Chapter 3

"Do you think I'm some cheap woman you can just take home without even touching me?"

My voice sounded strange to my own ears. Hoarse, demanding, and a little slurred from the red wine still swirling in my head. Inside this luxury car, the silence felt so thick, leaving only the scent of the expensive leather seats and the sandalwood fragrance from the man’s body beside me. Rex, the man I’d just met at the club, remained calm. His strong hands gripped the steering wheel firmly, not the least bit affected by the reckless provocation I’d just thrown at him.

He glanced at me briefly. His gaze held no lust, only a calmness that made me feel small. “I don’t take home women who’ve lost themselves, Emma.”

“I haven’t lost myself. I’ve just found myself,” I replied with a hollow laugh, resting my head against the cold windowpane. The snow outside looked like endless falling white dust.

The car slowed as we entered my neighborhood. Rex reached into his coat pocket, pulling out a small, rectangular object that glinted under the cabin light. He handed it to me. A business card with exquisitely delicate raised gold lettering.

“Keep this,” he said briefly. “Call me when your head has cooled down and you know what you truly need.”

I took it with trembling fingertips.

*Rexion Anthony*. His name was written there in bold, as if to show who the real power holder was. I smiled cynically, slipping the card between my fingers. “I’m definitely going to need you, Rex. Definitely. You have no idea how messed up my life is right now."

"I know more than you think," he murmured softly. The car stopped right in front of the gate to my quiet house. "Go on in. Your car’s still at the club; I’ll have someone bring it here tomorrow morning."

"You’re very kind to a stranger," I whispered before opening the door.

“I just don’t like seeing something valuable thrown away like that,” Rex replied without turning his head.

I got out of his car and walked unsteadily toward the front door. As soon as Rex’s car drove away, the silence of the night engulfed me once more. But the moment I stepped onto the porch, that silence shattered. Sounds were creeping out from behind the door’s crack. Sounds that made my stomach churn violently from the sudden wave of nausea.

I unlocked the front door with the spare key. The living room was dark, but a dim light shone from the direction of the master bedroom. My room. The room where I usually spent my nights praying that my marriage would be okay. The moaning sounds grew clearer; Laura’s utterly repulsive voice tore through the night’s tranquility.

My anger boiled over, burning away the last traces of the alcohol-induced dizziness. I walked with deliberately heavy steps, then kicked the bedroom door open wide, slamming it against the wall with a loud thud.

"You bastard!" I screamed.

The scene before me was far worse than any nightmare. On my bed, Laura was in Alex’s arms. What hurt the most was that Laura was wearing my white silk lingerie, a gift from Alex two years ago. They jumped in surprise, trying to cover themselves with the disheveled blanket.

“Emma! What are you doing?” Alex shouted, his face flushed with a mix of shame and anger.

“What am I doing? This is my house! This is my room!” I charged toward them. My hands moved faster than my mind. I grabbed Laura’s blonde hair and yanked it with all my strength until she screamed in pain.

“Let go! Alex, help me! Your wife has gone crazy!” Laura struggled, her long nails trying to scratch my arm.

“Get off my bed, you slut!” I snapped in her face. “You’re using my stuff, you’re sleeping with my husband in my own house!”

“Emma, enough!” Alex got off the bed; he grabbed my arm roughly until I was forced to let go of Laura’s hair. He stood in front of me wearing only shorts, breathing heavily. “You have no right to cause a scene here!”

“No right? You’re the one who brought this trash here, Alex!”

Laura hid behind Alex’s back, smoothing out her rumpled lingerie with trembling hands, yet her eyes glared at me triumphantly. “Alex, look at her. She’s so cruel. I’m scared. Kick her out right now if you truly love me. I don’t want to be here if she’s still here.”

Alex glared at me with eyes full of hatred. There was no trace of love or guilt left in them. “She’s right, Emma. Our relationship ended a long time ago; you’re just too stupid to realize it.”

“So this is your choice? This woman who has no shame at all?”

“Yes. And I want you to leave,” Alex said firmly. His voice was cold, as if he were firing a useless subordinate in his office. “Starting today, we’re divorced. I don’t care anymore. I’ll handle the paperwork tomorrow.”

I laughed, a laugh that sounded like a stifled sob. “Divorce? You think I’m going to beg you to stay? I wouldn’t want to breathe the same air as trash like the two of you either.”

“Good that you realize that. But since it’s the middle of the night and it’s snowing heavily, you can stay in the guest room until morning. “Tomorrow morning, I want you to be gone from here with all your belongings. Don’t leave a single strand of hair in this house.”

Alex pulled Laura back into his embrace, as if I were pollution spoiling their view. I turned around, walking out of the room with legs that felt like cotton. I went into the guest bathroom, locking the door tightly.

I turned on the shower. Cold water poured over my body, still wrapped in a sexy black dress. I sat on the bathroom floor, letting the water wash away the traces of Alex’s hands that had gripped my arm earlier. I didn’t cry. I just stared at the tiled wall with a blank expression, letting my body shiver from the cold while my heart had already frozen long before.

Morning arrived with a gloomy, gray sky. I dragged my small suitcase out into the living room. Alex and Laura were already sitting at the dining table, sipping coffee as if they were a happy couple who had just spent a wonderful night together.

“Leaving already?” Laura asked mockingly. She took a sip of her coffee, wearing Alex’s bathrobe.

I didn’t answer. I kept walking toward the front door. When I opened it, a jet-black luxury car was already parked in the driveway, blocking the exit. A man got out of it. Rex. He was wearing a different suit than the night before, looking so imposing in the pale morning sunlight. He held a key in his hand.

Alex and Laura stepped out onto the porch, following my lead. Alex furrowed his brow, his eyes narrowing at Rex, who looked both unfamiliar and threatening.

“Who are you? What are you doing here at someone’s house this early in the morning?” Alex asked, his tone displeased. He felt intimidated by the aura of the man standing before him.

Rex didn’t look at Alex. His sharp eyes were fixed straight on me. He noticed the suitcase in my hand, then looked at my pale face with dark circles under my eyes. He stepped closer, completely ignoring Alex and Laura’s presence.

“I’m here to deliver your wife’s car,” Rex said softly, his voice low yet enough to send a chill down anyone’s spine.

“My wife? How do you know Emma?” Alex’s voice rose; he stepped forward, trying to assert his authority.

Rex finally turned slightly toward Alex, giving him a look so cold that Alex froze in his tracks. “I don’t know your wife because of some trivial matter. I’m here to retrieve what you thoughtlessly discarded by the roadside last night.”

Laura stared at Rex with wide eyes; she seemed to recognize the man in front of her but didn’t dare speak. Meanwhile, Rex handed me the car keys, then took the suitcase from my hands.

“Come on, Emma. This place is too filthy for you,” Rex said.

I looked at Alex one last time, seeing his face suddenly turn ashen as he realized who the man standing beside me was. This morning might be gloomy, but for the first time in a long while, I felt like I could breathe again.

There comes a point where pain no longer brings tears, but rather the courage to walk away over the ruins of a heart that has been shattered.