He Chased His Ex, I Axed the Vows

Those two years were the hardest stretch of Rayan’s life. He lost his lover, his career, his health, and almost everything—including his life. Maya Spencer put her studies on hold to stay by his side day and night, never once wavering in her support.

Back then, he was constantly snapping, angry at the world, and refused to see anyone. Friends and family who showed up at the hospital got the brunt of his temper and were turned away. Only Maya could handle his wild mood swings. She matched his snappiness with sharp wit and held her ground with unshakable resolve, doing everything she could to pull his fighting spirit back out of him.

For him, she even learned the deep-tissue massage techniques his rehab therapists used. Even the doctors admitted that his shockingly fast recovery was almost entirely her doing. The irony? Those brutal, hard years were the closest they ever were.

Once Rayan was back on his feet and cleared to leave the hospital, they moved back into the Spencer family home. But more people always means more drama. Caught in the middle of the constant tension between his mother and Maya, Rayan chose to cut and run—they moved out to live on their own. Eleanora Guzman even helped them haul their boxes.

Upstairs, Maya packed in the walk-in closet, her mind drifting through old memories. When she’d married Rayan, dead set on bringing good things to the Spencer family, they’d doted on her. But once he was healthy again? She felt like an old rag they’d tossed aside.

Her hurt didn’t come from her mother-in-law’s cruel jabs. It came from Rayan’s coldness. Every time his mother and Maya clashed, Rayan would yank her away and leave the room. At first, she’d thought he was protecting her. The truth? Every time he pulled her out, it left her no chance to stand up for herself, and his mother would walk all over her, leaving her humiliated and silent.

This wasn’t protection. He just didn’t care enough about her feelings to fight for her. After a dozen of these little incidents, Rayan made his choice clear by moving them out of the family home entirely.

She remembered how giddy she’d been when they first settled into their new place, thinking they were finally starting a real life together. But Rayan threw himself back into work with a vengeance, getting busier by the day, and Maya went back to her studies, swamped with her own stuff. Their pretty new house started to feel less like a home and more like a cheap hotel—just a place to crash and eat between everything else.

But it wasn’t these little everyday annoyances that broke her will to stay married. It was the fact that his heart already belonged to someone else. That was what really shattered everything. As Maya sorted through the wardrobe, she realized there wasn’t much to pack anyway. She’d arrived with nothing, and every single thing in this house was his. She couldn’t claim his heart, so she was only taking what was hers.

Her phone buzzed in her pocket. It was Soleil Wells. Maya answered, propping the phone on the ottoman in the middle of the room on speaker.

“Maya, how’s it going? Want me to come scoop you up?”

Maya sighed. “Ugh, it’s a whole thing. Doesn’t matter, it’s late anyway. I’m just throwing some clothes into a bag to go.”

“You want me to swing by in the morning then?”

“Nah, it’s just a small suitcase. I’ll catch an Uber over myself.”

Outside the closet door, Rayan stood quiet as a shadow, listening.

“Alright, I cleared out a spot in my guest room for you. It’s nothing fancy, hope that’s okay?”

“Are you kidding? A roof over my head is more than enough. Why would I complain?”

“When men turn out to be garbage, us girls have to stick together. I’ve got your back from here on out.”

“God, thank you. Seriously.”

“No problem. I can set you up with some good guys I know. They don’t have Rayan’s fancy money, but they’ll treat you right, y’know?”

Rayan didn’t catch the first part, but that last line turned his mood black as pitch. Of course—her friend was already playing matchmaker for her. Maya couldn’t hold back a laugh, and replied bright and clear, “Sounds perfect.”

But when she turned around, she came face-to-face with Rayan. He was leaning lazy against the doorframe, hands stuffed in his pockets, staring right at her.

Maya’s smile dropped so fast it was gone before she could blink. She grabbed her phone off the ottoman. “That’s it for now, Soleil. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

She hung up, and her lips tugged up into a sharp, sarcastic little smirk. “What’s wrong? Worried I’m gonna walk off with your good silver?”

She nudged the open suitcase on the floor with the toe of her boot. “Go ahead. Check it. Pull out anything that’s worth too much to let me take.”

Rayan pushed off the doorframe, yanking his hands out of his pockets awkwardly. “That’s not what I was doing here.”

“Then what? You’re the big-shot CEO of Spencer Enterprises, right? Heard you’ve got more debt than cash flow these days. Of course you gotta guard every little trinket in the house. Probably planning to flip it for quick cash.”

Rayan’s frown deepened. Maya never used to talk like this. Lately, her temper blew up at the drop of a hat, always looking for a fight, her words sharper than a knife.

“Maya, why are you being so unreasonable right now?”

“Unreasonable?” She laughed a bitter, ugly laugh, snapped the suitcase shut and dragged it out of the way, ready to finally have this out.

For years after hearing all about Rayan’s perfect, sweet first love, Elina Guzman, Maya had dimmed her own light. She’d stayed quiet at his side, agreed with everything he said, accepted whatever he gave her, hoping that if she copied Elina just enough, he’d eventually learn to love her back.

But three months ago, when Elina came back to town, Maya woke up from her stupid long dream. Five years gone. No matter how gentle, how kind she was, Rayan still loved Elina. Not her. Not her sad little imitation.

So why keep pretending? It wasn’t her fault he didn’t love her. He just… never did.

“ What would be reasonable for me to do, huh? Smile and wave while you run off to meet your other woman at fancy events? Or sit here at home, quiet as a mouse, waiting for you to kick me to the curb?”

Rayan had never seen this side of Maya—sharp-tongued, unapologetic, done holding back. Where had his soft, quiet Maya gone?

Maya knew him too well. She saw the confusion and hesitation in the furrow of his brow, the tiny twitch of his mouth. She smirked, cold as ice. “Rayan, I used to love you. That’s why I tolerated all this, that’s why I bent over backwards to fit into your life. Now? I’m done loving you. Life’s too short. I wanna be me again. I wanna love myself for a change.”

As she said it, her eyes burned pink, a thick layer of tears brimming over her lashes that pressed heavy on Rayan’s chest.

He couldn’t stop himself—he stepped toward her.

She backed up quick, putting distance between them. “You know exactly how much money I have. You don’t have to screw me over on the finances. We were married. Let’s end this like adults.”

“Maya, I didn’t…” I didn’t want a divorce. The words he’d fought to get out were cut off by the sharp blare of his ringtone.

Maya cut in bluntly, “Who else would call you this time of night except your precious Miss Guzman?”

Rayan wanted to argue, but the caller ID on the screen didn’t lie. He shifted his weight, and answered the call.

“Hello?… What? You called the cops?”

He talked as he turned to leave. “I’m on my way now. Find somewhere safe to lay low.”

Maya watched him go. She didn’t yell, didn’t argue. It was like she’d seen this coming a mile away. She just stood there, quiet, and watched him run.

She blinked the tears off her lashes, and thought of Elina. What kind of emergency was it this time? So much blood, always getting hurt… but never enough to actually die.