For Her Ex, The Wife Abandoned Her Sister in the Hands of the Criminals

The following morning, I went to the precinct to deal with Lily's affairs. The kidnapper was still undergoing questioning—his motives for targeting Lily were a mystery, but such concerns now seemed trivial.

Lily's ashes rested in a small urn, beside a photo we'd taken when she was eighteen. Tears veiled my eyes as memories flooded back.

I carefully lifted the urn, cradling it against my chest as snippets of conversation drifted around me.

"Poor girl—caught at random by the kidnapper yelling at passersby. Such a tragic ending."

The words I overheard cut deeply, each phrase piercing through my grief-ridden heart.

"It's a tragedy. Who would've thought Officer Johnson would just leave like that, so irresponsible."

"She's taken a week off, and nobody knows why. Her hubby's sister died because of her, and her husband is as useless as they come. He can't even make a complaint."

Nobody noticed my clenched fists or the tears I was trying to hide as people briskly passed by. It seemed the world had decided I was still the pathetic husband, undeserving of Emma. To everyone, Emma Johnson was perfect—gorgeous, wealthy, not lacking anything. How could she fall for someone like me from a simple rural background?

We married quickly after I happened to save her parents during a crisis. At the time, she and Jack were breaking up. Maybe it was an act of gratitude or revenge against Jack, but either way, our marriage was hasty.

Soon after, she regretted it. She cried Jack's name when drunk, indifferent to my raging fever. She even left me alone on my birthday to meet him at the airport over a vague promise he'd made. Jack let her down, and it was me who picked up the pieces in the dead of night, bringing her home.

I loved her, loved her beyond reason, beyond sanity. I accepted her lingering feelings for Jack and the gossip that trailed me. But in the end, I lost everything. Our love was a mistake from the start.

The phone suddenly rang, Emma's voice biting and accusatory. "Where are you? How dare you disappear? Weren't you supposed to clean up? Are you even a man?"

I was silent for a moment, exhaustion washing over me. "You know Lily is dead, don't you?"

She laughed, a sharp, cruel sound. "James, you really have no limits to keep me around. Lying about your sister dying? Lily would be furious."

"Maybe she's in on it with you. You two really are despicable!"

The words stuck in my throat, leaving me speechless. It was time to accept that my love, that I fought so hard for, would never be returned. Emma never even asked how things ended. Perhaps she believed she was so above everything that it could be dismissed as jealousy. But Lily—Lily was gone, and that was a real life.

Enough. None of this matters anymore. It's time I signed the divorce papers.