I dragged my suitcase out and looked back one last time at the marital home I had lived in for three years.
There was no reluctance to leave. Only sorrow.
In the beginning, I had been the only one happy. In the end, I was still the only one heartbroken.
That was exactly what the past three years with Chase Davis had been like. All he had ever given me was endless disgust and torment.
From the day I insisted on marrying him, I should have known that a marriage built on a deal was doomed to end in tragedy.
I turned and reached for the back door of the car.
Then a painfully familiar voice came from behind me, tinged with urgency.
"Where do you think you're going?"
I turned to face him and said expressionlessly, "I've already made myself very clear. You and I are over!"
"I didn't agree to that."
"We might've been husband and wife, but we never got a marriage certificate. So I don't need your permission."
Chase said nothing. Instead, he went to the trunk, took out my suitcase, grabbed my wrist, and dragged me toward the villa.
I tried to shake him off, but his grip was too strong. No matter how hard I struggled, I couldn't break free, and my wrist ached from the effort.
"Let go of me! You used to hate me for clinging to you. Now I've finally come to my senses. I won't cling to you ever again..."
Seeing that he was determined to drag me away by force, I turned to the ride-share driver and pleaded, "Sir, please help me."
The driver stood in front of the car and mustered the courage to call out, "Hey, sir, this lady doesn't want to go with you..."
"Get lost!" Chase's furious roar cut him off, his entire body radiating a terrifying, murderous aura.
The driver was so frightened that he immediately got in the car and drove off.
My only hope was gone.
I didn't tell anyone I was leaving. I had even sent the housekeepers away.
Did he have wings or something?
One second ago, he had clearly been wrapped around another woman, all lovey-dovey.
I had packed my luggage in advance. I meant to celebrate his birthday with dignity, then leave cleanly and without looking back.
But I had barely arrived at the villa before he showed up too.
"What the hell do you want from me? Your sister's death really had nothing to do with me. I didn't do it. Why won't you believe me?
"I don't love you anymore, and I don't want to be tangled up with you again. Why won't you just let me go?"
As I spoke, my nose stung. All the grievances I had buried deep in my heart over the years surged up at once, and my tears fell upon myself.
Chase's parents had rarely taken care of him. He had been raised almost entirely by his elder sister, Grace Davis. The bond between them had been incredibly deep.
His sister died on the day he and I got married.
Chase believed I loved him so obsessively that I couldn't tolerate Grace's existence, so I must've harmed her.
From that day on, he hated me to the bone.