Chapter 2

"Enough with the tantrums now. I made you some specialty soup from Raiden's hometown," Adella snapped.

"Honestly, it's embarrassing to see a grown man act so petty? Now drink up! This is the last time I'm giving you a way out, so don't push your luck!"

Moments later, a bowl of split pea soup was slid through the gap in the door. My skin crawled the second I saw the peas and legumes.

I'd been severely allergic to peas since I was a kid. Just touching them could cause a massive breakout of hives and red rashes on my arms, followed by smaller bumps spreading throughout my body. If I accidentally ingest them, I'd surely end up in the hospital for days.

I frowned, pushed it out, and said, "I don't drink that. Take it away."

My words set her off. She yanked the door open and dumped all the soup over me.

As the warm liquid ran from my head down my body, she barked, "Don't push it, Orion. You don't want it just because it's from his grandma's place, right?"

Though the soup wasn't scaling, the stinging started the moment the peas touched my skin. The agonizing itch of an allergic reaction kicked in hard.

I could no longer restrain my fury.

"What the hell is wrong with you, Adella?"

As we fought, the areas covered in soup started stinging and itching. I started scratching my skin nonstop, but it didn't help at all.

Meanwhile, Adella kept yelling at me nonstop.

Within minutes, the hives spread across my entire arm. Adella finally seemed annoyed watching me scratch, so she slapped my hand away and barked, "Orion! Are you even listening to me?"

I couldn't be bothered to respond. The raised itchy rashes were climbing up my neck now, while the skin over my right arm and neck had turned an alarming red.

Adella finally noticed. Grabbing my arm, she looked closely at the small red bumps blooming across my skin.

"Orion, w-what's happening to you?

For a fleeting second, I saw the genuine panic in her eyes, and something in me stirred a little.

"I'm allergic to peas. This is what happens when I touch them," I explained.

She frowned and immediately grabbed my arm. "Come on. I'm taking you to the hospital right now!"

My heart skipped a beat. Just as I was about to follow her out the door, her phone rang.

She glanced at the name "Raiden Chase" flashing across the screen and immediately dropped my swollen arm.

Turning around, she answered the phone. "Raiden? What's wrong?"

A wailing came through the speaker. "Adella, I was just walking and tripped, and my face is bleeding! You have to come and check on me, please! Am I going to be disfigured?"

Listening to the crying, Adella looked back at me and hesitated for a split second. Then, she grabbed her bag and jacket before heading for the door.

"I've sent you some money, Orion. Go to the hospital yourself.

"Raiden sounds like he's in a lot of pain. I'm worried he might hurt himself, so I have to check on him."

She didn't wait for my reply as she grabbed her car keys and stepped out the door.

Tripped? Disfigured? I couldn't even imagine how those words came out of a grown man's mouth.

I didn't even have to think about it to know that Raiden was playing his little games again. He knew when Adella would be getting home and timed everything perfectly.

I bet that by the time she actually got to him, that scratch on his face would be invisible to the naked eye.

Sure enough, Raiden soon posted to his feed. It was a photo of them walking down the streets with Adella's hand in his, wearing the custom-made wedding ring I'd designed just for her.

"There will always be someone who understands your tantrums."

When I refused to drink the split pea soup because of my allergy, Adella believed I was just throwing tantrums. Yet when Raiden faked an injury to lure her to his side, she didn't have a single word of complaint.

There was a stark difference between love and indifference.

Fine, Adella. If she wanted to spend her life catering to a man's temper tantrums, she could go ahead.

I left a "Best wishes" in the comments and turned around to send Adella a copy of the divorce papers.

The wedding was off; I was done.