My Wife Refused to Sign the Divorce, So I Snapped

“The best outcome…”

Faye’s soft laugh echoed in the dark.

She picked up the divorce papers.

With a flick of her lighter, she lit her cigarette, and the document browned before burning to ash.

“He will never appear before you again.”

Then, the ashes drifted away on the breeze.

She stood, gathered her dozens of people, and swept out of the estate in a grand procession.

A cramp knotted my calf, and I bent over without meaning to.

Hands were immediately at my side to steady me. “Mr. Chester!”

“I’m fine…” My voice came out weak. “Just an old injury.”

Since I lost my right leg, rainy days have always brought on this pain, and even the best doctors couldn’t alleviate it.

Maybe it was my heart that ached this time; the pain was harder to bear.

And so, I ended up at the hospital for treatment.

It was there that the scene unfolded.

Harvey made a scene in the ward.

“Why don’t you just kill him! Isn’t that bastard as easy to crush as an ant for you? I want him dead! If you won’t do it, I will!”

And he really did scoop up a dagger and stride for the door.

Stopping him, Faye grabbed his wrist and yanked him back with force.

The blade sliced her palm, and she collapsed into his arms.

Her bloodied hand rose to cup his face.

Tears welled in Harvey’s eyes as he bowed his head, and their lips met in a desperate, tangled kiss.

The dagger slipped from her fingers and clattered to the floor.

For a moment, the air held only their intimate entanglement.

Once, Faye and I had embraced in blood. Now, she and Harvey kissed in blood.

Right then, the door opened.

Harvey saw me.

“Chester!” he shouted.

He snatched the dagger back up.

A metallic clink followed, but it slipped from his grasp and hit the ground again.

I grabbed him by the hair and forced him to his knees.

But Faye held onto my wrist.

“All right, stop! Don’t make a scene with him, Chester!” Faye warned.

"You’re the one who refused the divorce, Ms. Ellison," I said, my voice edged with irony.

I fixed my gaze on her, eyes gleaming with mockery.

"If you insist on calling me your husband, then I’ll live up to the name.

Do you think your husband is some weak creature you can push around?"

A punch crashed into Harvey’s face.

"Chester!" Faye shouted.

Bodyguards yanked me away from him. Harvey shouted curses at me while I fought to break free from Faye’s grip.

“I gave you a chance,” I told her. “Since you refuse to divorce, don’t be surprised if—”

Pain shot through my side.

Quickly, I spun around and kicked Harvey in the jaw.

He slammed into the wall, and the dagger he’d used to try to ambush me flew out of his hand.

“Ah—” he doubled over, clutching his abdomen.

The wound that had only recently healed began to bleed again.

“A sneak attack? You’re asking for death!” Faye shouted, raising a fist.

She struck me hard across the face.

Her expression was colder than I had ever seen. Her brows were drawn into a sharp, unyielding line.

I touched my cheek and felt the wet trail of blood at the corner of my mouth.

“Don’t be afraid. It’s okay. I’m…” Faye murmured, then paused.

She gathered Harvey into her arms, letting his blood soak into her costly gown.

The pain and panic in her eyes.

I’d only seen them once before, and it was the day I lost my right leg.

Back then, the setting sun was the color of blood.

She had clutched my hand to her chest, tears threatening, yet forcing a smile as she stroked my face and repeated over and over, “Don’t be afraid. It’s okay. I’m here. I’m with you.”

But now she looked at me with nothing but icy indifference.

“If divorce is what you truly want, then fine. You’ll have it.”

I suddenly laughed.

Even after risking my life, I couldn't get her to divorce me, and yet one injury to Harvey was enough to make it happen.

Right there, a cramp clenched my calf, sharper than the day my leg was hacked off. I bent over, but a shoulder brushed against mine. Faye walked past, holding Harvey in her arms.

I collapsed onto the ground, cold sweat soaking the floor. My bodyguards rushed in.

Before I even lost consciousness, someone from Faye’s side sent over a divorce agreement.

So it was true. When a woman decides to be ruthless, she moves fast.

I tossed it to the nearest bodyguard. “Burn it.”

I am a stubborn man.

As a child, when my mother threatened to beat me to death if I didn’t obey, I stiffened my neck and chose death.

As an adult, when I swore to live and die with Faye, I limped into the enemy’s den with a machete to rescue her.

And now, since I’d made it clear the last divorce negotiation was her final opportunity, and since she refused, my marriage would only end in widowhood, not divorce.

...

When I woke up, Harvey had already been discharged safely. He sent over a file.

My bodyguard handed me a handwritten letter.

His script was sharp, each stroke thick with arrogance.

[Did you really think Faye still had feelings for you? Curious why she loves me and not you? Perhaps you don’t even know who I really am? There’s a surprise for you.]

I tore open the folder. My breath caught.