Alle Kapitel von After I Left, He Fell Apart: Kapitel 11 – Kapitel 18

For a moment I couldn't process it. One blow after another that day had left me with no idea how to face reality at all.It took a long while before I mechanically took the document they handed me. One glance, and I tore it to shreds and flung the pieces everywhere, grinding out through my teeth, “Impossible. This is impossible. I will never agree to dissolve my marriage with her.”A staff member stepped forward to calm me. “Sir, please. This is the Beastkin Authority. If you keep shouting like this, we'll have to ask you to leave.”I shoved his hand away, my eyes rimmed red. “I made a mistake. But what man can swear his attention never strays in a relationship, not even once? I know I was wrong. I'll go to her and own it. I promise I'll never see another woman again. All right?”Penny loved me so much. If we could just see each other once, once I explained, she would forgive me. She had to.The staff exchanged glances, at a loss.“Sir, even though you know you were wrong, your marriag

I looked her up and down, cold. “What are you wearing?”Only then did Vivian stop her chatter. She lifted the hem of her dress and gave a little twirl. “It's the dress you gave me. I love it, so I wear it all the time.”When I used to sleep with Vivian, I liked having her wear Penny's dresses, to satisfy some vulgar craving of mine.I'd once thought of it as a kind of thrill. But now, looking at Vivian with her neckline gaping open, I felt nothing, not a flicker. Only my stomach churning.The anger in me erupted. “Take it off,” I snapped.Vivian blinked, clearly misreading me, a coy flush rising to her face. “Adrian, you're always in such a rush. It's not like I'd ever say no to—” Her voice broke off in a yelp. “Adrian, what are you doing?”I'd had enough. Before she could finish, I'd pinned her to the floor and torn the dress straight off her.She froze, then started to struggle, all token resistance and false reluctance.I paid her shrieking no mind. Only when the dress was flung to

Penny's POVI'd forgotten the last time I set foot in the human world. Ever since marrying Adrian, my whole life had seemed to orbit him, with not a moment that was my own.But none of that mattered now. It was all behind me.I looked at the job posting from a major company on my phone, straightened my collar, and walked into the building, brimming with confidence.I'd been a top student at a prestigious university. It was only in those years with Adrian that my education had no use at all, and bit by bit I forgot what made me shine and let myself become an accessory to him, willingly.Whenever anyone mentioned me, the first thing that came to mind wasn't Penny. It was Adrian's wife.But now, out from under Adrian's shadow, I could finally be myself.The interview went smoothly. I landed the high-paying job and rented a small apartment near the office. It wasn't big, but it was cozy, and more than that, it was a home that belonged to me alone.Every day I shuttled between home and work

I didn't know how long I walked. The streets grew narrower, the people fewer, but my mind was such a knot that I never noticed I'd wandered into a dead-end alley.Suddenly a figure appeared behind me, and before I could react a hand clamped over my nose and mouth, a sharp chemical smell flooding into me.My heart lurched, and then I lost consciousness.When I came to, I found myself in an abandoned warehouse, no light anywhere, no way to tell whether it was day or night.I'd heard some beastkin would eat humans, and the thought sent me into a deeper panic. I thrashed, desperate to break free.But my hands and feet were bound tight with rope. Escape was out of the question. I couldn't even stand.Then I heard footsteps drawing closer, and I quickly shut my eyes and played unconscious.The click-clack of high heels on the concrete floor, each step nearer, each one landing on my pounding heart.I held my breath, careful not to give myself away.Then a familiar voice came from above. “Surp