Chapter 3

I felt an unexpected sense of relief the moment I decided to let go.

For years, I'd been trapped in the beautiful memories I shared with Adella and clung hard to maintain the illusion, even as the reality of our relationship rotted away. But now that I'd made up my mind to divorce her, I was going to take back what was mine.

Adella was the top shooter of our club, who'd won multiple world championships. She was indispensable to the club, but to me, the club was just one of the many, optional assets in my portfolio.

I'd poured so much money into it over the years, and while Adella had always promised a return on my investment, I hadn't seen a single dollar.

I didn't care back when I loved her, but now that I was getting divorced, there was no reason to keep sustaining a club that brought in nothing.

All the weapons and firearms were acquired through my personal connections. Some of them were even decommissioned military gear.

I had to take them back, or they would become a massive legal liability for me down the road.

Early the next morning, I arrived at the club with a crew to haul everything away. But just as I was giving orders to pack the crates, Adella and Raiden walked in, hand in hand, leaning into each other like a couple deeply in love.

"Orion? What are you doing here?"

I glanced at them, said nothing about their display of affection, and let out a cold laugh. "I'm just taking back what belongs to me."

As the firearms were being cataloged and crated, Adella fumed. She marched over and kicked one of the crates to the ground.

"What are you doing? These are the club's guns! Without them, how are the members supposed to train or win championships?

"When the National Sharpshooter Open starts, and the higher-ups hold us accountable, can you even afford the consequences?"

I ignored her and signaled my men to keep working.

"I'm warning you, Orion! Don't you dare sabotage this club!"

I found it ironic that, apparently, reclaiming my property was somehow sabotage.

Raiden decided to chime in. "Just stop and don't make Adella upset, Orion. She wasn't feeling well yesterday and is still weak now. If you won't look out for her, at least think about the rest of us who care.

"I know you're mad at me, so to show my apology, let me show you something."

As he spoke, he pulled out his phone and held it up to me, then whispered in a voice only the two of us could hear, "That bowl of soup didn't kill you, did it? Guess you got lucky.

"Here. Let me show you a different side of Adella."

He started scrolling through the videos on his phone. On the screen, she was posing provocatively, acting so bold and intimate that the clips were so hard to watch.

I stared at the screen and was too angry to speak.

Adella and I had been in love for seven years, yet we'd never shared that level of intimacy. Every time I thought we were steady and ready to move our relationship forward, she would find a thousand excuses to stop me.

When she solemnly told me that she wanted to wait until marriage, I thought I'd been too impatient and even apologized to her.

But from the photos and videos on Raiden's phone, it was clear that they'd been checking into hotels together for the last three years. All the love I thought we had was nothing more than a curated lie.

I looked at Raiden with fury burning in my eyes. Just as I was about to say something, he threw himself backward and crashed onto the floor. His phone went flying and shattered into pieces.

Adella finally snapped. She charged over, hauled Raiden to his feet with one hand, and with the other, delivered a stinging slap to my face.

"Have you lost your mind? Why would you suddenly attack him?"

As Raiden scrambled to his feet, looking wronged and scared, he looked at me with wide, fearful eyes. "I don't know why Orion did it. He shoved me out of nowhere and smashed the phone I'd saved up for myself."

His eyes welled with tears as he muttered.

I'd been standing perfectly still, so Adella could clearly see what'd happened. Even if she couldn't, anyone could tell that Raiden had staged a fake, obvious fall just to set me up.

But when it came to Raiden, who was almost like her poison, she lost all ability to think.

She lunged forward, grabbed me by the collar, and snapped, "I can't believe how vile you are. You're just jealous that he has a grandma who actually loves him, unlike you, an unwanted orphan!"

It was true that I was an orphan. My parents died early, so I had to fight my way through life alone. I'd learned to stand on my own and face the world long before most people did.

But the world never went easy on people like me. Cruelty and malice came in overwhelming tides, all for a simple reason—I was an orphan.

That was a wound that would never heal, but because I loved Adella, I'd laid my scars and past bare to her. Back then, she'd cried her eyes out and held me tight, promising that she was my family now and that she'd never leave me.

But now, she was tearing that wound open and using my painful past against me.

My expression went horrifyingly dark, but Adella acted like she hadn't noticed. She marched up to me, snatched the crate from my hands, and assembled a handgun in seconds with practiced ease.

Then, she pressed the barrel against my forehead. "Orion, drop everything right now and get the hell out of this club, or I'll pull the trigger."

My team of professionally trained bodyguards reacted instantly. They immediately grabbed the weapons they were packing, and for a moment, the room turned into a standoff.

"What's going on here? Lower your weapons!"

The police chief marched in with a squad of officers.

I'd called him here. Since these firearms were registered with the police, I needed official oversight to reclaim them.

Besides, the chief and his officers often used my range for training. I'd provided the space and equipment for free as a service to the community.

Seeing the police, Adella reluctantly lowered the gun. It took several tense minutes for the chief to de-escalate the situation before the officers packed the firearms away for inspection, stating they needed to take them in for secondary verification.

That was when Adella and Raiden finally relaxed.

As they were leaving, Raiden slunk over to me and leaned in as if to offer a timid apology. But his voice was a sharp, mocking hiss.

"Orion, if you know what's good for you, just get lost. Adella is mine now, so stop this pointless struggle.

"She told me that only with me by her side does she have the drive to keep shooting and chase her dreams, so do yourself a favor. Stay away from her and sign the divorce papers as soon as you can."

That line set my anger ablaze. Adella was my wife, so why did Raiden, the gigolo, have the guts to tell me to stay away?

Adella frowned as well. "Enough, Raiden. I get to decide whether we divorce or not."

She turned to me, and her tone softened. "Stop making a scene, alright? I promise we'll have a proper wedding this time.

"Just stop causing trouble for Raiden. He's had it hard enough."

I glared at her with bloodshot eyes and slowly curled my lips into a grin. "Fine."

I was looking forward to seeing how things would turn out. It was about time they paid the price.