Rift in the perfect picture

+35 BONUS

Nicholas had worn an elegant black suit for the wedding today. The tailored fit accentuated his broad. shoulders and slim waist, making his handsome features stand out even more.

He walked toward me with an expressionless face. His black leather shoes trended on the soft carpet.

But I couldn’t bring myself to admire him. His lips were pressed together tightly, and his stern face looked like that of a grim reaper coming to claim my life.

Leo stepped in front of me, but Nicholas’s sharp gaze cut through him like a knife. His slightly narrowed eyes locked onto his prey like a hawk.

“Get lost.”

Leo was drenched in cold sweat. Yasmine ran over and pounded her fists against Nicholas’s back like raindrops.

“Who gave you the right to talk to my man like that?”

Nicholas’s patience had run thin. He had tolerated Yasmine for my sake, but now she had crossed the line too many times.

His eyes darkened as he stared at Leo. He said in a flat and direct tone, “Take her and leave. None of you are worth my time.”

There were no outright insults, yet his words were dripping with contempt.

“Nicholas!” I couldn’t let him bully my friends in front of me. “Enough!”

Nicholas looked up, our gazes meeting in the space between us. His eyes were dark and filled with an anger that seemed impossible to dispel.

He felt humiliated. He thought I had never respected him in front of others, while he had always made sure I was treated with the utmost respect.

The media endlessly praised him for being a doting husband, but the bitter irony was that I looked at him like he was my worst enemy.

“Our issues can be discussed in private. Today is Pete’s and Annie’s big day. We’re just quests. Don’t ruin it for them.”

“I’ve already said. Their marriage has nothing to do with me.” I smiled faintly.

“Nicholas, Pete and I have settled our scores. Now, it’s time to deal with ours.”

I must have been such a fool. I once thought I could start over with Nicholas, and we could have a normal relationship again.

I even said I would remarry him willingly one day. He must have laughed at me when I said that.

“Why do you even care if we’re divorced or not? Isn’t it better that we’re still married? You’re still my wife. Nothing between us has changed, so what’s there to be upset about?”

To him, using underhanded methods to keep me wasn’t a problem. He didn’t understand why I would feel grievance. He didn’t hurt me at all.

I sneered. Even now, he couldn’t understand my feelings. He always forced his own views on me. I took a deep breath and rubbed my reddened eyes.

“Nicholas, I’m not angry. I don’t have any anger left to feel toward you.”

As I looked at him, my emotions gradually calmed. I started to accept that we weren’t divorced yet. If even the death of my child couldn’t end our marriage, maybe next time, it would take my life.

I nodded slightly at Leo. “Let’s go.”

He understood immediately. Without hesitation, he scooped me up into his arms and carried me away.

Nicholas’s expression turned

He was right. Our personal matters didn’t need an audience. In theBelongs to (N)ôvel/Drama.Org.

sme.

end, the one who had been toyed with and manipulated was

Leo walked quickly, the motion making me dizzy. I closed my eyes as memories flooded my mind like a movie reel. Looking back, everything about the day of our divorce had felt off.

Nicholas had chosen to divorce me on my birthday. He made me wait in the rain, draining my energy. He brought another woman to the court to disturb my mind. And somehow, Pete tore up the divorce certificate.

It had all seemed like a string of coincidences. As I thought about that day, tears of grievance welled up in my eyes.

Yasmine noticed and gently wiped my tears away. “Ari, don’t get worked up over a jerk like him!”

I let my guard down in front of Yasmine. The sobs I had suppressed burst out, echoing down the hallway. “Yasmine, I’m not angry… I’m just heartbroken. My poor baby…”

My words were carried by the wind, reaching Nicholas’s ears. For some reason, he felt a pang of sadness,

Despite his recurring illness, which had dulled his emotions, my words pierced him like a thousand needles. Their sting left him pale and stricken with pain.

“Ari!” I heard running footsteps behind me.