Silent blue gaze carefully watched the woman who was silently crying while she's sitting alone on the couch. Hot tears kept on rolling down her cheeks and Sting was starting to wonder for how long she could possibly cry. It's been hours and for him it felt like years and he's getting tired of seeing her sorrowful state but there's nothing he could do about it.
He knew it was his fault for showing up out of nowhere without prior notice and intentionally letting Gray Fullbuster to hear their conversation but it's the fastest way for everything to be out in the open.
At first his plan was to talk with Juvia alone because he wanted to know what's going on with her life at the moment since they agreed not to see each other after he send her off two years ago. He was surprised when he got her message a couple of months ago that she wanted to talk and thought maybe it was related to the things they left in Oak Town but turns out what she wanted to talk about had nothing to do with it.
When he arrived a few days ago and he saw her with the dark-haired man who turned out to be her boyfriend he wasn't sure how to react about it. They never discussed what they should do if something like this came up and they are still tied to each other.
And worse she didn't tell the guy about him.
Oh well. He himself sometimes forget that he's married. Who would remember anyway if after signing your name along with someone who's almost a stranger on a piece of paper you went your separate ways instead of spending time on honeymoon?
He's not mad per se. What they have had nothing to do with feelings, but he never took her for someone who would hide the truth or intentionally lie to anyone if not necessary. Maybe she has her reason but being honest is always the best choice. And if she could not be completely honest with the guy it's his job to help her with that.
Knowing his wife, she could come up with all the excuses in the world to delay telling the truth to her boyfriend and that's just unfair to the other guy. Especially he seemed to be truly in love with her. He clearly saw it on his face. He was truly devastated when he heard that the girl he's dating is already someone else's wife.
Wife.
He sighed when that word popped in his head.
Yes, she's his wife but he could still not think of her as that. In his mind she'll forever be the distressed teenage girl that Gajeel brought to his and Rogue's secret hideout to hide from her sinister uncle.
He knew the day they signed their names on their marriage certificate that their so-called marital status would one day give them troubles and here they are now. It's not the kind of problem he's used to dealing with, but it feels like it's more troublesome than putting a goddamn criminal behind bars or getting rid of a nasty bastard with a bread knife.
Sting chuckled with his own thoughts and decided that it's time to talk. Juvia already cried enough tears to last him at least half his life and they have more pressing matters at hand. She still got a lover boy to coax and non-existing marital crisis to deal with.
"I know you must hate me right now but it's for the best that the cat's already out of the bag." He finally said. "You can't go on hiding things, you know. The fact that you hide the truth was surprising enough."
From silently staring on the wall, Juvia slowly moved her gaze towards the man who was lazily leaning on the wall. "I feel awful right now but I don't have the right to hate you," she sniffed. "I'm just a little – I don't know – sad that you didn't even give me a heads up."
Sure, she was really upset when he provoked Gray earlier but now that she had time to sit and think, all she could do was blame herself.
How can she hate anyone when everything was her fault?
It was her who lied.
It was her who didn't say anything.
It was her who was selfish.
It was her who said yes to be Gray's girl knowing that she's married.
She's the one who didn't tell Gray that she's already someone else's wife when she had all the time in the world to tell him the truth.
She was the selfish one who thought things won't go wrong because she just wanted to be happy with him and keep it that way for as long as she can.
At some point she even thought that if she settled things between her and Sting there's really no need for Gray to know at all.
"What are your plans now?" Sting asked. Juvia still looked like she might drown him with her tears but at least she's willing to talk and talk they will.
When Gray walked out on them at the alleyway Juvia wanted to follow him but Sting had to drag her back to his hotel room because he knew that the other man was too angry to listen to her or anyone at that moment. They need to give him time to cool off. And while giving him time they will fix things between the two of them.
Juvia gave him a sad look. "I just want to talk to him. I want to explain everything."
For a moment Sting stared at Juvia thoroughly trying to see what could be going on in her mind before opening his mouth. "You know, I'm just curious," he started to say. "You could have told him the truth from the very beginning and then do things the right way and save all of us the trouble of explaining things but why did you have to jump into a relationship that's bound to be chaotic at the end?"
