She saved those photos. She called the police and had every single person who'd tormented me hauled down to the station. She publicly called Melvin out for his jealousy, told everyone he didn't deserve to call himself a Gilbert.

From that day on, Greta was carved into the deepest part of my heart.

But now she'd taken my most painful memories and sharpened them into a blade aimed straight at my chest.

I didn't say another word. I just pulled off the wedding ring I'd never once removed.

"Let's end this while we can still walk away clean."

The expression on Greta's face froze solid. She realized, a beat too late, what she'd said.

"Victor!"

"If you hadn't provoked me, I wouldn't have said those things."

She snatched the ring off the ground and forced it onto my finger. "You swore you'd never take this off. I'll forgive you this once, but if there's a next time, I'll never speak to you again."

That threat had worked on me a hundred times before. This time, it didn't land.

I pushed Greta's hand away, slipped the ring off right in front of her, and dropped it on the ground.

She stood frozen, shock written all over her face.

"Victor! Have you lost your mind?"

I let out a cold laugh. "Yeah. I have. I was out of my mind for nine straight years. That's more than enough."

I turned and walked away.

Greta tried to follow, but Melvin caught her in his arms.

"Greta! He knows exactly how you feel about him. He's playing hard to get. If you chase after him now, you're falling right into his trap!"

Something clicked behind her eyes. She nodded slowly. "You're right. Victor loved me so much he threw away every shred of his dignity. There's no way he'd actually leave. He didn't hand me any divorce papers, didn't even mention splitting assets. He's bluffing."

I heard every word of her muttering. I didn't slow down.

Whatever assets Greta had, I didn't want them.

Divorce papers were beside the point. I knew she'd never willingly let go of a useful tool like me, so I'd already retained a lawyer to file for divorce through the courts.

I stepped onto the empty street, and for the first time in years, I smiled.

I used to believe that leaving Greta would destroy me.

Now I realized that walking away from her was the lightest I'd felt in nine years.