note: we made it to 1k reads lovelies!! This chapter is longer than the usual chapters. I hope you enjoy it. Don't forget to drop your thoughts in the comments and vote if you enjoyed this chapter. Happy reading! 

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Andrew Cai had never felt that relieved in a long time. The second his pen lifted from the paper, terminating his marriage, he felt a great burden lift off of him and felt lighter. The only thing that troubled him was the child custody.

Talia had physical custody over Aurora. Aurora even retained Andrew's surname and even though he had visitation rights and those were every weekend, he doubted Talia, knew that she was going to slowly cut him out of the equation. Maybe it was just his overactive imagination, or his easy paranoia that was getting the best of him. Whatever it was, he couldn't help but imagine the worst coming.

Talia and Andrew have been out of love for so long that he could not even remember when things in their relationship had taken the wrong turn. All he did remember was that he met Talia at orientation and that the degrees they had both chosen to do involved business management. They'd easily fallen in love and though Andrew's mother had disapproved, Andrew didn't want to stop seeing Talia. Perhaps there was something forbidden about the act, the fact that he was going against his mother's wishes to stop seeing Talia. He never did defy his mother often so when he did he revelled in the feeling of victory. His father on the other hand was quiet when it came to matters that his mother had a lot to say in. Kuan Yu never commented on whatever it was that Andrew did, believing that everyone had the right to choose a path for themselves and not be forced upon it which was the complete opposite of Meiling who tried to force her ideals down her son's throat.

Andrew started to panic when Talia got pregnant. It was an accident. They had been drunk and while that was no excuse for not taking the necessary precautions, it was what led to the unplanned conception of Aurora Cai. Talia, who was unsure whether she wanted the child or not, had no choice in the matter. Andrew hadn't breathed a word of her pregnancy and his mother had somehow got word of it — well, technically, she'd forced it out of Talia.

Andrew had invited Talia over for dinner, desperate for his parents and his girlfriend to get along, especially when there may be a possible child in the equation. Andrew, of course at the time, was not ready to become a father but he silenced his voice and supported Talia, supporting whatever decision she had yet to make. The dinner with his parents and girlfriend turned into family talk. He should have known. Everything was serious with his parents. Family talk led to marriage talk, which Talia happily said that she could definitely see herself married to Andrew in the near-distant future, when they both had their lives sorted out. Then marriage talk let to the 'are you having kids' talk and though Andrew was present at that dinner he had no clue how his mother twisted the information and got Talia to admit she was pregnant.

Everything went downhill from there.

Meiling insisted that Andrew and Talia break up, right there and then at that dinner, but Andrew refused. He loved Talia, they were meant to be — or so he had thought — and they'd stick together no matter what.

They had been rushed into a marriage. Meiling had no other option and Talia did not want to lose Andrew. She, herself, had admitted to envisioning a future with Andrew as his wife so there shouldn't be any harm in making that dream a reality much sooner than expected. Except there was.

Andrew and Talia were not ready for marriage. They lacked the maturity, the sense of level-headedness, and financial support. The Cai family happily, and discreetly, helped them out until Andrew found his feet in the corporate world and Aurora was grown enough for Talia to back to working full-time.

The first few years were bliss. They got married close to the end of their third and final year at university, the marriage a rushed event that had such precise detail considering only two weeks of planning had gone into it. The marriage was so sudden that some of the Cai relatives couldn't make it from Taiwan, which saved Meiling from feeling even more shameful. As soon as Andrew graduated he got a job, which his father had arranged for him. Andrew, who was still finding his place in the corporate world, continued to accept his father's discreet financial support. With a wife who could not work because Aurora had come a few weeks after graduation, and a salary that he couldn't make a living out of, his father's help meant the world for him. As soon as he began to move up the ladder and Talia began part-time work, he told his father that he could make a living by himself. For that odd moment, Andrew could have sworn he saw pride in his father's eyes. They barely talked. Who knew what the old man felt?

