He Thought I Would Cheat, So He Cheated First

Chapter 4

A week later, Christian returned from his "business trip".

"What are you standing around for? Pour me some water," he demanded, acting like it was his god-given right.

I didn't move. Instead, I pulled a stack of photos from my purse and tossed them onto the marble coffee table.

The pictures fanned out. There he was, kneeling on the grass wiping his kids' mouths, with Chloe shyly tucked into his arms. Every shot was crystal clear, and the sight of their bliss was glaringly painful.

The moment Christian's eyes fell on the photos, his pupils constricted. He jerked his head up in sudden shock, but right after that, something happened that completely caught me off guard. There was no panic on his face from being caught red-handed, and there was certainly no remorse either.

Instead, a wave of vindicated relief washed over his face as he finally dropped his mask.

"Since you already know, I guess there's no need to pretend anymore," he said.

He sank into the couch, crossed his arms, and looked at me coldly. "This is karma. Since you're destined to betray me, Sarah, why the hell should I stay faithful to you?"

I looked at him like he was a raving lunatic. "Betray you? When have I ever betrayed you?"

I laughed, purely out of anger. "Christian, I worked myself into stomach ulcers paying for your mother's hospital bills. I've treated you like royalty for five years, and you call that betrayal?"

"Cut the victim crap!" he roared, his eyes bloodshot and practically manic. "That's only because you haven't met your little boy toy yet! In my previous life, in our 6th year of marriage, you drained all the company's assets for a fresh-out-of-college frat boy! You left me bankrupt to die a miserable death in a hospital bed!"

I froze, staring at him in utter disbelief. "So that's why you suddenly started hating everything I did three years ago."

I looked at this paranoid, unhinged man, finding the whole thing incredibly ludicrous. "You actually think you've been reborn? So you decided to strike first, comfortably cheating on me and having twins with another woman. You think you're enacting some kind of divine justice?"

"Exactly!" he growled self-righteously. "In this life, I'm taking the compensation I deserve in advance. I'm going to watch you lose everything. It's what you owe me!"

Seeing his smug, repulsive face, I didn't feel enraged. On the contrary, I was overcome by a bleak and farcical sense of irony.

Taking a step forward, I locked eyes with him and articulated every word, "Christian, I know myself. As long as I loved you, I would never cheat on you. You keep preaching that you saw the future, that I would suddenly find another man in our 6th year of marriage..."

I paused, letting the silence hang before dropping the bomb. "What if you had another family and a couple of bastards from the very beginning, and that's what pushed me over the edge?"

The sneer on Christian's face instantly froze.

It appeared that he had never once thought about this connection, and an unstoppable panic started to flash through his crimson eyes.

"You... What on earth are you blabbering about?" he said, parting his lips, but his voice came out parched, as if his mind had gone completely blank in a split second.

Without waiting for him to snap out of his utter bewilderment, I shoved the pre-prepared paperwork straight into his chest.

"This is the signed divorce agreement, along with the court's asset freeze order," I declared coldly as I stared at his dumbfounded face. "I'm taking back my half. Every last cent."

Christian looked down at the thin stack of papers. My resolute signature on the dotted line pierced his eyes.

He suddenly realized things weren't playing out like his "previous life" timeline. The Sarah from before, who supposedly took ages to find a college boy after learning the truth, was now ruthlessly cutting ties without a second thought.

His hands started shaking uncontrollably. "Sarah, you can't..."

I didn't give him the time of day. Turning on my heel, I grabbed the suitcase I had packed at the door and strode toward the entryway.

"Sarah!" Christian finally panicked, instinctively lunging to grab my arm.

But his legs gave out. He tripped hard over the threshold and fell to his knees right at my feet, looking utterly pathetic.

I looked down at him, my gaze devoid of any warmth.

"I'm divorcing you, Christian," I said.