The Cruelty Continues

I looked away. A wave of exhaustion washed over me, flooding me. "You're a child, Wendy. Summer's a bigger adult than you'll ever be."

What I said triggered her, causing Wendy to charge right into me and shove me back. I hadn't expected her to react so violently, so I didn't brace myself and crashed into the door. The pain made my vision swim. Her eyes narrowed, and she took half a step.

"Wendy…"

Wendy opened her eyes, and her cruel smile turned into a bloodthirsty grin. "You're not going to divorce me, Ashton. No one's going to marry a man who's gone through two divorces. No one but me."

Every word stabbed through my heart like a blade meant to kill. I clutched my spinning head and tried to leave, but her footsteps quickened. "You're not leaving!" She tossed Joe onto the bed and grabbed my hand. "Are you seeing Summer again?"

My bones were groaning in pain, but she kept talking, "You know what she did. You were in the rain, begging her to come back, but she never did! She was fucking Joe!"

My body was getting colder by the minute, but I held back the shiver in my voice as I answered, "And you did the same thing. You're no better than her."

That shut her up for a moment.

She stared at me with red-rimmed eyes before hissing, "I did it for you! For vengeance! But I see you love her more."

She yanked my shirt and tore it apart before pushing me down onto the bed. Wendy stared at me from above, her eyes filled with burning madness. "How is she better than me?" Her voice cracked as she rode me.

I turned away, my tears seeping into the sheets beneath. She clenched my chin and forced me to look at her. Her eyes were now completely bloodshot, like those of a feral beast. "Answer me!"

Silence was the only reply I gave her.

The light in her eyes dimmed. "I've found a heart donor for your father. It was going to be our wedding gift, but now…"

Strobe lights lit up. I put a hand to my face, but she pulled my belt away, and the cold crawled up my back. "Don't cover your face. You were holding it in well enough." She took a sip out of her glass.

"It's a bet. If you had told me Summer meant nothing to you, I'd cherish you like treasure." A pause later, she said, "But you lost the bet."

Joe spread the video across the Internet right away.

"Everyone has seen my photos. Now, you're going to be starring in those headlines, too. Fair's fair." She flicked the ash of her cigarette away and replayed the scene in her head.

"I'll tell them the photos at the wedding are AI-generated. You're still going to be my husband at the end of the day."

A sliver of jealousy flickered in Joe's eyes, but it hid itself quickly enough. He held Wendy's arm and whispered something in her ear.

That brought a smile to her face. "You know me so well."

I tried to get back up, but my legs failed me. Still, something inside gave me the strength to endure this torture. One single thought kept me going. 'I must escape this hell.'

A long, long while later, a surge of warm and metallic liquid choked me.

…

Her phone rang, but Wendy turned it face down on the nightstand. She turned back and held Joe. "Ignore him."

A long stretch of time later, Wendy's phone rang again.

She picked it up with a face full of satisfaction. "Are you sorry now?"

A panicked voice answered, "Hi, Wendy Halton? Your husband suffered hematemesis and is going through an emergency procedure. We'll need you to sign the papers right now. He needs to get into the ICU!"

Wendy was stunned. "I'm sorry, what?"

The call ended abruptly. Wendy jolted up from her bed and unlocked her phone. It was filled with missed calls and texts from her mother.

Melanie texted, "Where are you, Wendy? You have to go to the hospital, now! Ashton has late-stage kidney cancer!"

The text hit her like a nightmare she couldn't wake up from, and her fingers froze as she stared blankly at the screen.