Everything is ready on the day of my wedding. But the bride, Adella Marlowe, is nowhere to be seen.

That's when she texts me on my phone. Apparently, as a national shooting champion, there's a last-minute competition that she has to attend right away, all consequences be damned.

But the next day, I see a social media post uploaded by Raiden Chase, the newest recruit in Adella's team.

In the photo, I see Adella with one foot on a dead wild boar while propping her gun with a proud smile on her face.

The caption goes, "I'm so glad to have a wife who's also a national shooting champion! Now, Grandma won't have to worry about her corn fields getting attacked by wildlife!"

As I stare at the post, I just smile and leave a comment. "As expected of the champion whose heart goes out to the normal folk!"

Adella quickly calls me the next moment.

"Delete your comment right now! Also, stop being all passive-aggressive around me! It's just a missed wedding; must you be so snide about it?"

This isn't Adella's first time leaving me at the altar. It's been two years, and every time she ditches me at the altar, she always has an excuse to do so.

I just hang up on Adella without saying a word.

She's right, though. This is just a wedding, isn't it? I might as well call it off once and for all.

I'd just hung up the phone when the wedding officiant came running over, drenched in sweat and out of breath.

"Mr. Orion Blaze, what are we supposed to do about the wedding?" he asked.

I looked at how panicked he was and calmed him down. "It's fine. Just tell the guests to enjoy the food and drinks, and the wedding ends here today. You'll still get paid in full."

He wiped the sweat off his forehead and sprinted off to pacify the gusts, while I took off my suit and headed backstage.

The moment I got there, my phone started buzzing nonstop. When I checked, it was a video call from my wife, Adella Marlowe.

I thought she was finally calling to apologize, so after a brief hesitation, I felt my resolve soften and picked up.

But the face on the screen belonged to a man, Raiden Chase, the new recruit on her shooting team.

"I'm really sorry, Orion. I completely forgot today was the big day for you and Adella. That post on my feed was just a joke, so please don't take it seriously."

Though my expression stayed calm, an uncontrollable fire of rage roared in my chest. This wasn't an apology; it was a blatant victory lap and a taunt!

I could feel my blood boil as I stared at his innocent expression. Behind him, the entire shooting team I'd hired was sitting around, eating and laughing.

Adella stood right next to Raiden. Her expression was icy, and her eyes were even colder than her voice.

"Are you done?" she snapped. "Raiden has apologized, so why must you keep pushing?

"You're a veteran of the team, so aren't you embarrassed that you're throwing a jealous tantrum at a new kid? Have you got no shame?"

Pushing it? All I did was stay on the video call.

Before I could even refute, the team members in the background started whispering among themselves.

"What's Orion's problem? The kid just came home to help his grandma out, so why is he making such a big deal out of it?

"He's so petty. I wonder what Captain Marlowe ever saw in him."

As I listened to the team members I'd heavily funded take an outsider's side in smearing my name, the anger in my chest boiled over.

I hung up in a fit of rage.

I couldn't believe what Adella had turned them into. Under her leadership, they'd become a pack of elitist snobs with zero sense of sportsmanship.

I forced myself to swallow my rage while wrapping up the wreckage of the wedding. It was late by the time I finally made it home.

Once I opened the door, I saw Adella sitting on the couch, waiting for me. When she saw me, she immediately stood up and walked over.

I frowned and was about to speak when a stinging slap landed hard on my face.

"You were an absolute disappointment today, Orion. I was just helping a new recruit with some family matters, so why did you have to blow it out of proportion and make such a scene?

"Raiden is sitting at home right now, feeling incredibly guilty. Not only did you not apologize, but you're also here acting as if nothing happened. Do you even have a conscience?

"You're so petty, vindictive, and narrow-minded. I had no idea you were someone like that."

As Adella spoke, she shoved her phone in my face. On the screen, Raiden was sitting with his head in his hands and seemingly sobbing.

When I looked at the pain on his face and spotted the faint, hidden smirk at the corner of his lips, I couldn't help but let out a cold laugh. This was such a clumsy act that anything could see through his thoughts, except Adella.

Completely unaware of my fury, she had the nerve to lecture me with total self-righteousness.

"Raiden grew up in a rural town with a struggling family, so I'm just trying to give him a hand. You're usually the first person to volunteer for a charity, so why are you acting so jealous and petty now?

"Besides, it's just a wedding, and it's not like we can't afford another. You've got plenty of money in your bank account to do it all over again. It isn't a big deal away."

That was the breaking point. I lunged to my feet and snapped, "So, you do realize that this was our wedding, don't you? Do you think my money grows on trees?

"You know how much time and energy I poured into this wedding, only for you to dump me at the altar over and over again. What's the point of a lavish ceremony if the bride never shows up?

"How many times have you stood me up in just two years, Adella? Every single time, it's because Raiden called you for this or that.

"And now, it's worse. A wild boar trampled his family's crops, so you took the entire shooting club on a hunting trip to shoot it down on our wedding day, yet you call it a small favor!"

Adella knew she was partly in the wrong, so her tone softened a little. "Fine…

"It was just an emergency, honey, so don't get mad. Next time, I promise I'll stay with you for the entire wedding ceremony.

"But first, you need to apologize to Raiden. You went way too far this time…"

Next time?

It was shocking; did that mean I had to apologize to Raiden to get a next wedding?

