Chapter 3

Blake's POV

"What did you just say, Wynnie? You know perfectly well that she's..." I choked up, my voice catching in my throat.

Wynnie grew impatient. "Enough. You're a grown man. Why are you being so dramatic? It happened ages ago."

Suddenly, Logan's voice came through the phone. "Wynnie, I need to use the bathroom. Come help me."

The sound of the call disconnecting made me feel like my connection to the world had been severed once again. It sent me tumbling into an endless abyss.

So, it turned out that she wasn't just taking care of Sam. She was also taking care of Logan and his sprained ankle.

Without hesitation, she had chosen to save Logan and care for him. Yet, she had thrown me to a rapist. To make it worse, she had that vile culprit save me and take care of me.

For five years, that ordeal had been a thorn in my side, a knife lodged in my heart. And Wynnie had cruelly driven that knife even deeper.

I screamed from the pain. And she said I was being dramatic!

Wearing a smug expression, Margaret poured a glass of water and handed it to me. I slapped it away. The water soaked her sleeve, but she didn't get angry.

She said, "Don't be so hostile toward me. After all, the highest form of intimacy two people can share is making love. Think about it. How many days of such intimacy have we shared?"

I bit the inside of my mouth until it bled and gripped the bedsheet tightly.

Margaret's disgusting gaze landed on the corner of my mouth. "You still like biting your lips, huh?"

As she spoke, she reached out a hand.

Startled, I smashed the vase beside the bed. Then, I grabbed a shard and slashed her arm.

"Get out!" I shouted.

The jagged edge sliced open my palm, and blood poured from the wound. Even so, I felt no pain at all.

Alarmed by my reaction, Margaret left the hospital room.

On the day I was discharged, Wynnie finally appeared. She carried a bouquet of my favorite flowers. She took me to the restaurant where we often ate during our dates and ordered the chicken gumbo I had been craving lately.

Throughout the drive home, she talked nonstop about Sam. The smile never left her face. To her, even Sam peeing on her face was something that brought happiness to her.

On the contrary, I felt nothing.

When we passed the courthouse, I spoke my first words of the day. "Let's get divorced."

Wynnie slammed on the brakes. "What did you say?"

She looked like she couldn't believe what she was hearing. Back then, even after she cheated on me, I hadn't even dared to mention the word. But now, I had brought it up myself.

Just then, a message popped up on her phone.

It was from Margaret.

She wrote, "Are you busy today? Blake is being discharged. Do you need me to pick him up?"

In an instant, Wynnie's eyes seemed to ignite with fury as she demanded, "Do you want a divorce because of her? It's only been a few days, and the two of you are already fooling around!

"What? Now that you know you have a child together, you're so eager to climb into her bed and relive the feeling of her forcing herself on you? You womanizer!"

Those humiliating words were like tight slaps across my face. I trembled with rage. Never had I imagined that was what she thought of me.

"I didn't—"

Suddenly, Wynnie unfastened her seatbelt and lunged on top of me. "You shameless man! So you like other people forcing themselves on you, is that it?"

She yanked open the buttons of my shirt and bit down on my neck.

"Wynnie, let go of me!" I screamed.

Using every ounce of strength I had, I slapped her hard across the face and glared at her. "Get out! Go find your lover!"

Wynnie's eyes turned bloodshot. She threw me out of the car, leaving me disheveled and half-dressed, subjected to the pointing fingers and judgmental stares of strangers.

Then, she drove away without looking back. I wrapped my arms helplessly around myself and endured the curious looks from passersby as I slowly walked home.

The villa that had been destroyed in the fire had centralized temperature control. Wynnie had specifically bought it for her postpartum recovery. Back then, I had taken care of both her and Sam. Even though we had a nanny, I had insisted on doing everything myself.

It had been exhausting, but I had felt happy and fulfilled.

Now, the villa was gone. Along with it, that peaceful and beautiful chapter of my life had vanished with the flames.