Chapter 2

2: 2

I grabbed the vase off the nightstand and hurled it down hard at my brother's feet.

"Get out!"

The vase shattered across the floor.

Morris flinched back a step, then jabbed a finger at me and spat,

"Crazy bitch!"

With that, he wrapped an arm around the woman and slammed the door on his way out.

Not long after, the muffled, frantic sounds started up from next door.

Ferdinand was still on top of me, his breathing rougher now than before.

All I felt was sick.

I reached up and pushed him off, my voice cold.

"I'm tired. Let's just sleep."

Ferdinand lifted his head, blank, his eyes full of hurt.

"What's wrong?"

"Did I do something wrong? Make you angry?"

Then, like something had just occurred to him, he grinned and pulled me back in.

"Or do you want to try something different too?"

He said it like he was expecting praise.

"Last month I was just too worn out, that's why I didn't take good care of you."

"These past few days I took time off on purpose. Even worked on my legs. Saved up my energy."

"Today I'll definitely leave you satisfied."

The words stuck in my throat.

For a moment I honestly couldn't tell whether his heat right now came from all this preparing he'd done for me, or from the way that woman had just gotten him worked up.

I pushed him away again.

"I really am a little tired. Next time."

The smile faded from Ferdinand's face.

Half-hurt, half-annoyed, he muttered,

"Fine. I'll take care of it myself, then."

He threw back the covers, pushed the door open, and walked out.

I lay there in bed, listening to the sounds beyond the door, everything churning inside me.

I didn't know if I was afraid of what I might hear.

Or hoping to hear the sound that would prove what I suspected.

A few minutes later, to my relief, the toilet flushed in the bathroom.

I let out a slow breath.

But the next second, I saw Ferdinand's phone lit up on the nightstand.

On the screen was a search page from some platform.

Right at the top sat a question:

【Married a year, and it's getting more and more dull.】

【Wife just lies there in bed like a dead fish. I want to try something dirty, something wild. What do I do?】

Half of me went cold in an instant.

I'd just reached out to see the post clearly when the bedroom door swung open.

Ferdinand came back in trailing a chill.

I pulled my hand back at once and shut my eyes.

He slid under the covers and wrapped his arms tight around me from behind, his voice back to its usual gentleness.

"I'll let you off this time."

"But next time you're paying me back double."

I swallowed down the nausea and said nothing.

Only when his breathing behind me had gone slow and steady did I gently lift his hand from my waist and feel around for his phone.

But the search page was already gone.

The browsing history was wiped clean too.

As if everything just now had been nothing but a trick of my mind.

The next day, I arranged to meet Natalie Fox, my best friend, the lawyer.

The moment I sat down, I came straight to the point.

"I want to divorce Ferdinand Gilbert."