Chapter 5: You will not break.

Avery’s POV

My feet moved one numb step after another, while I held the towel around my body. Behind me came the rustle of sheets and Sadie’s whisper.

I kept walking till I heard the door click shut behind me. I made it halfway down the corridor before the ache between my thighs reminded me exactly why I was moving so carefully.

The guest bathroom was at the end of the wing. I pushed inside, locked the door, and leaned against it.

That was when I broke.

A sob escaped before I could stop it. I slapped my hand over my mouth, but another one followed. My legs folded beneath me, and I ended up on the tile floor with the towel slipping around my waist.

I hated that I was crying. 

James had never hidden where his heart belonged. Sadie had always occupied that place, and I had known exactly what I walked into when I became his wife.

My life had become a joke. 

Imagine being hated by your so-called husband, your dad treating you like shit, and to top it all, your husband is in love with your stepsister. This was not the life I dreamed of. 

I just…..I just wish my mom was here to tell me everything will be ok.

I dragged myself into the shower and turned the water on. I replayed last night in my head. His hands around my thighs, the sound of the gown I wore when he tore it. The way he took my virginity.

I scrubbed myself till my skin started to turn red, hoping I could wash it all away. His hand... the way he squeezed my ass. 

But scrubbing myself that hard wouldn't solve anything, so I stopped.

I wiped my face with the heel of my palm and gave the girl in the mirror a tired little shake of my head.

“Pull yourself together,” I whispered.

My voice sounded wrecked.

I breathed in, reached for the door, and forced my fingers around the handle.

“You will not break.”

The next morning began with a pounding headache and my eyes so swollen I could barely see a thing. I had cried until there was nothing left in me; I still couldn't forget about what I saw yesterday.

It's practically impossible to forget. 

I planned not to speak to James, and I certainly wasn't going to pretend I didn't catch him in bed with my stepsister.

The door flew open without a knock.

James walked in carrying a stack of papers. He walked to my bed and flung the papers towards me. 

“Sign it.”

I didn't even know what exactly was in those papers. He just badged in and told me to sign them. I needed to find out what was in those papers first, so I opened them. 

Divorce papers? He wants a divorce.

“I'm tired of this shit called marriage, Avery. I can't do this anymore.” His voice held no hesitation I might have expected. “Sadie is the woman I want. She's the one my heart yearns for, and she's the only woman I want in my life.”

Honestly, I was relieved to hear that. 

After everything he's put me through. The rape. Having sex with my stepsister in our matrimonial bed. Divorce was the best option. 

If he was willing to give me an escape route, I wasn't going to be foolish enough to refuse it.

I picked up a pen on the bedside table.

James looked surprised that I didn't argue; he probably thought I was going to rethink it. I pulled the divorce papers closed and placed the pen against the first signature line.

Then we heard a loud bang downstairs.

Someone opened the front door, and we heard a man's voice come through the house.

“James!”

James reacted so fast when he heard his name; he went to check who was calling him, then rushed back into the room.

“Pa Thomas.”

Pa Thomas? What was he doing here? 

James snatched the divorce papers before I could sign, shoving them beneath a pile of clothes on the chair.

“What are you doing?” I asked him.

“Don't say a fucking word about this, ok? Not a word!” 

He was already moving towards the door when Pa Thomas's voice came again from downstairs.

“Where's my grandson and his wife?”

James opened the door and waited for me to walk out. 

When we got downstairs, his hand was at his waist, and his attitude changed. He became more caring.

“Smile,” he said.

After spending the night crying because of him, I was now supposed to smile like a happy wife.

Ironic.

Pa Thomas was waiting at the bottom of the stairs, and one look told us he wasn't fooled by our pretense. His hand moved from James's hand around my waist to my swollen eye, and he looked suspicious.

“Well,” he said slowly. “You two definitely look like you've had an interesting morning.”

Pa Thomas rubbed his hands together, looking far too pleased with himself.

“Since you two are newly married, I’ve decided you need some time away from everyone else. Somewhere you can actually enjoy each other’s company and start building a proper marriage.”

James’s head lifted. “Grandpa, I—”

“Shhhhh.”

James stared at him, clearly struggling to decide whether arguing was worth the trouble.

“It’s already arranged,” Pa Thomas continued. “A month in Germany. Everything has been taken care of.”

“Germany?” James finally managed.

“Yes. Germany.” Pa Thomas smiled.

James opened his mouth again.

Pa Thomas raised a hand. “And before you start, this is not a request.”

That shut James up.

I looked between them, trying to process what I had just heard. A month in Germany with James was the last thing I needed, especially when I had been seconds away from signing divorce papers.

“Wait,” I said. “Are we….. Are we leaving today?”

Pa Thomas’s smile widened.

“Yes, dear. This very moment.”

I nearly laughed because surely he couldn’t be serious.

“Right now?”

“Right now.” He gave a satisfied nod. “And by the time you come back, I’m hoping I’ll see a completely diff

erent marriage.”

James looked like he had just been sentenced to prison.

I wasn’t sure I felt any better.