05
After all these years of marriage to Lucian, I never imagined he could be this shameless.
He wanted to keep a mistress and still refused to divorce me. What a fantasy he was living in.
But none of it mattered anymore. I was already planning to leave him.
That night, Lucian didn’t come home.
The next morning, Marina showed up at the office late, looking like she hadn’t slept in days.
I didn’t have the time or the energy to deal with their mess. I was too busy going over the divorce agreement with my lawyer, trying to iron out the
details.
At noon, my lawyer met me at a café downstairs from the office. He handed me the papers and left.
Just as I was about to head back to work, Marina appeared out of nowhere. She pulled off her sunglasses slowly, revealing eyes red and puffy from
crying.
“Selene, I… I’m really in trouble. Please, I need your help.”
I stared at her without saying anything, waiting for her to continue.
She hesitated, then said, “Last night… Mr. Blake was at my place.”
I didn’t flinch. “I know.”
She looked taken aback, clearly expecting a different reaction. For a moment, she seemed flustered, her words stumbling over each other. “Selene, I didn’t mean to get involved in your marriage, but Mr. Blake just won’t leave me alone.”
Then she launched into her sob story.
She claimed she was deep in debt, had no family to turn to, and that her ex had forced her into this mess. She was raising a child on her own,
struggling just to get by.
She laid it all out for me. But honestly, what did any of that have to do with me?
I raised an eyebrow, not moved. “You want me to talk to Lucian and ask him to let you go? You really think that’s going to work? Or do you want me to divorce him?”
Marina shook her head, her voice desperate. “No, no, I just need to borrow some money. I’ll leave, I promise.”
“How much?” I asked, already guessing where this was going.
“One million.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. Was she watching too many soap operas, thinking I’d buy her off to get her out of my life?
“If I get the money, I’ll leave right away.”
I leaned back in my chair, giving her a look that was both amused and exasperated. “Honestly, Lucian isn’t even worth a million.”
“We’re both women. I won’t make it hard for you. Here’s five thousand dollars. If you really want to escape, a one–way ticket is all you need. Consider it seed money for your new life. Don’t worry about paying me back.”
I slid the five thousand dollars across the table toward her and walked away.
The next day, Marina handed in her resignation and disappeared.
At first, I thought maybe she just wanted to get away from Lucian.
But then, out of nowhere, Lucian lost it. He stormed out of his office, grabbed me by the arm, and yanked me out of my seat.
“Selene! What did you do to Marina?”
“What do you mean? What did I do?”
“Don’t lie to me! Marina is already in a tough spot, and you’ve made it worse. You’ve made her life a living hell, and now you can’t even leave her alone?”
He shoved his phone in my face, showing me a post Marina had made on social media.
There, on her profile, was a picture of flight tickets to Valoria, with the caption: [Flight at 2 PM today. Thank you, Ms. Westbrook, for your help and encouragement. I’ll start a new life and listen to your advice.]
I hadn’t seen this post myself, but apparently, only Lucian could see it.
So, Marina had come to me crying, telling me she wanted to escape Lucian’s control and then turned around and broadcasted her flight details to
him.
What was her game?
And then it clicked.
That day, Lucian had told her, point blank, “Divorce? Not a chance.”
And because of that, she set me up.
I couldn’t help but laugh at the absurdity of it all.
“You’re still laughing?” Lucian’s face twisted in anger. He raised his hand and slapped me hard across the face. “I can’t believe 1 married someone like you, cold–hearted and ruthless!”
Everyone around us froze, shocked.
I was surprised too, but only for a second.
For three years, Lucian had never once publicly acknowledged our marriage. But now, for Marina, he was ready to admit it.
I met his furious stare with cold indifference, then nodded slowly.
“Fine. You regret it? Let’s get a divorce.”
I threw the divorce papers in his face and walked away without looking back.