"That was the plan!" she blurted out and tears started falling from her eyes again. She really wanted to tell him at first but didn't know how to tell the truth. "But I wanted to talk to you first. I tried calling you. I looked for you, but God knows where you were!"
Sting's eyebrows shoot up. "Is that your way of saying It's all my fault?"
"Of course n—"
His laughter cut her off. "I know. I'm just teasing. Anyway, When I learned about it, I already knew what I should do. I know this time would come after all, but not with this kind of circumstances," he said sitting down beside her. "You know, when we said our goodbyes two years ago, we should have talked about what we would do should one of us fall in love with someone."
Drying her tears with her hands, Juvia looked at Sting curiously. "Are you not mad at me?"?
Confusion crossed his eyes when he looked back at her. "Why would I be?"
"I—"
"We chose to marry each other out of necessity. Out of everyone involved in this I was the one who got the best out of our deal back then." Sting moved his arm to wrap around her shoulder to comfort her and Juvia languidly lean on him. She's no longer crying but she's still not completely calm as he could feel the hiccups she's trying to negate. "But before anything else I had to make sure that you're gonna be happy with him after all these. That's the least I could do in return of what you did for me two years ago."
They might be husband and wife without emotional attachment to each other romantically, but Sting still cared because Juvia trusted him all those years ago that he could save her and she helped him out in the process. She's a friend and he knew she thinks of him the same way.
"You owe me nothing," she mumbled. "If anything, you helped me escape hell and let me have a normal life away from what Uncle Jose originally planned for me."
"Speaking of that asshole," Sting shifted and with his free hand he took something from the drawer of the side table near them. "You can rest assure that he would no longer come after you and he won't be able to get anything from what your parents left you."
He handed her a folder, and she was astonished when she saw the first document in it.
A divorce paper.
"I knew that you would want one and I already prepared it," Sting chuckled seeing her surprised face. "The reason why I wasn't answering your calls was because Jose had been looking for you. He was still hoping that he could get his hands on you and use you just as he wanted. But you already outsmarted him when you were eighteen and I won't let your efforts go to waste. And he's way too cautious of Makarov Dreyar. He never thought that you would be in the old man's territory – you're way too clever choosing Magnolia Afterall. Now everything that your father left you is legally yours. You no longer need a guardian or a husband to look after you or to control you. Sign the divorce paper and you'll be totally free."
Fresh tears fell from her eyes but this time it was because she's seeing hope that they could end things without worries. "Does that mean I can finally go back home? Won't Uncle Jose try to come after me?"
One of her many reasons for hiding things from Gray was she didn't want him to know that before she came to Magnolia, she has a chaotic life. She didn't want him to be involve with her issues with her uncle. That man was too nasty that he would do everything to get even with her after she ran away from him.
"He should worry first about not getting caught by the law before he could think of going after you." Sting snorted. "I did my best these past two years to put him behind bars along with Jiemma but alas he's too sleek. But don't fret about it anymore. The police will catch him soon enough."
A shiver went through Juvia's spine when she heard the name that Sting mentioned. Her uncle was already a problem, but Jiemma Orland was another story. "What happened to your former master?" her fist clenched at the mere thought of that greedy old man.
"Buried six feet under," Sting replied coldly. "That's the only way to stop him"
"Wh—"
"He's not yours to worry about anymore." Sting patted her shoulder and handed her a pen. "Sign the papers now and you can finally start a real new normal life. No more uncle who wanted to sell you off and no more sleazy old man who wanted his paws on you."
Juvia feebly took the pen not knowing exactly what to do with it, so Sting guided her hand towards the paper in front of them where he already signed his name. "What will happen to you after this?"
Deep inside her she's happy with all the things Sting told her but she's worried about the man who was her savior and friend.
Two years ago, just before her eighteenth birthday, her guardian – Uncle Jose – told her he's gonna marry her off to one of his old friends. It wasn't clear to her back then why he would do that, but she was horrified when she met the man he intends to be her husband.
Jiemma Orland.
To say the man was old was an understatement.
He was at least five times older than her or that's what she thought back then – all she could remember was how disconcerted she was. Who was on her right mind would marry a man like him? He's not just old but also scary.
