He Left Me Once, Now He Wants Me Twice

Dess: Kill Orders

Sniffing, I wipe my tears with the back of my hand.

The speakers boom from behind me, the vibration making my heart bounce.

Who was I fooling?

Of course he wouldn't agree to a divorce, he can't. His father made sure of it.

Sighing, I tilt my neck up, throwing my head all the way back to look at the night sky.

It's beautiful.

The sky is clear. Donning the deepest shade of blue, and dusted with a billion stars.

I remember my father always making us stargaze whenever he had the time. When he died, I thought I'd continue the tradition with my husband.

"Ahem!"

A cough draws my attention to where Kim stands beside me, a wide smile on her face.

When did she get there?

"Sorry to disturb." She waves her hand, leaning closer.

Here we go again. "What is it?"

"Hey!" Her voice drips with mock surprise. "Aren't you happy to see me... Mrs Vanhook?"

Sighing softly, I decide to ignore her and continue stargazing, but she steps even closer.

"The nerve on you," she says, shaking her head. "You thought you pulled a big one by publicly asking me to leave? Huh?"

Ignore.

"Are you dumb!?" her voice is sharp—she's getting agitated.

I turn around to leave, but her hand clasps around my wrist, fingers digging into my skin. "How dare you ignore me like that?"

"Let me go, Kim."

I fight, twisting and pulling my hand, but she holds on tighter.

"Evan is mine, you peasant," she hisses through clenched teeth. "You think you can crawl out of your mother’s shadow, huh!? She scrubbed my family’s floors. Washed our dishes. Bowed when she spoke. You’ll never be more than what she was."

Her words claw at an old wound, tearing the stitches open.

My mother—when she was alive—worked for the Kents as a nanny.

She spent years in their mansion, quiet and obedient, serving people who never learned her name, but she endured, we needed every coin we could scrabble.

But when Kim's twin brother suddenly went missing, she disappeared without a trace.

All efforts to find her proved void.

Weeks later, her body was found—mutilated and dumped on the train tracks.

"Let me go, Kim!" I fight harder, desperate to break free.

She presses her nails even harder, bruising my wrists.

"What the hell are you doing?"

"You've overstayed your welcome, b***h wife! I need my man back already."

Finally, I break loose. Jerking my hand from her.

"Your man?" I face her square, staring straight into her deep brown eyes. "If he's truly your man, he would have accepted my call to divorce earlier. But no! He didn't." I relax on my feet, crossing my arms. "When would you accept it, Kim? Evan doesn't love you like you think."

A sharp pain tears through the side of my face, sipping into my cheeks and settling in my bones with a raging heat.

My eyes bulge as I stare at her, my hands cupping my cheeks. "You f*****g slapped me?"

She rolls her head, waving. "The servant should always know her place."

Without thinking, my hands fly to her neck, shaking and near-strangling her.

She shoves me away, her nose flaring. "You say that you asked for a divorce, huh?" She barks, her teeth clenched. "Let me do you one better by actually 'doing', and not asking."

She peels her bag open, digging out a folded sheet of paper and tossing it at me.

It falls to the ground.

"What is this?" I ask without looking at the papers at my feet.

"Pick it up."

Silence.

She sighs, rolling her eyes. "Desmond."

My brows furrow, confusion taking over me.

Desmond?

Suddenly, heavy hands grab me from behind, shaking me.

"Ah—"

A huge hand clamp around my open mouth, effectively cancelling my scream.

My breathing becomes heavy as I struggle with the vice grip of my captor, sweat breaks on my forehead, and I struggle to see Kim through the blur of my tears.

She comes forward and squats to retrieve the papers.

On her return, she's already unfolded them, peering through the sheets.

"Look at it."

She presents them in front of me, and I have no choice but to look.

It's divorce papers!

"I got them for you and Evan," she says.

My breathing fastens, my heart pounding.

Is that even possible?

"Sign here, and give it to Evan so he can do the same."

"Hum...hmm." I shake my head, asking to be released.

Kim nods at her accomplice, and he lets me go.

