09|You are my wife.

Celeste pov.

I had married the devil.

I had always known this.

The man who smiled for the public and spoke passionately about changing the country for the greater good was the same man who embezzled public funds and mocked how stupid and gullible the citizens were.

The man who visited orphanages to donate and spend time with less privileged children was the same man who came home afterward and scrub his hands in disgust, like their touch was filth he needed to wash off.

The people’s politician.

That’s what they called him.

The man who should win the presidential election. The man who would supposedly change the nation. The kind, selfless man who put others’ wellbeing before his own.

That was the same man now staring at me, a sickening glint in his eyes as my body trembled with fear and disbelief.

Jace had told Ethan everything I’d confided in him. He’d called Ethan a cruel man. Said he would publish the truth, told me not to worry, that everything would be fine, only for him to go behind my back and betray me.

“How foolish,” Ethan clicked his tongue as he reached out, gripping my chin tightly and tilting my head up. He slowly closed the distance between us— so close I could feel his hot breath brushing against my lips.

“How foolish of you to think you had the upper hand.”

A gasp escaped me as his grip tightened.

“How foolish to think you could divorce me. But most of all…”

His eyes darkened. A startled cry tore from my lips as he yanked my hair with his other hand, tilting my head to the side. His cold gaze dropped to my neck as he hissed,

“How foolish of you to let another man do this to you… when you belong to me.”

As I stared at him, my heart felt like it was about to explode. Every ounce of strength and anger I had vanished in an instant, replaced by fear. I wanted nothing more than to run from the man in front of me.

That was why, instinctively, my trembling hands reached out to his chest, trying to push him away as I fought back the tears.

It—it didn’t matter anymore if I couldn’t get revenge on Ethan, or if I couldn’t ruin his name. All that echoed in the back of my mind was the desperate urge to get a quiet divorce and leave this madman once and for all.

But no matter how hard I shoved him, Ethan kept glaring at my neck, unhinged, as if he couldn’t feel a thing.

“Ethan…” I tried to speak, my voice coming out as a broken whisper, but he cut me off with a sneer.

“This isn’t the first time I’ve slept around, and you’ve always known that so why are you so upset now?” he asked, then let out a cold, mocking chuckle.

“Is it because it was your sister? Because it was Liora? Is that why you did what you did last night? Tell me, who did you spend the night with?”

I inhaled sharply as he released my chin and reached for my neck. A pained groan escaped me as he began rubbing the mark with his thumb roughly and angrily. When it didn’t come off, he frowned, then yanked my hair harder, sending a sharp sting through my skull as he growled,

“Tell me,” he hissed, “tell me who that bastard was, and I swear I’ll kill him!”

I shut my eyes, trying to stop the tears from falling because I knew this was exactly what he wanted. He wanted to see me break, to see fear in my eyes.

But I refused to give him that.

Instead, with trembling hands, I began hitting his chest. I forced my eyes open and glared at him with hatred, pushing my voice to come out strong.

“Let me go, you bastard!” I screamed, thrashing against his grip on my hair. “What does it matter to you who the man was? You cheated on me with my sister so what gives you the right to know who I spent the night with last night?”

His jaw clenched at my words, but I didn’t stop there. I didn’t care that I could feel strands of my hair being yanked from his grip, I was fed up. Fed up with all the emotional abuse.

So I used the fear I felt for him to snap.

“You know, Ethan…” I let out a bitter, mocking laugh, my eyes stinging with tears. “I might’ve been foolish for thinking I had the upper hand… but you—you're a monster, Ethan. A monster!”

I slammed my fist against his chest in anger, and for the briefest moment, I saw surprise flicker across his expression at my sudden outburst.

“What did you say?” he asked, his voice dripping with venom.

“You heard me, you bastard,” I shot back without hesitation. “I said you’re a monster. A lying, manipulative, conniving monster. You’re a hypocrite—you’re fake. You lie to get your way, you hide behind a mask in front of everyone to conceal your ugly, real self. You’re disgusting!”

I raised my hand to claw at his face, but he caught it and yanked my hair harder, forcing a whimper from my lips.

Still… I didn’t stop.

“You’re vile. You cheat on me and boast about it like it’s some kind of accomplishment. But the moment I do the same, you get angry? Get off your high horse, Ethan! You’re not God. You’re nothing but a cheating manwhore!”

Smack!

Before I even realized what was happening, the moment the words left my mouth, my head snapped to the side. For a brief second, it felt like my ear had gone numb, while a sharp ringing echoed through my eardrums. My vision blurred, and as I parted my lips, I felt the warm trickle of blood at the corner of my mouth.

I couldn’t hear what he was saying as he grabbed my face and forced me to meet his furious gaze. His mouth moved, opening and closing, but his words didn’t register, I’d gone into a daze, just staring at him.

This was the second time Ethan had hit me. The first was yesterday, when I’d caught him with Liora. He slapped me before I could hit her for what she’d done.

Like I said, Ethan was a smart man. Arrogant, yes but careful. He had always made sure to ignore my existence without ever touching me, just in case it backfired. But this time, I must’ve pushed too far, because the man in front of me didn’t seem like the cold, rational Ethan I once knew.

“You fucking slut! I said tell me the man you slept with—-”

“I want…” I parted my lips and mumbled under my breath, watching as Ethan stopped yelling, pausing for a moment to hear what I had to say.

“I want a divorce,” I murmured, a tear slipping down my cheek before I could stop it. “Divorce me… and marry Liora. Please, just let me go.”

At my words, rage flickered in his eyes, and he raised his hand again to strike me. But this time, he tightened his grip on my chin before my face could jerk to the side.

“Ha! You want a divorce?” he scoffed, as I swallowed back the metallic taste of blood threatening to spill from my lips. “You want a divorce so you can go back to that man and act like a fucking slut? Is that it? Is that why you want a divorce?”

I wasn’t sure when the tears started falling down my cheeks, but I could hear them in my voice as I echoed the words again, softer this time.

“I want a divorce. I want a divorce. I want a divorce…”

As I repeated those words over and over, Ethan finally snapped.

And the last thing I felt before everything faded was his palm crashing against my face, the sound echoing sharply through the air.

Outside, I could hear my mother’s voice, begging Ethan to stop. I could hear Liora sobbing her fake tears. I could hear my mother-in-law saying I deserved it. I could hear Madison laughing as Ethan kept hitting me.

At some point, I couldn’t feel anything anymore. My eyes wouldn’t open.

I only knew he had finally stopped when his grip loosened… and as my body slumped to the ground, I heard him speak in a nonchalant voice after a heavy sigh.

“It seems our marriage needs some fixing. Don’t ever speak of the word ‘divorce’ again. I’ve already made arrangements with a couple’s therapist.”

My breathing grew shallow as I forced my eyes open, just barely, to see him taking out a handkerchief and wiping the blood— my blood from his hands. He stared down at me with that same cold, emotionless gaze.

“Everything will be fine once we meet him. I heard he’s very talented, so I’m sure he’ll fix this. For now, you should rest… and reflect on your actions, okay?”

When I didn’t answer, he scoffed and threw the handkerchief at my face before turning to the door, murmuring in disgust,

“And clean that blood off your face, will you? You’re my wife. Ethan Maddox’s wife. You should be perfect… all the time.”

I couldn’t speak. Couldn’t move. My eyes slowly fluttered closed, and the last thing I heard was my mother’s horrified scream before the darkness took over.