going to kill him now.

Trish stormed out of the studio, not seeing the shadows that moved behind her along the walls and she sat down on the couch, she had to try to create an alibi so she had to do something. She called Joshua like it was planned for the specific time and then she kept glancing at the clock; she was waiting for the call from George or the police saying that Eric was dead.

"Soon." Trish said to herself and she smiled, she realized that soon she would be inheriting a lot of money and she would never have to work again.

As time passed, Trish began to worry. The hit was supposed to happen an hour ago but there had been no call, more time passed and it was almost time for dinner, she would soon find out if the plan worked. Trish just shook off the feeling of worry for her brother and she started making dinner.

She heard the door open and she heard someone walk into the house, Trish held her breath, wondering if it was her husband or her brother. She just had to wait for them to come into the kitchen, then she would know if the plan worked. The footsteps got closer and closer, Trish took a breath, her eyes turned to the kitchen door, and Eric walked in. Her heart dropped into her stomach, the plan had failed, and she just may have to do it herself.

"Darling, you would never believe it. I saw your brother today, he was driving his car and the strangest thing happened; the car exploded, his arm landed three feet from me." Eric said, his face was pale and his hands were shaking from the shock.

"What?" Trish asked, her eyes wide as she thought of her brother's fate.

"Yes, I could barely believe it myself. The police should be calling us soon once they find the rest of him, they could only find his arm when they let me go."

Trish thought quickly, she would have to act like she had no idea why George had been in town, and that would be easy since they did not get along most of the time. George had been in prison for years and Eric had no idea that she was in contact with him.

"Why on earth was he in town?" Trish asked, starting her act.

Trish looked at Eric, trying to play innocent, but her husband just looked at her.

"Don't you remember that you both made a deal to kill me?" Eric asked and Trish stepped back.

"What?" Trish asked as she reached for the open knife drawer but it slammed shut before her eyes.

"Did you really think that I wouldn't know about your little plan?" Eric asked, the paleness of his skin fading like it was all a well performed act.

"My dear, I have been married several times and I could easily recognize that you were going to try to kill me." Eric told her as the lights all crackled before shutting off.

"What are you talking about?" Trish asked as she tried to inch away from him as he stepped closer and closer to her.

"It is rather simple, my dear, I am what is known as a warlock. I am well over three hundred years old and when my wives try to kill me, they just disappear in the eyes of the public; they are never seen again after their first attempt." Eric said with an evil smile.

Trish tried to run away but the shadows grabbed her and kept her in place. Eric walked over to her and cupped her cheek with his hand.

"I had hoped that you would be different but I have been wrong before. It is time for you to join my other wives." Eric said as he waved his other hand and the wall opened behind him.

Trish could see a room that she never knew was there, it was empty except for the statues. There were several statues, all women; they looked like they were scared and looked so very lifelike. They were dressed from different eras, they were in different poses, and Trish's breath hitched when she saw a wedding ring on several of the women.

"Time for you to join them, my dear." Eric said as the shadows dragged her inside the room and forced her onto a pedestal.

Trish tried to speak, tried to scream or do anything, as the shadows forced her into a pose. She was forced to kneel down on her knees, her arms forced behind her, and her face was forced to look up at Eric.

"You see, darling, I know that you tried to kill me and I know that you invaded my studio. I am not really upset that you tried to kill me but you broke into my studio, your vanity and curiosity is why you are here." Eric said as he walked by one of the statues and he looked up at the face of the beautiful woman.

"All of my wives have been very vain and they cannot wait to see their portrait and this is their punishment. You were all vain and impatient so you will be kept here, a place that no one will see you, the ultimate punishment for you." Eric continued talking before he looked back to his current wife.

"Egnahc otni a eutats rof lla emit." Eric chanted and Trish felt her skin hardening, her body freezing into the position that it was in.

All thought left her as she was slowly turned to stone, something that Eric could keep until he died, another statue that he could look upon whenever he wanted.

"Maybe the next one will be different." Eric said before he walked out of the room, the door closing behind him.

The statues of his wives joined by Trish and being left in the darkness. The room would not be opened again until Eric would change his next wife into a statue; it was a never ending process.