You want a divorce?" Louis’s voice was cold, unreadable. "Yes," I typed on my iPad. "And this time, I won’t beg." For five years, I was nothing more than a ghost in my own marriage. A substitute bride, a deaf and mute wife who meant nothing to him. Louis never looked at me, never touched me. He paraded his mistresses in front of me, making sure I knew my place, nowhere. But I had secrets of my own. I wasn’t deaf. And I wasn’t weak. When I was kidnapped, I expected Louis to come for me. He didn’t. His indifference shattered me, but it also set me free. I made a deal with the devil, a dangerous man who helped me blackmail my own husband. If Louis wouldn’t let me go, I would destroy him. But things spiraled out of control. Now, I’m trapped. Not just between two dangerous men but between my heart and my freedom. Because despite everything… I think I still love him.
View MoreEvelyn's POV
"I want a divorce!"
I typed the words quickly on my iPad, holding it up for him to see. As someone who could hear but couldn't speak, my iPad had become my voice—my lifeline.
Louis barely glanced at the screen before scoffing, his eyes filled with indifference.
"You're not serious," he said, his tone dripping with arrogance.
"I'm damn serious!" I typed again, my hands trembling as I clenched the device. My heart pounded in my chest, anger bubbling inside me.
My grip tightened around the crumpled pieces of paper in my other hand—the divorce papers. Five years. Five years of a marriage that never should have happened. I was never supposed to be his wife. I was just a substitute, a stand-in for my sister, who had been betrothed to him since birth.
I still remembered my mother’s harsh voice ringing in my ears.
"You have to marry him, Evelyn. Now that your sister is gone, you must take her place!"
My father, who had never seen me as anything more than an illegitimate burden, decided to erase my past and mold me into my sister’s image. No one had ever seen her before, so they hid her death and forced me into her name—Evelyn. But my real name was Nana.
The secret funeral had barely ended when I first met Louis. And despite the circumstances, I fell for him instantly. Love at first sight.
But he was different.
"Why didn’t you tell me your daughter couldn’t speak?!" he had roared when he found out about my disability.
My mother had pleaded with him. "She can hear! She’ll be a good wife, please, just marry her!"
Reluctantly, he agreed.
That night, after we signed the marriage papers, I had tried to reach out to him. I had walked toward him, my fingers trembling as I attempted to remove his jacket. But before I could, his strong grip caught my wrist.
"Don’t ever touch me!" he spat, his cold blue eyes filled with disgust. "You're like glass—fragile, useless. Listen carefully. I don’t want you near me. And don’t ever fall in love with me, because it will only end badly for you. You’re not my type."
And just like that, he walked away, leaving me alone on our wedding night.
Now, standing in front of him, I shoved the iPad toward his face again, my message clear.
"Take these papers and sign them now!"
Instead of complying, he stepped closer. Instinctively, I took a step back. My breath hitched. He was so close, and even after everything, my heart still raced. How could I still love him after all he had done?
I wanted to scream at him, to throw every ounce of pain back in his face, but I couldn’t. He didn’t even understand sign language, the one way I could communicate freely.
Just last night, I had seen him with another woman. Their moans had echoed through our house, piercing my heart like a thousand knives. He hadn’t even tried to hide it.
And now, he had the audacity to say—
"I won’t divorce you."
His voice was firm, his fingers brushing against my hair. I slapped his hand away, my blood boiling.
"Don’t you dare touch me, you flirt!" I typed furiously, shoving the screen at him.
He let out a low chuckle, biting his lip. "I admit I’m a flirt," he said, his voice laced with amusement. "But I will never let you divorce me. Never."
I typed aggressively, my fingers jabbing at the screen.
"Why?! Why can’t you just let me go? Let me live my life!"
For the first time, he hesitated. His silence made my stomach twist. For a split second, I wondered—could he have developed feelings for me over the years?
But then he spoke, shattering that thought instantly.
"I have an upcoming election at the office. A divorce would be bad for my image," he said coldly.
Of course. It was never about me.
My hands shook with fury as I typed my response. "I don’t care! Sign the damn papers and let me go!"
I shoved the divorce papers into his hands along with a pen. My heart pounded as I watched him stare at them. But then, in one swift motion, he tore them into shreds.
I gasped, my eyes widening in shock.
"How dare you?!" I signed furiously, my hands moving aggressively in front of his face. "You evil, selfish man! You think just because you’re handsome, I won’t leave you? If you don’t divorce me, I swear I’ll chop off the balls you use to cheat on me!"
Louis frowned, staring at my hands in confusion. "Whatever you just said, I didn’t understand. Type it out." His smirk returned. "I bet you just cursed me, didn’t you?"
I gritted my teeth, rage consuming me.
Before I could type anything, his phone rang. He answered it with a smirk.
"Hello, babe," he said smoothly. His eyes flickered to mine, enjoying my reaction. "Yeah, I enjoyed every second of last night. Can’t wait to do it again tonight."
I didn’t think. My body moved before I could stop it.
SMACK!
My palm collided with his cheek so hard that my own hand stung.
For a moment, there was only silence. Even I was shocked by what I had done. His head slowly turned back to me, his jaw clenching. His eyes darkened with fury.
"You hit me?" he said, his voice dangerously low.
My breath caught in my throat. Before he could react, I spun around and ran. I didn’t know where I was going—I just needed to get away. My whole body trembled as I walked aimlessly through the streets.
My phone buzzed in my pocket, but I ignored it. Then, messages started flooding in.
Mom: "Your husband called! He said you ran away! What is wrong with you? Go back home now!"
I stopped walking, my knees giving out as I collapsed onto the cold pavement. My fingers trembled as I turned off my phone, shutting out the world.
