Novels by Miije

The divorce was finally settled.Charity walked out of the lawyer's office with the documents tucked into her bag and a feeling in her chest she hadn't known for years. In her previous life, she had spent every ounce of herself trying to hold Daniel's family together. Now she had no reason to look back.Only seven days remained, and she needed to move fast.She returned to the property listings she had been studying. She wanted a house with enough room to prepare for the heatwave, one that was strong, private, and large enough to hold every supply she planned to store.But there was something else she wanted, something she was almost ashamed to admit. She wanted to watch Daniel and his family suffer with her own eyes. She didn't want to help them. She only wanted to see the people who had once thrown her out into the burning heat finally learn what it felt like to face the end of the world without her.After searching through several properties, she found exactly what she was look

Daniel stared at his phone long after the call had ended.Charity had actually asked him for a divorce.For a moment, he assumed she was only trying to frighten him. They had argued countless times during their marriage, and every time, she had come back after a while. She had nowhere else to go, and he knew it.He tossed the phone aside and walked into the living room, where his mother was already waiting for him."Well? What did she say?"He dropped onto the sofa with a sigh. "She's still angry. She says she wants a divorce."His mother's frown deepened. She didn't look surprised. She looked worried. "A divorce?" she repeated. "And what happens to our household expenses if she really leaves?"Daniel glanced at her. "What do you mean?""You know exactly what I mean," she said, lowering her voice as though the walls might overhear. "Charity pays for almost everything in this house. The groceries, the electricity, the water. Even the money I spend every month comes from her salary."Sh

For several seconds after Charity spoke, the line went silent. Then Daniel laughed.It wasn't a nervous laugh. He was genuinely amused, as though she had just told him a joke."Divorce?" His voice dripped with disbelief. "Charity, are you serious right now?"She stood beside her car and said nothing."Where exactly do you plan to go once you leave this house?" he pressed. "Do you have somewhere to stay? Any family waiting for you?"Her expression didn't change. In her previous life, those questions would have terrified her. She was an orphan with no one to turn to, and Daniel had always known how to use that against her. Every argument ended the same way, with him reminding her that she had nowhere else to go.This time, the fear never came. Daniel had no idea what was coming, and she wasn't going to tell him."You've lived with us for years," he went on, his tone turning scornful. "You think you can just walk away whenever you feel like it? Stop being childish and come home."Home. A

Charity struggled for breath as the man's hands tightened around her throat.She clawed at his wrists, desperate to pry them loose, but her arms had no strength left in them. After days of hunger and thirst, she had dragged herself home on legs that barely obeyed her, clinging to one fragile hope: that Daniel would open the door and pull her inside to safety.Instead, she had been handed over to a stranger.Her eyes rolled toward Daniel. He stood only a few steps away, close enough to see her struggling, close enough to hear the ragged gasps tearing out of her throat. He did nothing. He simply watched, his face empty of anything resembling love or guilt.Beside him, Vanessa watched the scene unfold with open curiosity. Then she laughed.It was a soft, almost bored little laugh, the kind someone might give at a mildly amusing joke, and it cut into Charity more savagely than the fingers crushing her windpipe.All of this, every second of it, had started over a packet of snacks. There