“Chester!” he shouted.
He snatched the dagger back up.
A metallic clink followed, but it slipped from his grasp and hit the ground again.
I grabbed him by the hair and forced him to his knees.
But Faye held onto my wrist.
“All right, stop! Don’t make a scene with him, Chester!” Faye warned.
"You’re the one who refused the divorce, Ms. Ellison," I said, my voice edged with irony.
I fixed my gaze on her, eyes gleaming with mockery.
"If you insist on calling me your husband, then I’ll live up to the name.
Do you think your husband is some weak creature you can push around?"
A punch crashed into Harvey’s face.
"Chester!" Faye shouted.
Bodyguards yanked me away from him. Harvey shouted curses at me while I fought to break free from Faye’s grip.
“I gave you a chance,” I told her. “Since you refuse to divorce, don’t be surprised if—”
Pain shot through my side.
Quickly, I spun around and kicked Harvey in the jaw.
He slammed into the wall, and the dagger he’d used to try to ambush me flew out of his hand.
“Ah—” he doubled over, clutching his abdomen.
The wound that had only recently healed began to bleed again.
“A sneak attack? You’re asking for death!” Faye shouted, raising a fist.
She struck me hard across the face.
Her expression was colder than I had ever seen. Her brows were drawn into a sharp, unyielding line.
I touched my cheek and felt the wet trail of blood at the corner of my mouth.
“Don’t be afraid. It’s okay. I’m…” Faye murmured, then paused.
She gathered Harvey into her arms, letting his blood soak into her costly gown.
The pain and panic in her eyes.
I’d only seen them once before, and it was the day I lost my right leg.
Back then, the setting sun was the color of blood.
She had clutched my hand to her chest, tears threatening, yet forcing a smile as she stroked my face and repeated over and over, “Don’t be afraid. It’s okay. I’m here. I’m with you.”
But now she looked at me with nothing but icy indifference.
“If divorce is what you truly want, then fine. You’ll have it.”
I suddenly laughed.
Even after risking my life, I couldn't get her to divorce me, and yet one injury to Harvey was enough to make it happen.
Right there, a cramp clenched my calf, sharper than the day my leg was hacked off. I bent over, but a shoulder brushed against mine. Faye walked past, holding Harvey in her arms.
I collapsed onto the ground, cold sweat soaking the floor. My bodyguards rushed in.