Open Marriage, Broken Promises: When Love Turns to Ashes novel Chapter 13

SLAP.

The sound echoed in the air.

Emily's palm stung, but she didn't regret it.

She glared at him, voice razor-sharp.

"Don't you dare fucking touch me like that."

James' head snapped to the side.

His jaw clenched.

Rage burned through him—hot, violent, unbearable.

But beneath it—beneath the fury—was something else.

Something that made his chest ache.

He grabbed the coat off the ground and hurled it.

"You've been busy, huh? How good is he, Emily?"

"Good enough to make you forget all about me?"

Even now.

Even after everything.

He was still making this about himself.

Emily felt nothing but disappointment.

James, you're beyond saving.

Ignoring the rabid dog behind her, Emily walked toward the house.

She wasn't wasting another second on him.

She'd wasted enough of her life already.

James wasn't having it. He followed her, his voice sharp with desperation.

"Say something! Is he better than me?"

"You can't wait to see him again, huh?"

Emily stayed silent.

She stepped into the bedroom, grabbed a suitcase, and started shoving clothes inside.

Panic flickered in James' eyes.

He slammed his hand down on the suitcase, stopping her.

"Emily, you're the one who screwed up! You don't get to be mad at me."

Emily looked at him, her face unreadable.

That expression—calm, detached—was scarier than all the screaming matches they'd ever had.

James faltered, his voice softening.

"Emily, don't go to him, okay?"

"What the hell is wrong with you?"

Emily's palm stung.

She exhaled sharply.

"James, I want a divorce."

The words felt like ripping off a hundred-pound weight from her chest.

For the first time, she could breathe.

James looked like she'd sucker-punched him.

"You're divorcing me... for him?"

His fingers dug into her shoulders.

"Emily! You barely know the guy! He's not gonna love you like I do."

There it was again.

His first instinct wasn't to own up to what he'd done.

It was to blame another man.

Emily let out a cold laugh.

"You really think you're such a prize, huh?"

Seven years.