Chapter Two - Where we Draw the Last Line
1880 Words
Ray’s POV
I slammed the door the moment I entered my office.
Not gently.
Not lightly.
I slammed it so hard the walls shook, and every frame on the wall rattled.
I dragged my hand through my hair and loosened my tie.
I felt hot.
Not the normal kind of hot.
The kind that comes from anger so deep it burns your chest from the inside.
Everyone respected me.
Everyone feared me.
Everyone treated me like a king.
Except my wife.
My own wife looked at me like I was nothing.
Like I was the mistake in her life.
Like her heart belonged somewhere else.
It did.
It belonged to Martins.
Her precious Martins.
I leaned on my desk and breathed hard. My chest felt tight, like someone had tied a rope around it.
This marriage had died before it started.
I should have seen the signs. I should have known.
But I didn't.
I was a fool.
For a short moment—just a short one—I believed Eva had some kind of feeling for me.
Maybe I imagined her smiles.
Maybe I imagined the warmth in her voice.
Maybe I imagined everything.
Because the truth was simple:
Her heart belonged to Martins long before it ever knew my name.
I found out in the worst way possible.
I used to think Martins was just her friend.
A harmless presence.
She said he was a college friend, and I believed her.
I never questioned her.
I never doubted her.
Until the day my mother caught them.
They were kissing.
And then the way they were wrapped around each other….
God.
The way they hug
The way they whispered into each other's ears
Her eyes.
Her smile.
The soft way she leaned into him.
She never looked at me like that.
Never.
My mother filmed them.
She showed me the video.
I felt sick.
My legs shook.
My heart cracked open so fast I couldn't breathe.
I refused to believe it, so I dug deeper.
I checked her messages.
I checked her old emails.
Her old photos.
Her saved videos.
And everything, everything confirmed the truth.
She loved him.
Not me.
They even stayed in touch for months after the wedding.
Sometimes she smiled secretly when her phone vibrated.
Sometimes she walked away to answer a call.
Sometimes she hid her screen the moment I stepped close.
She wasn't even scared of being caught.
That hurt most.
She acted sweet in front of him, even when I was standing there.
Not once did she see how it tore me apart from the inside.
I sank into my office chair and rubbed my eyes.
I felt exhausted.
Broken.
Tired of everything.
When her phone rang at the dining table earlier, I saw her face.
The way her eyes lit up.
The guilt.
The panic to answer the call quickly.
She probably thought I was stupid.
She probably thought I didn't know anything.
She thought she was hiding it well.
I let out a painful breath.
Maybe I was the fool.
Maybe I let myself believe she could change.
Maybe I let myself believe I could win a heart that never wanted me.
A soft knock pulled me out of my thoughts.
My secretary walked in with a file in her hand.
“Sir, here are the minutes from yesterday's meeting.”
I didn't look at her.
I didn't even register her presence at first.
My mind was too scattered for anything else.
“Sir,” she said again, “how would you like me to arrange everything?”
I blinked slowly and finally looked up at her.
“What?” I asked, lost.
She cleared her throat.
“Your anniversary celebration with Mrs. Eva. The plans—should I go ahead with them?”
Anniversary.
That word hit me hard.
I stared at the papers in front of me.
I wanted today to be good.
Just once.
I wanted to forget the pain.
Forget the lies.
Forget whatever she had with Martins.
I wanted to set everything aside and try.
Just try.
But when she answered his call in front of me, when she didn't care how it made me feel, when she didn't even look sorry
Something inside me snapped.
“Cancel everything.”
My voice was harsh.
Sharp.
Final.
My secretary looked surprised.
Her brows lifted slightly.
“Sir… I think you're upset. Maybe you should think about—”
“I said cancel it.”
She hesitated.
Her eyes softened as she stepped closer.
“Sir, you might regret this. It's your anniversary. I already prepared something special. Just take a look.”
She held out a small board with decorations and plans. She leaned closer, trying to show me.
I couldn't breathe.
I didn't want to see anything.
I didn't want to think about anything.
I pushed the board away.
She screamed when she lost her balance and almost fell.
I grabbed her waist quickly.
Instinct.
Nothing more.
She fell onto my lap.
Her arms wrapped around my neck because she was scared.
And that was exactly when the door flew open.
Eva.
My wife.
She rushed in with a bright smile - and froze.
Her eyes widened.
Her lips parted.
The light in her eyes flickered, then died completely.
She stood there like someone who had just been shot.
My secretary tried to stand up, but I held her down.
For a second—just one—I wanted Eva to feel even a little of the pain she gave me for years.
I wanted her to feel like a fool.
She dropped the roses she was holding.
Red petals scattered everywhere.
My heart squeezed painfully.
