Prepare the divorce and ruin your husband by Mark Twain 22
Chapter 22
He glanced at the screen, and everything drained from his face in a second, like the color’d been pulled straight out of him.
“Dad?” he answered.
I didn’t hear everything, just fragments, panic bleeding through the speaker.
Collapsed. Heart. Hurry.
Colt stood up fast. Too fast.
He looked down at me, his hand brushing mine, squeezing once, quick and loaded with too many words he didn’t say.
“Stay here. Rest. Don’t be stubborn.”
Then he was gone.
The door shut softly behind him, like the room didn’t want to admit how empty it suddenly felt.
Ax stayed.
He leaned against the chair, arms crossed, eyes sharp with concern he tried to hide.
“You scared him,” he said after a moment. “And you scared me too.”
I exhaled slowly, staring at the sea, letting the waves do what my mind couldn’t.
“You can’t keep pushing your body like this,” Ax continued. “You’ve been under extreme stress. Another collapse like that and you won’t walk away so easily next time. You
need to slow down.”
I smiled faintly. Dangerous. Tired.
“I want to leave this country, Ax,” I said softly. “Far from David. Far from Colt.”
His brows pulled together. “Why? This is the safest place for you. Colt won’t let anything happen to you.”
“That’s exactly why,” I said, my voice dropping. “I’m falling for him. And that’s not safe for me.”
Ax shifted closer. “Falling for him isn’t a crime.”
“It is when he doesn’t feel the same,” I said, swallowing hard. “He’s using me. Using my anger. My revenge. He wants David destroyed too, and I let him because I want that ending just as badly.”
I turned my head to look at Ax, eyes sharp, steady, deadly calm.
“But I want to destroy David on my own terms,” I said. “Not as someone’s tool. Not as someone’s shadow.”
Wed, Jan 28
Ax studied me for a long moment.
“And Ryle?” he asked quietly.
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“Ryle and I need to go,” I said. “Somewhere quiet. Somewhere mine. I need to find myself again before I lose everything chasing men who only see war when they look at me.”
Silence stretched between us.
Ax kept staring at me like he was weighing something heavy, then he finally nodded, slow and resigned. “I get it. I really do. But promise me you’ll be careful. You can’t keep throwing yourself into danger like this.”
I bit my lip, forcing a small smile. “I will. I swear. I’m done being reckless. I just need space.”
I hesitated, then looked at him straight on. “Ax… can you lend me money for a plane ticket? Just enough to leave. I’ll pay you back once I find work abroad. I just need to breathe. I need to figure out who I am without all this blood and mess chasing me.”
He studied me for a long moment, then let out a tired sigh. “You really don’t know how bad you are at asking for help.”
He pulled out a card and slid it into my hand. “Ten million dollars. Don’t argue with me. You don’t owe me a thing. If you need me, you call. No disappearing, no stupid pride.” My throat tightened. I nodded. “Thank you, Ax. I won’t forget this. Ever.”
That night, I packed quietly. Nothing dramatic. Just clothes, documents, the things that still felt like mine. Every movement was careful, controlled, like if I slowed down l might change my mind.
Ryle sat on the edge of the bed, arms crossed, eyes red. “Mom, I don’t want to go.”
I knelt in front of him, brushing his hair back gently. “I know you don’t. But we need this. Just for a while.”
He shook his head hard. “What about Uncle Colt? What about our house? I like it here.”
I smiled softly, even though it hurt. “Sometimes liking a place doesn’t mean it’s safe. Sometimes leaving is how you survive.”
He swallowed, voice small. “I’m scared.”
“I know,” I whispered, pressing my forehead to his. “But I’ve got you. Always.”
I passed Colt’s room on the way out. His coat was still hanging where he left it. Clean. Untouched. My chest tightened, sharp and familiar.
“Goodbye, Colt,” I murmured under my breath.
I left a note on his nightstand. Simple. Honest. Thank you for everything. For saving
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Before dawn, I stopped by the lawyer’s office. Signed the divorce papers without ceremony. “Send these straight to David,” I said calmly. My hands trembled a little, but my voice didn’t.
Then the taxi came.
Ryle sat beside me, holding his backpack tight. I clutched my new passport. Nadia Joseph. A clean name. A blank page.
I was almost smiling at the thought when the world exploded.
The crash was violent. Metal screamed. Glass shattered everywhere. Ryle cried out, his small body thrown against the seat.
“Mom!” he screamed.
“Ryle!” I reached for him, pain ripping through my side as the car spun. My head hit hard. Everything blurred.
Another car screeched to a stop. Doors slammed. Voices shouted.
“I need help,” I gasped, trying to stay awake. “Please… my son…”
Ryle’s hand slipped from mine.
Then darkness took us both.
I woke up in pitch black.
The kind that presses against your eyes.
My wrists burned when I moved. Tied. My ankles too. The air smelled sweet and metallic, perfume layered over something rotten.
Candles flickered to life one by one.
Roxanne stood there, smiling like a demon who finally got her prize.
“You really thought you could destroy my life and walk away?” she said softly. “You really thought I’d let you disappear with my husband’s name still stuck to you?”
I breathed slow, steady. “Where is my son?”
Her smile widened. “Safe. For now. He’s in the next room. Crying for his mommy.”
My jaw tightened. “If you touch him, Roxanne, I will rip you apart.”
She laughed, circling me. “Still threatening people while tied up. You’ve always been like this. Even as a kid. Pretty. Smart. Thinking you were better than me.”
“I was,” I said calmly.
Her eyes flashed.
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“You think David choosing you makes you special?” she hissed. “You think you won? You didn’t win anything. I’m going to make you beg. I’m going to break you so slowly you’ll wish you drowned for real.”
A heavy shadow stepped forward.
Troy.
Bald. Scarred. Ugly in a way that made my skin crawl.
“You owe me extra for this one,” he said, grinning. “Kid and all. Took effort.”
Roxanne waved him off. “You’ll get paid. Just do what I say.”
I twisted my wrists against the ropes, testing them. “You’re pathetic, Roxanne. You couldn’t beat me when we were kids, so you had to grow up and hire monsters.”
She stepped close and slapped me hard. My head snapped to the side.
“Hit her,” she snapped. “Let’s see how brave she is without anyone coming to save her.”
Troy cracked his knuckles, smiling wide.
I lifted my head slowly, blood on my lip, eyes calm. Deadly.
“You think I’m afraid of pain?” I said quietly. “You think fear is what keeps me alive?”
Roxanne hesitated. Just for a second.
“I survive,” I continued softly. “I always do. And when I walk out of here, you won’t have anywhere left to run.”
She recovered, laughing sharply. “Start with her face, Troy. I want to ruin that first.”
Somewhere behind the wall, I heard Ryle scream, “Mom!”
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I woke up to darkness again.
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