Page 115 of My Dark Divine

“P-please?—”

I twitch at the sound of her screeching voice, which ignites my anger. I pull the barrel away from her back, only to swing my arm and slam my elbow into the side of her head, forcing her to comply. My patience is quickly wearing thin.

“Okay, okay,” she squeaks, taking a step forward, her hand holding the spot as she rubs it in an attempt to stop the pain from spreading. Tremors begin to wrack her body as she realizes that what’s about to happen isn’t going to be pretty. “Where to?”

“The basement,” I say, watching as she hesitates, her eyes darting between the doors and corridors. I roll my eyes, struggling to suppress the urge to hit her again. If I let my frustration get the best of me, I might end up killing her before she even sees Zayden. “I’m sure you know this house well enough, Stella. Don’t act stupid, or I’ll put a bullet in your skull right now.”

A sob trembles on her lips, and she begins walking in the right direction, each deliberate step only fueling my impatience. “Faster,” I bark, pressing harder against her back.

She complies, and we descend into the basement, the floor creaking beneath our weight. A dim lamp provides the only light, while the corners of the space remain cloaked in shadows. With a tired rub of my eyes, I fight the memories that threaten to break my composure. In those brief moments when I woke, I would see the same dim light overhead, and feel the lingering presence of sweat and cologne in the air. Their laughter echoes through my mind, but I shake my head, trying to push away the ugly thoughts.

Whatever happens today, it’s over for me. I won’t have to endure any of that anymore. Not them. Not Zayden.

I’m going to be free.

A loud scream jolts me from my reverie, and I open my eyes to see Stella rushing toward my tied-up husband, dropping to her knees before him. She mumbles something indistinguishable, desperately trying to get his attention while he still recovers from the punch I delivered to his head. They seem oblivious to my presence as I stand near the entrance, gun in hand, watching them. I observe how they comfort each other, her hands wrapping around him as she tries to loosen the knots binding him.

Something inside me clicks, and I bite my lower lip until I taste blood, stifling a growl of anger. After all these years spent trying to create a perfect life—a home he would want to return to—I find myself here, with his lover clinging to him, and him looking at her like he once looked at me.

“I can’t believe this,” I say, and their attention snaps to me. They’re both panting, their glistening eyes mirroring the same desperate gleam in each other’s gaze. I step closer, and they retreat, huddling into the corner like frightened mice. “Do you really think I deserve this, Zayden?”

“Venetia, I need you to calm the fuck down,” he pleads, his voice shaky, mirroring the rest of his body. He chokes onhis saliva, coughing, and I can’t help but wonder how I ever thought this man would protect me. I barely hit him, and yet he looks so miserable as if I shot him multiple times and he’s losing blood. “Please, let’s just talk?—”

“How long?” I ask, trying to clear my mind and grasp the feeling I’m struggling to hold onto. I know they’ve been fucking behind my back for longer than I want to believe, but I need to hear it from his mouth. “Tell me.”

“Please, please, stop?—”

“Shut up,” I interject, aiming the gun at Stella for added effect. “I’m talking to him, not you.” I fix my gaze on Zayden, pleading with my eyes. “I need to know, Zayden. Am I really crazy?” My voice wavers on the last word. “Was it all in my head?”

“Oh, Jesus,” he groans in defeat as he realizes I’m quoting exactly what he used to say every time I confronted him about his affair. He’d blame me for getting on his nerves with ‘bullshit,’ insisting I was making it all up. “I—I don’t—Around a year.”

I close my eyes, nodding, though I could have sworn it was only a couple of months. Time flies faster than you think. “So it wasn’t in my head,” I say calmly. “It was?—”

“No, it fucking wasn’t!” he cuts me off, a yell ripping from his throat. “I wanted to escape you, Venetia! I fucking did! You know what?!” He wriggles harder against the knots, all futile. I was smart enough to tie him tightly and securely. “I tried to give you a hint, but you were too fucking stupid to understand. Your father blackmailed mine into making me marry you!”

I raise my chin, a frown settling on my features. Somehow, though, I don’t feel too surprised. It seems like nothing can shock me at this point. “Really?”

He freezes, startled by my nonchalance. “Yes, fucking really! I never wanted this! You thought you were the onesuffering, yet it was me who truly fucking suffered! ME! Not you!”

The audacity of this man, shouting something like this after years of neglecting and abusing me, both physically and mentally, is fucking laughable.

I don’t know what to believe, but frankly, it doesn’t matter right now. What matters is the real reason we’re here.

“Stop, stop saying that,” Stella whines, trying to silence him by placing her hand over his mouth. “You need to calm down, Zayden!”

As he lets his emotions spill over, Stella grows anxious about my reaction. She realizes that whatever he says will only fuel my anger, and she desperately wants to shut him up. Maybe she’s not as brainless as I thought.

“What, Stella?” I take a step closer, finding amusement in how she presses herself further into the corner. “What? Are you saying my husband is lying to me? That I shouldn’t punish him for betraying me because he’s lying about it?”

“Yes!” she screams, kicking her feet in a frenzy, though I make no move to touch her. Completely consumed by panic and shock, she’s lost all sense of control. “He doesn’t mean it! He’s lying because he’s scared!”

I’m so tired of all the lies. Lies, pretending, and more lies. “He’s the liar,” I confirm, and she nods frantically. “Not you?”

“Fuck, YES!”

“Okay.”

I point the gun at his head, finger poised on the trigger. The loud shot echoes through the concrete walls, a moment of eerie silence settling in before Stella’s scream pierces the air. It’s so loud, so shrill, that I have to squeeze my eyes shut, but even that can’t block out the vibrations coursing through every fiber of my being.

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