Chapter 4

In the room, Aaron murmured my name under his breath, "Tess..."

Unlike all the times before, I did not patiently change his clothes or wipe him down. I simply stood beside the bed and stared at him for a long time.

In the end, I took off my wedding ring and tossed it into the trash along with his.

Nine whole years, and we had finally gone from young sweethearts to a couple who could barely stand the sight of each other.

I slept in the guest room that night.

The next morning, Aaron stormed in and yanked me out of bed.

He glared at me, disappointment plain in his eyes. "Tessa, you hit Viv last night, didn't you?"

The pain jolted me fully awake, and I wrenched my hand free from his grip. "What? Does it hurt you that much to hear she got hit?"

Aaron was so worked up that his eyes had gone red. He grabbed a set of clothes and hurled them at my head. "Her parents called the police. It's blown up into a whole thing at the school! You're coming with me right now to apologize to her!"

I rubbed my aching wrist and let out a cold laugh. "Oh, so she has parents? I thought she was an orphan, considering how she runs to you for everything."

"Tessa!" He jabbed a finger toward my face, fury and disbelief blazing in his eyes. "How can you say something like that? When did you become so unreasonable? You're coming with me to apologize today, no matter what!"

…

Aaron hauled me to the school like a prisoner being dragged into custody.

In the office, Vivian sat on the couch, sobbing.

Her parents sat beside her, their faces twisted with anger as they laid into the department head.

"Our daughter came to your school to study, and now she's been beaten like this for no reason. You owe us an explanation!"

The moment Vivian saw Aaron, she threw herself into his arms and pointed to the finger marks still visible on her face. "Professor Jefferson! Last night, I took you home, and your wife accused me of seducing you. Then she hit me like she'd lost her mind. My head hurts so much..."

The moment her mother spotted me, she shot to her feet and shouted, "So you're the trashy woman whose parents never taught her any manners! You laid hands on my daughter? You'll pay us at least twenty thousand dollars today, or this isn't over!"

I gave them a weary glance, then took out my phone and pulled up a photo I had saved from Vivian's social media.

She had posted it in the middle of the night and deleted it within seconds, but I had caught it in time.

The photo showed Aaron asleep beside her hospital bed while she leaned over to steal a kiss.

I zoomed in and shoved the screen in front of her parents. "Fine. Then let me ask you something too. How exactly did you raise your daughter? What kind of grad student behaves like this with her own professor?"

Vivian and her mother exchanged a glance.

Then her mother lunged at me and slapped me across the face. "You filthy woman! A gang of thugs used you and tossed you aside, and you still dare insult my daughter? Why didn't those men just finish you off back then?"

The room spun. I stumbled and fell to the floor.

The impact pulled at the wound in my lower abdomen, and the pain struck so hard that I could not make a sound. It took several moments for my vision to clear.

When it finally did, I found myself staring up at a circle of twisted, furious faces.

Worry flickered in Aaron's eyes when he looked at me, yet he still stood in front of Vivian and her mother, shielding them from me.

I scrambled to my feet and lunged at the woman, ready to return the slap.

An arm locked around my waist before I could reach her.

Aaron held me tightly. "Tess, calm down. You were the one who hit her first."

My eyes burned, and pain and fury tore through my chest. "Aaron, let go of me!"

Why did everyone get to use my scars to humiliate me? Why?

"Aaron, she hit me! Didn't you see that? Why did you tell them about what happened to me? Didn't you hear what she just said?"

My desperate sobs echoed through the hallway. Students coming out of class stopped to watch the commotion.

Clearly embarrassed, Aaron hauled me out into the corridor. "Go home first. I'm taking Viv to the hospital for a full checkup."

He shielded Vivian as he led her through the crowd.

Her mother turned back and suddenly grabbed me, yanking me backward.

I tumbled down the stairs and slammed hard into the ground. Pain shot through my body, so sharp that it felt as if my bones were breaking.

Aaron frowned at me for a moment, then quickly looked away.

He was ashamed of me.

A female student who could no longer stand by and watch helped me to my feet.

I thanked her, then made my way to Aaron's office.

A notification popped up on my phone, reminding me that my flight would begin boarding in 6 hours.

I took out the divorce agreement and placed it on his desk. Then I snapped a photo and sent it to him.

[I've signed my part. Aaron, let's get divorced.]