They weren't from me.
I assumed they were from Martins.
Eva turned around and walked out without a word.
My secretary finally stood.
She looked scared, guilty, and ashamed.
I didn't say anything.
I just stood up and walked out.
I needed air.
I needed space.
I needed anything that wasn't this.
Hours later, I sat alone in my private room at home, drinking.
I poured the wine and gulped it like water.
It didn't burn my throat.
I think I was too numb to feel it.
“Happy anniversary, Raymond Cole,” I muttered bitterly.
My voice sounded dead.
I threw the empty glass at the wall.
It shattered into tiny pieces.
Just like everything in my life.
My phone rang.
My heart tightened when I saw the name.
Mum.
I inhaled deeply and answered.
“Raymond,” she began immediately, “you won't believe where I saw that useless wife of yours today.”
I closed my eyes.
Her voice was like sandpaper against my skin.
“She's a disgrace! A shame! I told you no good woman comes from the Thorntons.”
I didn't respond.
I didn't have the strength.
“She's not just a cheap girl,” Mum continued, “she's a drunk too! Imagine my friends seeing her wasted at a high-class event!”
I clenched my fists.
“Mum—”
“No, let me finish,” she snapped. “She will bring this family down. If you don't divorce her, she will destroy you. I warned you!”
Her words stabbed at old wounds inside me.
I hung up.
I couldn't listen anymore. I knew how much my mum hated the Thorntons.
She was the first one to oppose the marriage. But I wasn't just getting married because it came with a good business deal, but because Eva was someone I chose to marry.
I recalled why I ignored everyone's warning.
The first time I saw Eva.
It was back at college during my after-graduation celebrations. The party was filled with loud music. I wasn't even supposed to be there.
I hated crowds.
But my friends dragged me along.
I was on the balcony, breathing fresh air, when I heard laughter.
Then I saw her.
Eva.
Drunk, playful, glowing.
She stumbled toward me with her friends cheering behind her.
Someone shouted, “Eva, kiss the stranger! I dare you!”
And she walked straight to me.
Before I could react, she cupped my face in her small hands.
Her touch was warm.
Gentle.
Soft.
“I'm sorry, mister,” she whispered with a slurred laugh.
And then she kissed me.
Not a small kiss.
Not a quick one.
A full, deep kiss.
Her lips were soft and warm.
She tasted sweet — like fruit punch and something else I couldn't name.
My heart stopped.
My breath vanished.
Everything around me disappeared.
Just her.
Only her.
Her friends screamed and laughed, but she didn't notice them anymore.
For those few seconds, it felt like the world belonged only to us.
When she pulled away, she smiled — the most beautiful smile I had ever seen.
Then she walked away.
Just like that.
Leaving me breathless.
Leaving me stunned.
Leaving me wanting more.
I looked for her for months after that night.
Everywhere.
Every corner of campus.
Every crowd.
But I never found her again.
I didn't even know her name.
But I remembered her face every single day.
Years later, when Mr. Thornton brought his daughter to introduce her for our marriage arrangement
It was her.
The girl who kissed me.
The girl who made my heart stop.
I said yes before he even finished speaking.
I didn't care about the business deal.
I didn't care about anything.
I just wanted her.
I married her because I loved her from the moment she kissed me under the night sky.
She never knew.
And I never told her.
That's why I could never ignore the fact that she never loved me, not even once. So much for a “happy anniversary,” I grabbed my keys and drove home, even though I was half-drunk.
The world around me spun, but I didn't care.
When I pushed the door open, Eva was sitting on the couch.
Her posture was straight.
Her face was calm.
Too calm.
She had been waiting.
I laughed bitterly the moment I saw her.
“Wow,” I clapped slowly, mockingly, “congratulations to the wife of the year.”
She didn't laugh.
She didn't smile.
She looked at me with eyes so cold it made my stomach twist.
I walked closer, staggering a little.
“Happy anniversary, Mrs. Cole,” I said with a bitter smile as I collapsed beside her.
She didn't reply.
Instead, she slid a white document toward me.
A divorce paper.
My breath stopped.
“What is this?” I whispered.
“It's time to end this sham of a marriage,” she said softly.
Her voice had no emotion.
No pain.
No regret.
She was done.
And somehow
That hurt more than anything Martins or my mother ever did.
My heart cracked open.
My chest felt heavy.
She felt nothing.
Absolutely nothing.
But me?
I felt everything all at once.
The pain.
The anger.
The betrayal.
The heartbreak.
The memories.
The fear of losing the one woman I could never forget.
Everything hurt.
And she just looked at me like I was a stranger.
She didn't care.
Not anymore.
Not at all.
And that was the moment I realized:
I had truly, finally lost her.
- Writer
