Chapter 2
1140words
He yanked our token of love from his pocket and hurled it at me.
"Mina saw me wearing this and freaked out. Said the red glow in the diamond means bloodshed and bad luck."
"The sweet thing offered to get it cleansed of its 'bloody aura.' That's the only reason I gave it to her."
"Never thought you'd make such a damn fuss over a trinket."
His tone was explanatory, but his eyes were cold, not a flicker of remorse in sight.
As if his half-assed explanation was a generous gift, he turned and walked away before I could respond.
Watching his retreating back, I felt my lips curl into a bitter smile. What a fool I'd been.
I tucked the cross carefully against my heart and pulled out my phone, sending a message to my old mentor, Simon Sinclair.
"I'm in. When do we leave?"
That night, Felix didn't bother coming home again.
I couldn't care less.
When you've already cut the cord in your heart, what does it matter?
Fighting through the pain that radiated from my back, I packed methodically until exhaustion forced me to collapse into bed around midnight.
At 3 AM, my phone's shrill ring jolted me awake.
"Boss's wife! Mina's at the club and there's trouble!"
I blinked in confusion. Shouldn't Felix be with his precious dancer at this hour?
I wanted nothing to do with their drama, but the crew kept calling, one after another.
With a sigh, I dragged myself to the nightclub Felix had invested in.
"Boss's wife," the bouncer muttered, eyes downcast, "Boss got called away by Mr. Song for some business dinner. Mina got pissed and started drinking..."
He watched my face carefully as he spoke, clearly afraid of my reaction.
I sighed. Everyone knew how much Felix valued his new toy. Why else would they call me at this ungodly hour?
"Where is she?" I asked flatly.
Following his gesture, I pushed open the VIP room door.
Mina was standing barefoot on the leather couch, her face flushed crimson.
She was holding a wine glass, giggling as she poured alcohol into the mouth of a man kneeling before her like a supplicant.
I froze momentarily, then turned away in disgust. This wasn't my circus anymore.
Crack! Something hard smashed against the back of my skull without warning.
Stars exploded behind my eyes as I stumbled forward, caught completely off guard.
Right then, Felix burst through the doorway, flanked by his crew.
I crashed straight into his chest.
Mina let out a perfectly timed shriek, and Felix shoved me aside like garbage.
"Felix! Help me!" she wailed.
Mina threw herself into his arms, sobbing dramatically as she thrust her left hand toward his face.
Somehow, her French manicure had a tiny chip on her index finger, with the slightest hint of blood.
"You always say if something isn't perfect, you don't want it anymore..." she whimpered.
"If my nails are ruined, will you throw me away too?"
"Never, baby. I'll take you for a fresh set tomorrow." Felix cradled her hand like it was made of crystal and gently blew on the microscopic injury.
Watching this nauseating display, I felt like someone had driven a thousand needles through my heart all at once.
Mina was right about one thing—Felix was pathologically obsessed with perfection.
A single lipstick smudge on a glass had once made him throw his favorite tumbler against the wall.
Every time I returned from a mission, blood-spattered from protecting his interests, he'd avoid me like the plague until I'd scrubbed every trace of violence from my skin.
I smiled bitterly as understanding dawned. Without contrast, how could I have seen the truth?
His infamous zero-tolerance for imperfection, it seemed, applied exclusively to me.
Catching my knowing smile, Mina cranked up the waterworks.
"Felix," she hiccupped, "she's glaring at me again..."
"What now?" Felix snapped, finally deigning to look at me.
Only then did he notice the crimson line trickling from my scalp down to my collarbone.
For a split second—maybe just my imagination—something like guilt flickered across his face.
He reached out abruptly, as if to catch a drop of blood that dangled from a strand of my hair.
I shifted away, denying him even that small contact.
His brow furrowed, but before he could speak, Mina pounced.
"Felix, baby, I was waiting here like you asked while you were at your business dinner."
"Some friends showed up for drinks, so I was just being social."
"Then she burst in like a crazy person, grabbed my wrist, and called me a desperate slut! That's how my nail broke!"
Felix's expression hardened with each word, his jaw clenching tight.
Never in my life had I been so blatantly slandered. My voice shook with barely controlled rage.
"At least make your lies believable, Mina!"
"If I wanted to hurt you, you'd be in the hospital, not whining about a chipped nail."
Mina cowered dramatically against Felix's chest.
"I know I'm just a dancer, not a trained killer like her," she sniffled. "I don't blame you for looking down on me."
"But I swear I never tried to steal Felix from you!"
The crew stood with downcast eyes, not one brave enough to speak the truth.
Felix gently settled Mina on the couch, then rose to his full height and slowly pulled the belt from his waist.
"Apologize to Mina." His voice was deadly quiet.
Staring at this stranger wearing my husband's face, I knew no explanation would matter.
I let out a harsh laugh, my lips curling into a mocking half-smile as I met his gaze head-on.
Something in my eyes made him hesitate.
He knew me too well.
I'd die before admitting to something I hadn't done.
In that moment of hesitation, Mina wrapped herself around him from behind.
"Felix! Don't hurt her!" she cried. "If you do, I'll never speak to you again!"
"You're still defending her?" he murmured. "She'll just keep bullying you."
His words were gentle for Mina, but his eyes burned with hatred when they turned to me.
"APOLOGIZE!" he roared.
The belt whistled through the air, slashing across my already wounded back.
I bit back a scream, my knees nearly buckling from the pain.
Mina shrieked theatrically, pleading with Felix to stop.
But with each fake plea, his strikes grew more vicious.
Five... four... three...
I counted silently in my head.
After five years together, if any shred of love remained in my heart, let him destroy it himself.
When I reach one, we'll be finished forever.
Just before the final blow could fall, the door burst open. One of the crew staggered in, covered in blood, instantly commanding everyone's attention.
"Boss!" he gasped. "Chen double-crossed us! The shipment's gone!"
