Chapter 4

Since we were getting divorced, I wanted only what was rightfully mine, nothing more.

Raymond's expression hardened.

He roughly shoved me aside and walked into the house. Then he stopped and took a quick look around.

When he realized everything related to him was gone, he couldn't help but sneer, "What makes you think I'd agree to your terms?"

His voice was icy, with a hint of anger he tried to hide.

I ignored his glare and went straight to the couch, sitting down.

I said, "Suit yourself. I'm not the one who's anxious. As long as we're still married, Tessa will always be the other woman. And her kid will always be labeled as a bastard."

Raymond suddenly lunged forward and grabbed my wrist.

He said, "Ashley, don't go too far. We've been together for ten years. Can't we just break up on good terms? Do you really have to make such a scene?"

The wound on my wrist split open, blood seeping through and staining the bandage red.

Raymond noticed, but just scoffed. "Ashley, how many times are you going to pull this suicide stunt? You really think I'd spare you a second glance if you died?"

He paused, glanced at me again, and muttered, "Someone as scared of dying as you? You'd never actually go through with it."

I didn't have a comeback. He wasn't completely wrong, but he wasn't right either.

Over the past year, I'd used suicide threats against him countless times.

He'd forgotten that I might be afraid of dying, but pain scared me even more.

Suicide threats were pretty effective.

Raymond always showed up, storming in, pissed off every single time.

But next time, he'd still come.

We were stuck in this endless loop, torturing each other again and again.

As the number of scars on me grew, his face became calmer.

Raymond said I was being way too extreme, like I was losing my mind. "If you don't even care about yourself, how could you possibly care about anyone else?"

Back then, I was just drifting through a fog, lost and numb for what felt like an eternity.

In those pitch-black days, I spat out every cruel curse I could muster, throwing them right in his face.

I begged him, humble and pathetic. I even resorted to hurting myself, desperate to force him to look back at me.

But no matter how much I screamed, threatened, or broke down, Raymond only grew more distant.

I was the one stuck trying to salvage a marriage that was tormenting me.

It wasn't until he blocked me everywhere, until Tessa started sending me those photos and videos, that I completely lost it.

I ended up becoming the crazy person he always said I was.

Maybe because I'd come close to death, I could finally face him calmly now that I saw him again.

I looked up at him, my tone flat, nothing like the sharp edge I used to have.

"The divorce terms aren't up for discussion. I'm only asking for what I deserve. I'm not trying to get more than I should," I said. "If you don't like it, we can settle this in court. I've got all the time in the world. Drag it out as long as you want."

I knew Raymond probably wouldn't agree to my terms but I bet Tessa can barely wait anymore. She was desperate to be Raymond's wife.

Now that I'd agreed to the divorce, I was not the one rushing.

I was the one holding all the cards now.

If he still wanted out, he'd have to play by my rules.

Raymond didn't say a word. He just handed me the divorce papers.

I took them and skimmed through them quickly.

The terms were hard to refuse. He was generous, offering me an insane amount of cash, plus more than half of his real estate and trusts.

"I've given you everything I can. Think of it as compensation for sticking by me all these years," he said.

He paused, then turned his head away, looking a bit guilty. "But I can't give you the company shares you're asking for. If you want, I can pay you in cash instead. You name the amount."

I looked up at him. "Then we're done here," I said.

He was so generous, but for another woman.

We'd been together for ten years. Even though we'd hit rock bottom, the connection between us ran deep, and couldn't be erased in a day.

In that weird silence, something finally clicked for me.

"You handed your shares over to Tessa, didn't you?" I asked.

Raymond stayed silent, his lips pressed into a hard, thin line.

It was a sign of his guilt.

Honestly, I had no idea what I was feeling right then.

I laughed. "So, you really like her that much, huh?"

He didn't answer, just stayed silent.

Honestly, I don't even care about the answer anymore. All I wanted now was to get what was mine.

"Don't forget, everything you have right now is still ours. It's shared property until the divorce goes through," I said. "We're not divorced yet. Whatever you hand over to her, I can still take it back."

I handed the divorce papers back to him, opened the door, and gestured for him to leave.

"If you're willing to see her utterly disgraced, I have no problem dragging us both down," I said coldly.

Maybe he remembered the tricks I'd pulled in the past, his face darkened. He closed the distance between us in a flash and seized my wrist in a tight grip.

He snarled, "Ashley, if you hurt her, I swear you'll regret it."