That's when she learned who her uncle truly was.
Growing up, she thought her uncle was a kindhearted man who took her out of the orphanage months after her parents' death. She thought that after losing her parents she still has a family who would care about her. He even brought Gajeel to be her playmate not knowing that he was sent to her as her guard.
She used to be contented with her life with her uncle. He's not the most affectionate man but he provided the roof over her head and put food on her table. He even let her study. But all those were just a façade. Truthfully, he was just taking care of her for the money and properties her father left her that she didn't even know about.
When Jose told her about her arrange marriage with Jiemma, Juvia was so scared and devastated. She felt trapped with no way out. She didn't know how to say no to Uncle Jose thinking that he was her benefactor for years and that she owed him.
That's when Gajeel told her about everything he knew about her uncle and why he took her in. It was him who told her about the things she didn't know and her uncle tried to hide from her.
Gajeel grew up with her and he treated her like she was his sister and can't take seeing her suffering and being used.
Jose – who was her mother's half-brother – was actually a drug baron and he was the man behind her parents' untimely death because her father refused to fund his illegal dealings. He took her from the orphanage thinking that he could use her to get his hands on his father's wealth. But her dad was smart. He wrote on his will that only her guardian or future husband can control her inheritance until she turned twenty-five and if anything bad happened to her all those money will go to different charities and organization.
Given the fact that Jose was her only living close relative, he was granted with her custody and became her guardian. At first, he was happy that he could get funds through her, but he was too greedy to be contented with the small amount of money he had access to.
Thus, he planned to marry her off so that he and Jiemma – who was his partner in his illegal business – could get all her inheritance. He planned to use her father's will to get everything from her through marriage.
She was so terrified when she learned all that but mostly, she was angry. She could not believe that the man whom she thought to be the only family she was left with was the one who took her family away. She was so angry, and she refused to be used.
Out of anger and fear Juvia decided to run away and with Gajeel's help she managed to escape her Uncle's house on the night of her eighteenth birthday.
That was when she met Sting.
He was one of Jiemma's underling who happened to be fed up with the old man's shit. He's among the old man's follower but wasn't happy with him because he was way too abusive. Sting wanted to rebel against Jiemma but doesn't have the means to do so.
Gajeel knew the man hate Jiemma because he's somehow friends with Sting's foster brother, Rogue. They were young men who were in illegal business because they have no other choice.
It wasn't her idea to thwart Jose and Jiemma's plan by marrying Sting.
It was Rogue who proposed it.
Originally, it was him that she was supposed to marry because Gajeel trusted him more, but Juvia chose Sting because he's the less likely to harbor any attraction towards her. Not that she didn't like Rogue. It's just that she never really wanted to get married for real. When the time came, she wanted a way out.
By marrying her Sting would have the means to go against his master using her money and with her marrying Sting she would be free of her uncle's control.
Their plan worked but what came after was a total chaos.
Jose and Jiemma hunted them for what they did.
Sting was used to the dark side of dealing with men like her uncle and his master, but she wasn't. They decided that it's for the best if she went away where Jose won't be able to harm her and there's only one place for her to go, Magnolia.
The man protecting the town was a righteous man and Jose's enemy, Makarov Dreyar.
Master Makarov helped her to get away and arrange for her to be a transfer student in Magnolia University. Gajeel tag along to protect her.
All those happened more than two years ago and now everything came to an end.
Jose is no longer a threat and Jiemma is dead.
She would finally be truly free. But what about Sting? She may never have treated her like a real husband but they are friends.
"You need not to worry about me," he said flicking her forehead. "I Won't be needing your assets anymore. I have my own now and Sabertooth's business is doing good and it's a legal business mind you."
"Are you sure?"
"Aww come on! Why are you all worried about me when you have your own problem to deal with?"
"B—"
"After we settle this, go and find your little boyfriend. From what I saw and how hurt he was when he met me, I am now sure that he'll take care of you. But first you need to talk to him. Make things clear with him and start over. Remember, nothing built on lies will last that's why I did what I did."
"Do you think he'll listen?" she asked worriedly.
"There's only one way to find out," Sting shrugged.