I turn to look up at the huge mountain of a man, my heart beating painfully at the thought of what Kim could do to me if she wanted.

"You were saying?" Her voice draws my attention from the monster.

"A-and why would I do that?" My voice is raspy, but I manage.

She laughs, eyeing me before stepping closer. "Did you ask 'why'?"

She steps into my breathing space, and I fall back, but hit the man before I can even take a full step.

Her eyes run over me again, scrutinizing, before finally settling down.

On my stomach.

Shit!

Instinct tells me to cradle my belly, to shield my baby. But I keep my hands at my side.

Kim mustn't know about my baby.

"To keep that 'thing' safe."

My heart drops, and my hands move to cover my flat stomach.

How did she know?

I've been keeping the secret so well, it's just impossible that she knows.

"Smith is a friend of mine," she says, smacking her lips.

My legs give in, and I drop into the man behind me. He catches me.

There really is nobody on my side.

"And Evan would definitely hate it if you told him about that," she sneers, her voice laced with venom. "You took advantage of him while he was drunk, Dess. He’d be livid... might even tell you to get rid of that parasite growing inside you."

My tears fall freely from my eyes, running down my cheek in hot streams.

She leans even closer, her smile razor-sharp. "But if he doesn’t act right, I'd be forced to take matters into my delicate hands."

I stare at her dumbfound, my brows knitting in confusion.

She shrugs. "Accidents happen all the time, especially to unwanted little mistakes."

She straightens, thrusting the divorce papers toward me.

"So if you want to protect yourself and that pathetic excuse for a baby, you’ll sign these and disappear. Now."

With shaky hands, I reach for the paper, my tears completely dried now.

It doesn't take a genius to know that what happened to my mom wasn't an accident. I know better than to take a threat from any 'Kent' lightly.

With tears, I sign the papers and head back to do as Kim ordered—get Evan to sign.

At the hall, Evan is in the midst of other businessmen, discussing effortlessly, while twirling a champagne glass between his fingers.

Taking a deep breath, I walk towards him, and without a word, present the papers to him.

He turns to face me, his eyes dropping to the outstretched paper.

"What is this?" His voice is as detached as always.

But suddenly, his brows knit, his chest rising higher and falling deeper.

"Mrs Vanhook?" he calls me with that same condescending again.

"Divorce papers," I shake my hand impatiently. "I signed them already. I'd appreciate it if you could do the same."

He grabs my arm, yanking me towards him. "I told you that you don't get to choose—"

"Let me go." My eyes harden. "Mr Vanhook."

Suddenly, his expressions soften, his eyes dilating.

His hold slowly loosens, and I pull away from him.

Without a word, I turn swiftly, leaving him to it.

I make my way to the gardens, venturing deep into the large land of the Vanhooks before finally crashing into an empty bench towards the woods.

Why do I feel so empty?

"This is for the best, Dess." I say to myself, wiping my tears.

But no matter how hard I try to convince myself about this divorce, my heart keeps hurting.

Gently, I lay on the bench, staring at the old fountain, while I try to embrace my new reality.

I'm now Allen again, no longer Vanhook.

And with that thought, I slowly slip away.

* * *

"Over there."

A bold voice jolts me from my sleep.

How long have I been here?

I push my body off the cold bench, sitting at the edge.

My eyes still stings from all the crying.

Searching my environment, I see a group of men not too far away, they seem to be in search of something.

All dressed in suits, they remind me of the Stone face suit men.

They must be Evan's.

I relax in my seat under the shield of a branch while I watch them intensively.

Soon, a man runs to meet them, their movements are all urgent.

"Did you find her?"

Her?

Could they be looking for me? Why?

"No." The new arriver responds.

"Remember," the first man addresses them all. "Our orders are to kill."

My eyes dilate. A cold shiver runs down my spine.

"Locate and kill the former Mrs. Vanhook."

A sharp gasp escapes me before my hand claps my lips shut.

Fuck, f**k, f**k.

But they remain still, and I keep my eyes trained on them, hoping they didn't hear.

Then, the first man rolls his head, chuckling. "She's behind the branch." He announces, pointing his gun my way.

Shit!