Chapter 1

1

Looking at the photo of the man's smooth back and the distinctive red mole on his neck, I felt nothing.

Not a single spark of anger. Not a single tear.

Here we go again.

In our five years of marriage, this was far from the first time.

Lucian Reed loved using these little setups to test me. He called them "loyalty trials."

The first time, he "accidentally" left a receipt for a box of condoms on the nightstand.

When I confronted him in a rage, he just looked at me with pure disdain.

"Why are you so petty, Vanessa? My friends and I bought those just to see how you'd react," he said.

The second time was on our anniversary. A woman showed up at our door with ninety-nine red roses, proposing to him right in front of me.

I ended up in a hair-pulling scrap with her and tumbled down the stairs, snapping three ribs.

Only then did Lucian stroll out to say she was just an actress. It was all supposed to be a "surprise" for me.

Over five years, his games only got more twisted.

They went from flirty texts to graphic photos, constantly pushing the boundaries of my sanity.

I had evolved from explosive fury to a state of total numbness.

If he loved testing me so much, I decided it was time to give him his final grade.

The moment I saw that message, I didn't feel betrayed. I just felt an overwhelming, bone-deep exhaustion.

After five years of marriage, I had lost count of how many times he'd done this.

His so-called tests were just tools to break me down. He wanted to watch me crumble so he could lecture me from his moral high ground.

In the end, I would be left alone to heal my scarred heart while he bragged to his friends about how well he had "tamed" his wife.

I didn't reply. I simply turned off my phone and drove home in silence.

I walked through the front door.

The living room lights were dimmed low. Lucian was curled up on the sofa, slowly popping a plump strawberry into his mouth.

He looked up at me as I entered.

In his eyes, I saw a flicker of anticipation mixed with a smug sense of victory.

I knew exactly what was going through his head.

He was waiting for me to scream about the traces he'd intentionally left behind. He wanted me to interrogate him.

He was ready to play the victim, accusing me of being insecure and untrusting.

He thrived on that sense of control. He loved trapping me in his games under the guise of "love."

But this time, the game was over. I was finally awake.

I didn't rush to check his phone or ask where he'd been. I didn't even give him a second glance.

I walked straight to the hallway and set down my briefcase.

Then, I pulled out the divorce papers I had been preparing for a month.

The paper felt light in my hand, but it was as heavy as the five-year stone that had been crushing my chest.

I walked over to the coffee table and placed the document gently in front of him.

"Take a look."

My voice was flat, devoid of emotion, as if I were commenting on the weather.

"If there are no issues, just sign it."

Lucian's hand froze mid-air, a strawberry still between his fingers.

His relaxed expression shattered. The smugness in his eyes drained away, replaced by pure shock.

He looked down at the papers, then snapped his head up to stare at me.

"What… what did you just say?"

His voice trembled with disbelief.

He surged up from the sofa, his silk throw rug sliding to the floor.

"Vanessa Lane, have you lost your mind?"

"Do you have any idea what day it is?"

"It's our fifth wedding anniversary!"

His voice rose to a hysterical pitch as he tried to flip the script.

I looked at him, feeling no heat, only a cold, sharp sense of irony.

"I know."

"And it's not just our anniversary."

"It's the fifty-third time you've 'tested' me with one of your little stunts."

Lucian's face turned deathly pale in an instant.

He opened his mouth to speak, but it seemed like his throat had closed up.

He couldn't meet my gaze. His eyes darted around the room frantically.

After a long silence, he grabbed his phone with shaking fingers and unlocked it.

"Vanessa, listen, let me explain. It's not what you think."

"That photo on social media? I Photoshopped it. I just wanted to tease you."

"And that text from the random woman? That was me using a burner app. I never cheated, I swear."

"I just… I wanted to see how much you still cared about me."

"I wanted to see if you'd still get jealous, if you still gave a damn about me."

He sounded like he was on the verge of tears, his eyes full of pathetic pleading.

I watched his amateur performance and felt a wave of self-mockery.

"Cared about you?"

"I cared so much that I endured your games over and over again."

"I cared so much that I believed every pathetic, hole-filled lie you ever told me."

"I cared so much that I turned myself into a paranoid, anxious shell of a woman."

"Congratulations, Lucian. You won."

"You successfully drained every drop of love I had for you."

"You made it so I can never trust you or love you ever again."

"So, let's just sign the papers."