She Chose Him, I Asked for Divorce

Audrey Quinn was the city’s sharpest hostage negotiator. She could talk a knife out of a madman’s hand and walk a victim out alive. Three years ago, during a bank robbery, she disarmed a gunman with her bare hands and saved the man he was holding, Silas Reed. Seventeen stitches sealed her arm. The story became office legend. And then it became an engagement. The day Audrey and Silas got engaged, her team clapped her on the back and said she finally deserved real life. Her ex-husband, Ethan Hale, had a family history of schizophrenia. It got worse after they married, violent episodes, self-harm, hospital stays. By the time she divorced him, she had walked away with almost nothing. Except for their daughter, Mia. Silas Reed, by contrast, was simple and bright, like a clean wind. He was the perfect choice for a husband. The marriage worked. He handed over his paychecks. Never missed an anniversary gift. When his father needed heart surgery, Audrey pulled strings and brought in a top surgeon. Everything was perfect. Except for one thing. Ethan’s daughter, Mia, had always been hostile toward him. At six years old, the girl cut his new shirts with scissors and snapped his pens before throwing them into the toilet. Every time he tried to discipline her, Mia screamed and video-called Ethan, crying, “My new daddy is bullying me.” Audrey would always pick up Mia and say to him, “Silas, she’s still young and sensitive. Just give her more time.” He looked into Audrey’s tired eyes and swallowed his words. He told himself that she had been so good to him, and he shouldn’t hold a grudge against a little girl. Then Ethan came back. On the very first day of his return, Ethan barged into their house and slapped Silas across the face without a word of explanation. “You piece of trash! You tried to steal my wife while I was gone?!” Mia ran out of her room, hid behind Ethan, and stuck her tongue out at him. “You're a bad, bad man!” Silas’s ear rang as he held his cheek. Audrey hurried out of the study, grabbed Ethan by the arm, and pulled him away from Silas. That night, Audrey stayed in the guest room with Ethan and Mia until the early hours. When she came back to their bedroom, she kissed Silas's swollen cheek again and again, her voice thick with guilt. She told him she had sent Ethan abroad for treatment right after the divorce. It's Ethan's parents who had begged her to let him come back and see their daughter. When Ethan had an episode, he couldn't tell reality from delusion. He still believed they were married. As soon as he stabilized, she would send him right back. The guilt and helplessness in her eyes looked so real that Silas finally agreed. For the next month, Audrey's time was split in two. She stopped coming home right after work. Instead, she went to the apartment where Ethan was staying to have dinner with him and Mia. Silas told himself it was all temporary. A sick man needed care. A kid needed her mother. Ten days after Ethan's return, Silas saw a photo on the i********: feed of one of Audrey's colleagues. The three of them—Audrey, Ethan, and Mia—were at a wetland park on the outskirts of town, like a family. The photo was a little blurry, but it cut Silas like a knife. Audrey came home late that night, wearing a woody cologne she never used at home. She calmly brought up what they had done that day before he could even ask. He searched her gaze. It was filled with concern, weariness, and a silent plea, but there was no trace of the guilt or avoidance he expected. "I haven't felt anything for him in a long time," she said. "But right now, he's a patient. He's Mia's father. I have a responsibility." Silas said nothing. 'Responsibility'. Such a heavy word. Heavy enough to crush the life they had built. Thirty days after Ethan's return, Audrey found out she was six weeks pregnant. Silas stared at the pregnancy report. A little dazed. A little hopeful. Maybe a new baby could pull this family back on track. He was about to head out and buy some things Audrey would need for the pregnancy. But the moment he stepped out of the apartment, a crowd swarmed him. Microphones and cameras were shoved inches from his face. "Mr. Reed! Did you know you were interfering in the marriage of Audrey Quinn and Ethan Hale?" "Mr. Hale says you took advantage of his illness to move in on his wife. Do you have anything to say for yourself?" Silas stumbled backward, trapped by the microphones and cameras. Then he saw Ethan standing a few steps away. His eyes were cold. Taunting. No sign of any episode. Silas dropped his head, shoved through the crowd, and ran back home. Audrey was already there. She had clearly heard the news. Her face was pale. She rushed to him as he walked in. "Are you okay? Did they hurt you?" She checked his face, confirmed he was just shaken, then let out a breath and hugged him hard. "I'm so sorry, Silas. I didn't know he would do something like this. It was all my fault. You didn't deserve that." The same expression. The same tone. A chill crawled up Silas's spine. He took a deep breath and held out the pregnancy report, the one he had been gripping the whole time. "I know you're pregnant." Audrey took it from him. Her voice was heavier than he had ever heard. "Silas… we can't keep this baby. Not right now." Silas thought he must have heard wrong. "Mia still hasn't really accepted you. Ethan's illness was a rollercoaster. Right now, he genuinely believes we're still married. If he finds out you got me pregnant, I don't know what he might do." Her eyes were earnest. But her voice left no room for argument. "Let's wait. Wait until Mia is a little older. Wait until Ethan stabilizes, and we can send him back abroad. Can you take just one more step back for me?" The living room went dead quiet. Silas looked at her. This was the woman who had saved his life when he was bleeding out in a bank lobby. And now she was calmly talking about ending their child's life. Something inside him went hollow. Just endless, bottomless emptiness and exhaustion. "Audrey." He heard his own voice go eerily quiet. "Let's get a divorce."