I Left My Vampire Husband and Married a Better Man, Now He Regrets Everything

Elena's POV

Jason's face went rigid for a split second before he let out a short, sharp laugh.

"Don't be ridiculous. You can't just walk away from an alliance marriage."

He got out of bed and cupped my face in his hands.

At this distance, I could see the lipstick stain on his neck and smell the sharp tang of perfume on his skin.

I jerked away involuntarily, dropped to my knees, and dry-heaved.

Jason's hands clenched. His expression darkened.

"What? Disgusted that I've been with another woman?"

He towered over me, picking up the divorce papers and giving them a dismissive glance.

"This marriage was your idea. You begged for it, remember? You're the one who insisted on marrying me—and now you want a divorce?"

He tore the papers to shreds and let the pieces fall over me like confetti.

Back then, I'd cut ties with my family to be with him.

My father had warned me—if I chose a vampire alliance over his wishes, I could forget about ever coming home again.

To punish me for rejecting his chosen match, he'd taken over the Valerie family's human-world business interests.

He swore that no matter how miserable my marriage became, he'd make sure I could never divorce Jason.

With my father's deep business ties to the Valerie vampire clan, Jason and I were locked together for life.

I was proud back then—arrogant, even. I believed that if I just tried hard enough, I'd eventually make Jason love me.

I never imagined he'd hate me this much for a marriage he didn't choose. That he'd spend every day and night humiliating me, feeding off my suffering.

Ten years without producing a strong hybrid heir had exhausted the last of his patience.

"Don't forget, Elena—your family doesn't want you anymore. You have nowhere else to go."

"This little divorce stunt doesn't work on me. Haven't you figured that out by now?"

I looked at Jason's smug expression and could only smile bitterly.

He was right. The last few times I'd threatened divorce, I'd called home. No one ever picked up.

But this time was different.

What he didn't know was that when I married him ten years ago, I'd made a secret pact with my father.

If I could make Jason love me and stay faithful within ten years, my father would fully support our marriage and give us his blessing.

But if I failed, I'd go back and marry the man he'd chosen for me.

I'd lost. Completely and utterly.

So this time, I was really going to divorce him.