The Heartless husband's Regret : Keep Your Hands

Chapter 2

Freya

The next morning, my husband came home with Vivian by his side.

He completely ignored me, leaving me frozen in shock at the sight before me, even though I had waited for him all night.

The fragile sense of calm and hope I still held for our marriage wavered violently. It wasn't just my throat that had gone dry, disbelief slowly twisted into a painful knot in my stomach.

I forced myself to look at Ethan. The tapping of his cane against the floor finally stopped, and he turned his gaze to me.

Then he said something I never could have expected.

“Starting today, Vivian will be living here.” His deep voice left no room for objection.

My fingers dug into my palms, trying to keep myself under control.

“She can stay somewhere else, Ethan.”

There were plenty of hotels here, and there was no way she didn't have family of her own.

“Do you think you have the right to speak, Freya?”

His cold voice cut straight through my heart. The way he dismissed me so completely made my whole body tremble.

As his wife, I should have had the right to speak.

But being his wife turned out to mean nothing.

Ever since he began treating me so coldly, I had slowly realized that my place in this marriage was painfully ambiguous.

“Don't argue with her, Ethan.”

I held my breath at Vivian's gentle voice. What I couldn't understand was how a woman who knew Ethan already had a wife could so casually rest her head against his chest.

The fact that Ethan allowed her to do it shattered my heart.

“She just needs to learn her place. She's being far too immature.”

I watched as Ethan took Vivian's hand. Again and again, he did things that hurt me, while all I could do was stand there in silence.

To me, the way Ethan looked at me was cold and terrifying. I was trapped by the fear my own husband made me feel.

“She's acting like a child.”

“That's right. I am acting like a child,” I finally replied.

I thought saying that would put an end to the argument, but Ethan's gaze only grew sharper, his jaw tightening.

My heart always ached whenever he looked at me like that. Panic began to creep in as I desperately wondered what I had done wrong this time.

The fear and trauma buried deep inside me surfaced on their own. Ethan's coldness made it hard to breathe.

Part of me wanted to run away immediately, but another part wanted to say what had been on my mind. After all, I didn't think either choice would leave me in a better position.

“At least it's better than shamelessly clinging to another woman's husband.”

The moment those words left my mouth, both of their eyes widened.

A second later, tears welled up in Vivian's eyes. “I... I'm not like that. Freya, you shouldn't say such hurtful things.”

And then I saw something even more shocking—Ethan showing Vivian a tenderness I had never imagined. He gently wiped away her tears, his touch careful and full of concern.

He had always been cold, but I never thought he would treat another woman like this right in front of me.

The love I still had for him made my heart feel as though it were being stabbed over and over again.

Then he looked at me, his eyes colder and angrier than ever.

“You'd better watch your mouth, Freya,” he said sharply. “Vivian isn't a stranger. We'll be getting married soon.”

“What?”

His words hit me like a crushing weight. I could barely breathe. It felt as if my soul had left my body.

I stared at him, searching his eyes for any sign that he was lying.

There was none.

“Soon, everyone will know that she's the woman I married because she's the one I need.”

He slipped an arm around Vivian's shoulders. She looked up at him with a gentle smile.

This couldn't be happening.

My breaths grew shorter and shorter. I pounded my chest several times, trying to ease the unbearable pain.

It f*****g hurt.

“No... no, Ethan. You can't do this.” My voice trembled violently.

“You’re already married to me, Ethan!” My voice rose, anger finally breaking through.

His expression hardened, his face flushing with fury. He slammed his cane against the floor, a habit of his whenever he was about to issue an order.

“Do you really think you can help me? You’ve never helped me at all, Freya. You should be grateful I’ve even allowed you to stay here.” His breathing turned heavy after he said those words.

Every word that came out of his mouth was not only shocking—it was agonizing. Each one drove deeper into my heart.

How could the man who had once treated me so gently turn into someone so cruel?

I didn't know...

I was being crushed by a pain I had never imagined.

The shock stole my breath, but at the same time, it gave me courage. I couldn't let this continue. This pain, this injustice... it would destroy me.

“Then divorce me, Ethan.”