[000] misery loves company

                              "Remind me again as to why we went to that charity? I hate kids. I'd donate a million dollars just to have the little fuckers put down," Roman remarks the minute he and his darling wife, Celia make it back home.

                             Celia's really not in the mood, only half listening to all of Roman's rambling. She was entirely on edge and it has a lot to do with the secret she was about to unveil to him. Was the time incredibly shitty? Probably. But Celia could give a shit less. If anything, this was all long overdue and if Celia had waited a moment longer, she would've exploded.

                             Celia shrugs off her coat and carries it with her into the bedroom, Roman trailing right behind her. He's still talking about how much he hates kids which probably would've scared Celia if she wanted them. But Celia didn't want any kids whatsoever. Not only because she herself despised the concept of motherhood but because she didn't want to burden her child with the Roy name.

                             That'd be a true nightmare.

                             Once upon a time though, Celia had wanted to. But not with her actual husband. Back when her dad was still alive and friends with Logan Roy, a teenage Celia was brought around Roman and the rest of his siblings. While she had grown close with Shiv, Roman's sister, Celia had grown a rather serious infatuation with Kendall, Roman's older brother, from the beginning. He was older and seemed so mature. Celia had wanted him instead of Roman, the weird brother who couldn't stay in the same room with Celia for long and always made the weirdest sex jokes.

                             But Celia and Roman were the same age and pairing them together simply made sense. And with her dad dying of cancer, he wanted to make sure Celia was secure for life. And if that meant marrying her off to Roman before he died, that's exactly what he'd do. Celia had no choice but to go along with it. She didn't love Roman but Kendall was already married by this point and Celia had no one else. When her dad was gone, so would the money.

                             Celia sacrificed her happiness for luxury. And she had been paying for it ever since.

                             Celia and Roman had been trying to make it work, especially in the beginning. They tried to be a happy couple. But with Roman's issues and Celia's lack of interest, it was only bound to end in disaster. They barely had sex and they fought more times than they actually talked. They were only driving each other crazy and yet, Roman was too prideful to throw in the towel and accept the fact that he had failed at marriage too.

                             He certainly would never be able to hear the end of it from his family.

                             But Celia was more than willing to give up. She wanted nothing more than to end things right here and there. Celia was through with trying to play the role of Roman Roy's perfect wife and now she wanted out. Celia wanted to live her life and maybe bleed Roman dry in the process. She had suffered through his crap for years - the least he could do was compensate her for it!

                             So for tonight, Celia was going to serve him with the papers she had gotten behind his back. And while Celia knew it wasn't going to be pretty, she wasn't going to keep pretending any longer. During the time they were at the charity event, it was all Celia could think about. She was plotting on what to say and how to serve him with the papers.

                             "You're unusually quiet, Celia. Usually you'd say something like, stop it, Roman, you sound like a sociopath! Or something equally hot like that," he states, causing Celia to scoff.

                             "Maybe I'm just not in the mood to insult you," Celia lies.

                             Roman scoffs and he manages to see right through her bullshit. "Now I find that a little hard to believe. You love taking every chance you can to insult me. You're a gigantic bitch and it drives me crazy. In both a bad way and a good, sexy way. So what's really wrong with you?"

                             Celia leaves the room and for a moment, Roman's really confused until she emerges moments later with a bunch of papers in her hands. She hands them all over to Roman and he sits down on the edge of the bed to read them. Meanwhile, Celia just stood there and watched - waiting for his reaction. She was preparing for a fight.

                             And sure enough, that's exactly what she'd get.

                             "Are you fucking kidding me?" Roman glares at Celia. "You want a divorce? Please tell me this is just a really fucked up joke."

                             "No, it's not a fucked up joke. I really want a divorce. You have to be delusional to think that things are going good between us right now. You have to see that this is for the better," Celia reasoned.

                             "This isn't going to be for the better. Besides, what are you gonna do? Your dad's not around and you're not even a Byun anymore really. You're a Roy and that's all you'll ever be," Roman questioned, quick to remind Celia of her financial situation.

                             Or lack thereof without him in the picture. He always liked to throw it in her face and Celia was getting tired of him holding it over her head every time she even thought of leaving him.

                             Celia rolls her eyes, folding her arms across her chest. "Don't act like you give a shit about me. It's pathetic. If you really did, you'd sign the papers and we can move on."

                             "You made us get a prenup," Roman suddenly declared, staring straight at her.

                             "So?" Celia scoffs.

                             "This was your plan all along, wasn't it? Get married, stay for a while, and then run off with my money," Roman accused.

                             "First of all, I'm pretty sure it's your daddy's money since you can't do shit on your own without fucking it up and having him save your ass. And two, this wasn't my master plan. My so-called master plan was to marry you and stay married. I wanted this to work but it never will. I know that now. I've known it for a while actually," Celia shakes her head.

                             "Why not? What's so wrong with me?" Roman asks and even though he sounded the most sincere she had ever heard him be, she still can't tell if he's serious or not. How could he not know? Did he seriously think everything was rainbows and unicorns between them this whole time?

                             "Let's see, you're a piece of shit, Roman, and a lousy excuse for a husband. You're barely here and even when you are, it's like you aren't. We haven't had sex in years. We fight about pretty much everything. And you don't like me touching you or being around you at all. It's like we're roommates instead of a married couple," Celia quickly lists all of the reasons. "And I can't take it anymore. I hate you and I want to leave! So sign the goddamn papers and we can end both of our miseries."

                             "No," Roman immediately answers.

                             "What?" Celia faltered. She had been expecting this and yet it still felt like a punch to the gut anyway when he turned her down.

                             "I said... no," Roman repeats.

                             "What do you mean no? Why won't you sign it? Are you out of your mind?" Celia shouts.

                             "I'm not letting you divorce me and get away just like that. You're miserable? I don't fucking care. You hate my guts? Great. But I still won't let you go. I'd rather us both lose our fucking minds before letting that happen," Roman explains. And just to set Celia over the edge, he rips up the divorce papers and lets it all fall down to the ground.

                             "You asshole!" Celia storms towards him, grabbing the collar of his shirt. "Sign the fucking papers or I swear to God, I'll make your life a living hell!"

                             "Is that supposed to be some sort of a threat?" Roman challenges, his eyes growing dark. Celia couldn't believe this... he was actually getting turned on by how angry and violent Celia was towards him.

                             "No, it's a fucking promise. By the time I'm through with you, I'll make you wish that you had signed the fucking papers, you sick fucking animal," Celia spat.

                             "Bring it on, darling," Roman encouraged.

                             Celia slaps him hard across the face, probably turning the sick freak on even further, before she leaves the bedroom entirely. She's crying now but these were tears of pure rage. It was clear that Roman was unhappy in the marriage too (if he did love her, he had an incredibly funny way of showing it) so why wouldn't he just let her go

                             Celia knew why. He wanted her to suffer alongside with him. He hated to be alone. After all, misery loved company.

                             Fuming, Celia knew she had to come up with a plan to make Roman finally snap. And she needed to think of one fast. What would hurt Roman and signify the ultimate betrayal towards him? And that's when it hit Celia. She knew exactly what to do to make Roman want to divorce her and go running for the hills.

                             She'd act on her feelings towards Kendall and seduce him into having an affair with her. Besides, things aren't looking too good between him and his current wife, Rava. It'd be the perfect recipe for disaster. And Celia would get what she wanted out of it too.

                             It would be perfect.

( 💵💄👗)

word count: 1638
notes: i hope you all enjoyed this messy ass prologue. this is just a taste of celia and roman's toxic ass marriage btw, it'll only get worse from here