Chapter 7

"What did you change the door code to?" Jason demanded, tugging impatiently at his tie.

He had already tried their wedding anniversary, the date of their first romantic outing, and both of their birthdays, but none of them worked.

Worse, Alisha had even deleted his fingerprint from the smart lock.

"The whole point of changing the passcode is to keep stray dogs out," Alisha said, not even sparing him a glance. "If I told you the new one, wouldn't that defeat the purpose?"

She stepped past him and raised her thumb toward the keypad. In that split-second, Jason's hand shot out, seizing her wrist.

"Do you have any idea why we ended up like this?" He shoved her hard against the door, his voice dripping with venom. "Because you never take a hard look at yourself. All you know how to do is trample all over everyone else's pride!"

The cold metal of the door pressed through her clothes, sending a bone chilling chill up her spine.

"Oh, so you actually know what 'pride' means?" Alisha let out a mocking laugh. "Where was all this concern for pride when you were jumping into bed with other women?"

Jason ignored the jab and leaned closer, only to catch a faint trace of another man's cologne clinging to her clothes. His eyes narrowed, and his voice dropped into a dangerous register.

"Who were you with?"

"The Grim Reaper. I was asking him when he plans on dragging your miserable soul down to hell."

Jason glared at her, but Alisha remained completely unfazed.

"I'm giving you one final warning about the divorce agreement," she said coldly. "If you keep dragging your feet, don't blame me when I hire a lawyer and take you to court."

Jason paused before breaking into a sinister laugh. "It's been a long time since we last slept together, hasn't it?"

"Don't disgust me!" Alisha snapped, her eyes flashing with visceral revulsion.

But Jason acted as though he hadn't heard her. His hand slid down to her waist, and he forcibly pulled her against him.

Alisha raised her designer clutch, ready to smash it into his temple, when the elevator chimed behind them. The doors slid open, and under the warm glow of the hallway lights, Rory stepped into the corridor.

"Rory?" Jason froze, releasing Alisha as he stared at his friend in bewilderment. "What are you doing here?"

"Ran into her at the hospital, and I happened to be in the neighborhood." Rory spoke smoothly as he held out a gift bag to Alisha. "You left your things in my car."

Alisha glanced at the bag, pressing her lips into a thin line.

"Thanks."

Knowing Rory regularly visited his mother at the hospital, Jason didn't suspect anything and didn't question it.

Rory's gaze moved between the two of them. "Am I interrupting something?"

"No, you're fine," Jason replied casually.

No matter how ugly his arguments with Alisha became, Jason refused to make a scene in front of outsiders.

Taking a deep breath to regain his composure, he shot Alisha a dark, lingering look that promised this wasn't over.

Alisha didn't even blink. She took the bag from Rory, turned, walked into her apartment, and shut the door firmly behind her.

Down on the street outside the apartment building, the overhead lamps cast long shadows of the two men across the pavement.

"She brought up divorce," Jason said, chain smoking one cigarette after another.

Rory gave his friend a cool glance. "If she's only bringing it up now, I'd say her patience has been remarkable."

Jason gritted his teeth. "It's bad enough my wife is driving me up the wall. As my friend, do you mind not rubbing salt in the wound?"

"I'm merely stating facts."

"That's because you've never been married. Once you are, you'll understand."

Jason crushed his cigarette under his shoe, immediately lit another, and looked up at Alisha's apartment window. The soft orange glow behind the glass stirred a strange, inexplicable restlessness in his chest.

Unwilling to dwell on it, he turned back to Rory.

"Speaking of which, I've never seen a woman around you in all these years. Are you planning to stay single forever?"

"I have plans. The timing just isn't right yet."

"Now I'm curious. What kind of miracle worker could tame someone like you?"

Jason chuckled, but Rory gave no reply, his gaze drifting toward the high-rise window glowing warmly against the night.

In truth, Alisha hadn't left anything in Rory's car. Handing her that gift bag had simply been his discreet way of stepping in when he saw she needed help.

Although she hadn't opened it, Alisha had immediately recognized the luxury jewelry brand printed on the box. She owned a diamond necklace from the same house, so she knew exactly how expensive its pieces were.

Everything from the brand was limited edition and priced astronomically high. Judging by the delicate, romantic wrapping, it was clearly intended for a woman.

...

The next morning, Alisha went to Rory's corporate headquarters.

The receptionist informed her that she needed an appointment to meet with Rory, so Alisha simply left the luxury gift bag at the front desk and asked the staff to pass it along to him.

Back in her car, she pulled out her phone to transfer the seven-figure amount for the accident repairs.

However, the transaction failed because her bank card had been frozen.

Alisha's heart sank. She checked her other accounts and discovered that every single one of her cards had been blocked.

Without a second thought, she slammed her foot on the accelerator and sped straight toward the Bellemont Estate.

When she pulled into the driveway, the sprawling mansion was brightly lit. The moment she stepped through the front doors, her eyes landed on a pair of women's high heels beside the entrance.

They were the exact shoes Katie had been wearing at the hospital.

Alisha's suspicion was immediately confirmed. What she hadn't expected was to see Katie coming down the grand staircase wearing her clothes.

"Mrs. Wiley..." Katie called softly, her cheeks flushing with delicate embarrassment.

Alisha looked her over without the slightest flicker of emotion.

The dress Katie was wearing was one Alisha had owned back in college, a vibrant, youthful style that had once suited her perfectly.

Paired with Katie's soft, youthful features and barely twenty something appearance, it made her look strikingly like a younger version of Alisha.

"I didn't wear your clothes on purpose," Katie whispered timidly. "Mr. Wiley insisted."

"If he told you to eat garbage, would you do that too?" Alisha taunted.

Katie lowered her head, speechless.

When she looked up again, her gaze drifted past Alisha's shoulder. Alisha didn't need to turn around to know who was standing there.

Katie's little performance was painfully obvious. Play the helpless victim, win Jason's sympathy, and paint Alisha as the bitter, cruel wife. Honestly, she didn't need to work that hard.

In Jason's eyes, Alisha was already beyond redemption.

"Go upstairs for now," Jason said.

Katie bit her lower lip and hesitated, but she didn't dare disobey him. With a meek nod, she turned and headed back up the stairs.

Once she was gone, Jason lit a cigarette and leaned lazily against the sofa.

"I thought you moved out. What brought you back?"

Alisha wrinkled her nose at the stench of tobacco smoke. Noticing her slight recoil, Jason paused mid-drag, stubbed the cigarette out in the ashtray, and tossed it aside.

"What's the meaning of freezing all my bank cards?" Alisha demanded.

"What do you think it means?" Jason smirked, arrogance radiating from every word. "It means I'm not giving you a divorce."

"You bring another woman home to wear my clothes, then tell me in the same breath that you don't want a divorce?" Alisha scoffed. "If your brain is that underdeveloped, go see a doctor. Don't play these childish games with me."

Jason sneered, a dark chill settling deep in his eyes. "Between the two of us, who was the one throwing a hysterical fit over nothing in the first place?"

"If you think this is my fault, then sign the divorce agreement and put an end to this farce," Alisha replied with icy composure. "Wouldn't that be better for everyone?"

"Better for whom?" Jason stepped closer, his gaze hardening. "Didn't you swear you'd make my life a living hell? If I just let you walk away that easily, wouldn't I be wasting all that bitter devotion you've poured into me?"