Tears blurred my vision.
Why was my life like this? Why did I always have to suffer?
I buried my face in my hands, letting out a silent sob.
Then, suddenly, a shadow loomed over me.
Before I could react, a hand clamped over my mouth.
They immediately pulled me to the van, throwing me in like I was some kind of dirt.Louis’s POVShe didn’t say a word.Just stared at me, her eyes frozen wide. I couldn’t read her face. Couldn’t tell if it was shock or heartbreak or something in between. My heart pounded so loudly in my chest I was sure she could hear it.I waited.Waited for her expression to crack. For her to speak. For anything.But she just blinked, slow and heavy, as if the weight of everything had finally caught up to her.“I signed the papers,” I said again, softer this time, like maybe she hadn’t heard me right the first time. “Like you wanted.”My throat tightened, and I had to clench my jaw to stop the words from trembling. I didn’t want to sound broken. But I was.She still didn’t speak. Her fingers fidgeted on the sheets, twisting the fabric like it was the only thing grounding her. Her lips parted slightly, then pressed back together. Her eyes, red-rimmed and tired, locked onto mine, searching for something.What, I didn’t know.Forgiveness? Closure? Or maybe one last reason to stay.I
Evelyn’s POV“No, no, no… this can’t be real… Mom…” I wept.My body collapsed beneath the weight of the truth. The cold, sterile floor caught me as I broke, knees slamming down, arms wrapped around myself like I was trying to hold all my pieces together. My cries echoed off the morgue walls, raw, desperate, and endless.Then I felt it.Arms, strong and familiar, wrapped around me. Louis.He dropped to the floor without hesitation, gathering me into him like I was a fragile bird with broken wings. His chest rose and fell unevenly, his voice trembling as he whispered, “I’m here. Evelyn, I’m right here. I’ve got you.”I clutched at his shirt, burying my face into the fabric, sobbing so violently I could hardly breathe. “She’s gone… Louis, she’s really gone.”“I know, I know,” he murmured, pressing his cheek to the top of my head. “I’m so sorry.”We stayed like that, just us, huddled on a cold linoleum floor while the world around us froze in time. The officer in the room respectfully tur
Evelyn's POVI got up abruptly, my chair scraping against the tiled floor with a sharp screech. The sound pierced the air like my own awkwardness. I couldn’t stand being so close to him anymore, not with my heart pounding like this, not with the weight of his gaze still on me.I needed space.I needed to breathe.So, without saying a word, I turned away and walked toward the kitchen, anywhere that would place a wall between me and Louis. My steps were quick but uneven. My palms felt clammy. My skin too warm. I tried to focus on anything else, the counter, the shine of the faucet, the sunlight on the floor, but all I could feel was his eyes following me.Then I heard his footsteps. Steady. Approaching.“Evelyn…” his voice came gently from behind me.Before I could turn fully, I felt it, his hand, firm but careful, resting on my shoulder. It grounded me and rattled me all at once.I froze.Completely.My spine stiffened. My breath hitched. I stared blankly at the sink in front of me, af
Evelyn’s POV I didn’t know why I was feeling this way for him.This way I didn’t want to feel.Not for Louis.Not for the man who made me question everything. Not for the man who cheated on me constantly. There's no way I still saw and liked him. I must be crazy to be feeling this way.My hands trembled as I sat there in his bed, his oversized shirt draped over my body like a soft, heavy reminder. It was way too big, falling halfway down my thighs, swallowing my frame completely. The cotton clung lightly to my skin, warm and freshly laundered, like him.And God help me… I kind of liked how it felt.I stared down at the fabric, pulling the collar gently up to my nose.His scent was still there.Clean. Masculine. Faintly spicy, like cedarwood and something else I couldn’t name. The kind of smell that made your stomach flutter even though your mind screamed at you to stop.I sat frozen on the bed, the silence around me buzzing with thoughts I couldn’t contain.This wasn’t my room.I was
Evelyn's POVI shoved him hard.“What the hell are you doing?” My voice cracked with fury, the words flying out before I could stop them. “What the heck do you think you’re doing?”Louis looked stunned for half a second. His lips were parted, his chest heaving from the kiss, or maybe from the shock of my reaction. He tried to rise, one hand braced behind him like he was going to stand, but instead, he grabbed my wrist again and pulled me back.And before I could stop it, my lips were on his again.Not softly. Not romantically.Just chaos.My eyes flung open, and I froze in horror. His lips were on mine, again, just because I’d lost my balance and fallen back onto him. Again.My heart slammed against my ribs like it was trying to claw its way out. I scrambled, trying to get off him, humiliation and heat crawling up my neck. “Get off—get away—” I pushed his chest, but he didn’t budge.Instead, he laughed.Laughed.His whole face lit up, like something beautiful had just happened. Like t
Evelyn's POVI had told him I wanted a divorce. The words were sharp, deliberate, final. I watched them cut through the air and land between us like a shattered glass bottle, dangerous, irreversible.But the next thing he said?“I’ll go with you to the station.”And just like that, the air tightened again. My breath caught in my chest. I stared at him, stunned.Who the hell says that?Why didn’t he say, “I understand”? Why didn’t he say, “I’ll give you space,” or even just nod and walk away? Why couldn’t he accept it—that I didn’t want him anymore? That I needed out?Why does this man keep inserting himself into chapters I no longer want him to be part of?I don't want him. I don’t want us. Not the memories, not the guilt, not the weight of his presence that feels more like a chain than a connection.Why can’t he just see it?Why can’t he let me go?He stood there, like a shadow I couldn’t escape, eyes wide, brows furrowed. There was disbelief in his expression, like I had just spoken
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