As soon as Andrew found his footing with his career, his marriage began to fall at its seams. Talia wanted more time, she wanted a better house, better furniture. While she worked and got a decent salary, she expected Andrew to work harder so that their combined salaries could afford them luxuries which she felt she needed. But how was he to do that if Talia demanded more attention and time, always complaining that he was buried in work and gave his family no attention?

Ten years was a long time. Ten years together had changed them. But they had changed separately rather than together. They had changed at different paces and the couple who once loved each other and always fell into step was no more.

"Look at us," Talia said as they both shook the lawyer's hand and made their way out of the room together. "We were actually civil about one thing for once."

Andrew was half-expecting Simon to accompany her as moral support, as was encouraged by the lawyer, but was glad that Simon hadn't shown his face. Andrew wasn't too sure if he could be trusted around Simon's presence and he certainly didn't want to fuck anything up. Definitely not in front of the lawyer.

Andrew could have brought a friend but he was detached from most people. Talia had been his lover and his best friend for a long time until that all began to fall away. He could have brought his mother as a last resort but he could use some peace and quiet and knowing her she'd have some comment to say about something that would likely throw Andrew off.

"Talia," he called out before she could turn and leave. "I'm sorry if I held you back all this time." His words were sincere, his heart was in the right place but the timing of all this was not quite right. Everything had happened all of a sudden. The divorce was a long time coming but without any hint to it, it completely threw him off track. And there was no denying how emotionally taxing this whole process had been.

She nodded, a small smile on her lips. She turned around fully and held out an arm. He easily slid into the embrace, her arms around familiar. They say that there is comfort in familiarity and while it was not awkward hugging Talia, he had to admit there was something missing. He hugged her tightly nonetheless.

He pulled back and tucked a stray brown hair of hers behind her ear — something that he used to do so often, something that held no romantic sentiment anymore. "We didn't do such a bad job, you know," she confessed quietly.

"Yeah," he agreed, a light smile touching his lips. "Ten years, huh? And we made it out alive, without killing each other."

She chuckled. "Almost. There was one time where I almost ripped your head off."

"One time?" Andrew questioned laughingly. "Honey, there were many times."

Talia laughed as well, fully pulling back from Andrew. "It was time, Andy. We couldn't continue pretending everything was okay. You know they haven't been for a while."

"I know." Sighing, he said, "Could you just do me one favour?" He paused. "Can we work around Simon? I just — my brain hasn't caught up to the fact that the one friend I used to confide in about my marital problems actually had the audacity to get with my wife. Well, ex-wife."

Talia pressed her lips together, as if she was biting back an insult and knowing her it probably took a lot of restraint to keep her thoughts to herself. She was similar to his mother in that aspect; never afraid to speak her mind.

"I think we can work around that," she said at last.

"I'm not saying I never want to see Simon again but right now I don't want Allerton rubbing in my face everytime I come to pick my daughter up. Let's just take this one step at a time."

"I can do that."

With that final agreement, Talia turned on her heel and walked away.

Andrew followed her out a second later, after he gathered his wits. He walked straight to his car and slid in. He had the strong urge to share this with someone. Divorce, after all, was a life-changing event.

His mind worked over who he could talk to. He thought of his father and then immediately dismissed that thought. His father would only make the phone call awkward. He'd barely speak and Andrew would find it necessary to fill in the silence with a babble of unnecessary information.

His mind shifted to his mother. She'd be overjoyed but she'd undoubtedly have to have a say about the fact that his child was growing up with divorced parents, which was looked down upon, especially in her upbringing. For Andrew, it was normal. Growing up in England he had a lot of friends that had divorced parents, that were used to it. As an adult, he knew people who got divorced due to irreconcilable differences. He never thought that divorce would be for him. He always thought that when he found the one, he'd end up with her forever. He'd mistakened Talia for that person. Perhaps his ignorance was why his marriage lasted ten years and didn't end healthier sooner.

He unlocked his phone and scrolled through his contacts. His thumb hovered above his new contact — London's number. Without thinking twice he pressed the contact, bringing the phone up to his ear as his heart beat in sync with the ringing tone.

