Chapter 6: I Want a Divorce.

(Aliana's POV)

"My leg..." I whispered in pain, but Delvin didn’t even slow down as he dragged me into the house.

Some of the workers stared awkwardly, unsure what was happening, but none dared to intervene.

"You animal!!" A sharp voice thundered across the building the moment Delvin pulled me into the living room.

My heart pounded hard in my chest as I realized exactly who it was. Mrs. Christine Barrington, Delvin's mother, my mother-in-law.

"How dare you?!" she shouted again, rushing forward.

Her face twisted in disgust, her eyes burning with uncontrollable anger as she strode sharply toward me.

My legs trembled with fear. I hadn’t expected her tonight. Had she already heard what happened at the graduation party and rushed over?

I gripped the edge of my dress tightly, trying to stay calm. She had always terrified me. Since the day of our wedding, she had shown no warmth. And it was all because I wasn’t the type of woman she wanted her son to marry.

She had always been cold to me, but tonight she looked furious... even angrier than Delvin. Seeing her storm toward me, my heart skipped a beat, wondering what she would do.

"How dare you try to humiliate my son! How dare you try to ruin his reputation!!" she fumed, raising her hand as if to strike me.

My breath caught in my throat, my whole body trembled. But Delvin caught her hand before it could hit me.

I swallowed hard and looked up at him, surprised. Christine’s eyes widened, shocked that Delvin had blocked her.

I couldn’t believe it either. First, he saved me from drowning earlier, and now he stopped his own mother from hitting me. Why?

"What are you doing, Delvin? Let go of my hand!" Christine protested.

"You can’t hit her," he said, his voice tight.

"Why not? She’s such an ungrateful bastard!" Christine snapped, her voice rising. "After all you’ve done for her, this is how she repays you?"

Delvin sighed and slowly let go of her hand. Christine didn’t try to hit me again, but her body still shook with anger as she continued to curse me.

“From the very beginning, I knew you were a mistake,” Christine said, her voice hard. “A mistake that could have been avoided if Delvin hadn’t acted on impulse.”

I wasn’t surprised to hear it. She had said it to me so many times, I could almost recite it by heart.

“If you badly wanted to end your life, you could have done it quietly. Maybe run yourself over a cliff,” Christine said, her voice cold. “You didn’t need to drag my son’s name into it.”

Delvin shut his eyes, his jaw clenched as if her words hit a nerve. Slowly, he opened them and stared at me.

I swallowed hard, feeling the urge to defend myself again, even though part of me knew it would probably be useless.

“Believe me, Delvin. I didn’t try to commit suicide,” I said, my voice tired. “Belicia lied about everything…”

“Leave,” he muttered under his breath, cutting me off.

My heart twisted painfully. Of course he didn’t believe me. He never did.

“You heard that! Get out of here, you moron!!” Christine yelled.

I flinched at her loud, angry voice and was ready to leave, but Delvin’s deep voice stopped me. “Not you!”

Then he calmly turned to his mother. “You.”

“What? You’re asking me to leave?” Christine asked, her voice full of disbelief.

Delvin didn’t answer. He simply stared at her with his usual cold, sharp eyes.

Christine swallowed hard, her face twisting with anger. She shot me one last furious glance before storming out of the living room.

I let out a soft sigh and turned to Delvin. “Thank you for believing…” I started, but he cut me off before I could finish.

“Do you really think I care about that?” His voice was cold, sharp.

I blinked at him, confused, trying to understand what he meant.

“Nobody cares whether you live or die, Aliana,” he said, his irritation clear in every word.

I froze. For a moment, I thought I had misheard him.

Nobody cares? Not even him?

I had prepared myself for anger, for insults. But hearing him say he wouldn’t care if I died hurt more than I ever imagined.

“But you will not bring shame to me,” he said, his voice sharp as steel. “You will not make a cuckold of me by running around with other men.”

“What?” I whispered, stunned.

“Do you have any idea what it would do to my reputation if this got out?” he snapped.

A sharp pain shot through me, deeper than any slap. My fingers curled at my sides.

So this was it. This was what it was all about. The shame of being called a cuckold. For a moment, I had thought it was jealousy.

God, how foolish I had been to think for a second that he had even an atom of care for me. Four years, and he had never loved me. Why would he start now?

This was just about his reputation. But where was this concern for his reputation when he was wrapped up with Belicia?

Delvin looked at me with disgust. “I shouldn’t have doubted it when Belicia said it,” he spat. “That you are a cheap whore!”

His words crushed me. It felt like I was suffocating. And worse, he would always believe her over anything I said. Explaining myself felt pointless.

I swallowed my sobs and straightened my posture.

“If I am a whore, then what is she?” I said, my voice firm. “What do we call a woman who comfortably plays mistress to you?”

“Don’t you dare disrespect her like that!” he fumed, eyes blazing. “Don’t you ever call her that again!”

A bitter laugh escaped my lips as I watched him, but inside, my heart was breaking. He was fine calling me a whore, but seriously warning me about what half the city already knew?

“Why can’t I call her what everyone already knows?” I muttered. “Isn’t she your mistress?”

That hypocrisy… pretending to hate it whenever I called Belicia his mistress. He hated the title but not the relationship.

“Watch your mouth, Aliana,” he said, his jaw tightening again.

“Or what?” I pushed, even though fear held me tightly inside.

His eyes darkened. He stepped closer, towering over me.

“You may not just sprain that leg next time,” he said in a low, sharp voice. “You could break it completely... and I wouldn’t hesitate to do it myself.”

I froze, tears burning in my eyes. So he knew. He knew my ankle was sprained. He knew I was in pain, barely able to walk. Yet he had left me at the party and even dragged me into the house, ignoring it all.

“The next time you disrespect Belicia again, you will regret it for the rest of your life,” he threatened before turning to leave.

My heart broke into pieces. If there was anything to regret, Delvin… it was marrying you. It was falling in love with you and hoping that one day you might love me back.

But I was done hoping. I had endured years of emotional pain just to get that medical certificate, and now I had it. There was no reason to stay anymore.

No reason to keep forcing this marriage. No reason to stand between you and the woman you truly love. It was time to let you go.

“Delvin…” I said quietly, my voice breaking with pain.

He paused and sharply turned to me.

“I want a divorce,” I added as tears slid down my cheeks.