"Hello?" she echoed, and though her voice was a bit unclear through the phone, Andrew had to admit that it quickly put him at ease.

"Hey," he replied, "You busy?"

"I have been all morning," she answered. "There was some big business arrangement at the restaurant so brunch was huge today. They're about to leave actually. I think they're finalising something. I've got a ten minute break now."

"Sounds like you've had a bad start to the day," Andrew commented smilingly, though she couldn't see his smile. Hearing about how her day was progressing was a change of scene — a change of scene he greatly welcomed.

"I wouldn't say bad exactly," she dragged out, her tone saying otherwise. "It's just that I've been working my arse off for years now and yeah, I get that my hard work got me this position in this restaurant but damn it, I want more. I want a raise, a want a better position, I want to be a fucking chef, you know?"

He loved how she talked like he understood though he didn't quite. It made him feel included anyway.

"It's like me driving for financial manager but always getting passed over for someone else," he supplied, to show that he could understand her struggle even though the context was different for him.

They dived into a quick conversation thereafter, casually talking about their jobs. Andrew learnt, in the span of those few minutes, that London had dropped out of university to pursue her dream job of being a chef, but being unable to attend culinary school because the lack of financial support. She wanted to run her own restaurant one day, or at least make it to head chef.

In the sense of ambition, Andrew and London were similar. Always wanting to go to greater heights, having large goals. You only live life once.

Andrew, surprisingly, told her about how he'd come to his position, not leaving out a detail about how much his father helped. She'd never judged, only said that he was lucky to have someone to boost him to which he agreed. He didn't know where he'd be without his father, despite their rocky relationship.

"Shit," she cursed, incoherent shoutings heard in the background, "It's past my break time. I should get going."

"Oh," he said, unable to keep the disappointment from his face.

She giggled through the phone. "I loved talking to you too, Andrew," she said, interpreting his sigh just the right way. "Before I go — how did your morning go? Was it a success?"

"Very much so," he told her. "I think I was being paranoid about the child custody but Talia promised to let me be as much of a parent to Aurora as she is. Plus, Aurora needs her Ba as much as she needed her Mum."

"Congrats, Andrew," London said, and even though she was running late she made no move to drop the call.

"I'm finally divorced," he laughed, clutching the phone to his ear. Leaning back on the car seat and smiling, he said, "It feels good to tell someone else that."

"You can declare it to the whole office when you head back to work," she suggested and Andrew could hear the smile in her voice. He could even picture her pink lips pulled up into a wide grin.

"I'll definitely be doing that after lunch," he told her, only half-joking. They both laughed.

There was a quiet pause, full of expectancy and finally, after taking in a deep breath and mustering up his strength and courage, he spoke his mind before he could rethink his words.

"Can I take you out to dinner tomorrow?"

Silence.

He could hear her breathing through the phone but no words were heard. He knew she was still there. Had he asked the wrong question? Was the timing wrong? Should he have just shut up? There was one thing Andrew despised and that was pretending — perhaps that was why his marriage ended on such bitter notes, because they had chose to live in oblivion and pretend for years. Andrew could not pretend that he did not like London, that her personality did not draw him towards her, that he was not attracted to her.

"Like a date?" she asked, trepidation lacing through her gentle voice.

"Is it too soon?" He closed his eyes, anticipating the worst.

"No," she admitted. She sounded like she was whispering. "I'll text you my address and you can come pick me up."

His eyes shot open and he sat upright, his heart beating twice as fast. Did she just say yes? After taking a moment to recover, after realising that he hadn't ruined this call or their new friendship, he said, "That's brilliant! I'll — uh — I'll see you tomorrow."

"Eight PM, don't be late," she said.

"Never in my wildest dreams," he replied back, a little dramatically.

She laughed, breathing a quick goodbye before the call ended. He couldn't stop the smile, especially when no one was around, from reaching his lips as he pulled the phone away. Chuckling to himself, like he truthfully could not believe his luck, he backed out of the parking lot and headed to the shopping complex. When Aurora spent the weekend he was going to make damn sure that everything was perfect — that nothing had changed.