My expression went dark and cold with fury. Without saying another word, I turned and walked straight into the bedroom.

"Enough with the tantrums now. I made you some specialty soup from Raiden's hometown," Adella snapped.

"Honestly, it's embarrassing to see a grown man act so petty? Now drink up! This is the last time I'm giving you a way out, so don't push your luck!"

Moments later, a bowl of split pea soup was slid through the gap in the door. My skin crawled the second I saw the peas and legumes.

I'd been severely allergic to peas since I was a kid. Just touching them could cause a massive breakout of hives and red rashes on my arms, followed by smaller bumps spreading throughout my body. If I accidentally ingest them, I'd surely end up in the hospital for days.

I frowned, pushed it out, and said, "I don't drink that. Take it away."

My words set her off. She yanked the door open and dumped all the soup over me.

As the warm liquid ran from my head down my body, she barked, "Don't push it, Orion. You don't want it just because it's from his grandma's place, right?"

Though the soup wasn't scaling, the stinging started the moment the peas touched my skin. The agonizing itch of an allergic reaction kicked in hard.

I could no longer restrain my fury.

"What the hell is wrong with you, Adella?"

As we fought, the areas covered in soup started stinging and itching. I started scratching my skin nonstop, but it didn't help at all.

Meanwhile, Adella kept yelling at me nonstop.

Within minutes, the hives spread across my entire arm. Adella finally seemed annoyed watching me scratch, so she slapped my hand away and barked, "Orion! Are you even listening to me?"

I couldn't be bothered to respond. The raised itchy rashes were climbing up my neck now, while the skin over my right arm and neck had turned an alarming red.

Adella finally noticed. Grabbing my arm, she looked closely at the small red bumps blooming across my skin.

"Orion, w-what's happening to you?

For a fleeting second, I saw the genuine panic in her eyes, and something in me stirred a little.

"I'm allergic to peas. This is what happens when I touch them," I explained.

She frowned and immediately grabbed my arm. "Come on. I'm taking you to the hospital right now!"

My heart skipped a beat. Just as I was about to follow her out the door, her phone rang.

She glanced at the name "Raiden Chase" flashing across the screen and immediately dropped my swollen arm.

Turning around, she answered the phone. "Raiden? What's wrong?"

A wailing came through the speaker. "Adella, I was just walking and tripped, and my face is bleeding! You have to come and check on me, please! Am I going to be disfigured?"

Listening to the crying, Adella looked back at me and hesitated for a split second. Then, she grabbed her bag and jacket before heading for the door.

"I've sent you some money, Orion. Go to the hospital yourself.

"Raiden sounds like he's in a lot of pain. I'm worried he might hurt himself, so I have to check on him."

She didn't wait for my reply as she grabbed her car keys and stepped out the door.

Tripped? Disfigured? I couldn't even imagine how those words came out of a grown man's mouth.

I didn't even have to think about it to know that Raiden was playing his little games again. He knew when Adella would be getting home and timed everything perfectly.

I bet that by the time she actually got to him, that scratch on his face would be invisible to the naked eye.

Sure enough, Raiden soon posted to his feed. It was a photo of them walking down the streets with Adella's hand in his, wearing the custom-made wedding ring I'd designed just for her.

"There will always be someone who understands your tantrums."

When I refused to drink the split pea soup because of my allergy, Adella believed I was just throwing tantrums. Yet when Raiden faked an injury to lure her to his side, she didn't have a single word of complaint.

There was a stark difference between love and indifference.

Fine, Adella. If she wanted to spend her life catering to a man's temper tantrums, she could go ahead.

I left a "Best wishes" in the comments and turned around to send Adella a copy of the divorce papers.

The wedding was off; I was done.

I felt an unexpected sense of relief the moment I decided to let go.

For years, I'd been trapped in the beautiful memories I shared with Adella and clung hard to maintain the illusion, even as the reality of our relationship rotted away. But now that I'd made up my mind to divorce her, I was going to take back what was mine.

Adella was the top shooter of our club, who'd won multiple world championships. She was indispensable to the club, but to me, the club was just one of the many, optional assets in my portfolio.

I'd poured so much money into it over the years, and while Adella had always promised a return on my investment, I hadn't seen a single dollar.

I didn't care back when I loved her, but now that I was getting divorced, there was no reason to keep sustaining a club that brought in nothing.

All the weapons and firearms were acquired through my personal connections. Some of them were even decommissioned military gear.

I had to take them back, or they would become a massive legal liability for me down the road.

Early the next morning, I arrived at the club with a crew to haul everything away. But just as I was giving orders to pack the crates, Adella and Raiden walked in, hand in hand, leaning into each other like a couple deeply in love.

"Orion? What are you doing here?"

I glanced at them, said nothing about their display of affection, and let out a cold laugh. "I'm just taking back what belongs to me."

As the firearms were being cataloged and crated, Adella fumed. She marched over and kicked one of the crates to the ground.

"What are you doing? These are the club's guns! Without them, how are the members supposed to train or win championships?

"When the National Sharpshooter Open starts, and the higher-ups hold us accountable, can you even afford the consequences?"

I ignored her and signaled my men to keep working.

"I'm warning you, Orion! Don't you dare sabotage this club!"

I found it ironic that, apparently, reclaiming my property was somehow sabotage.

Raiden decided to chime in. "Just stop and don't make Adella upset, Orion. She wasn't feeling well yesterday and is still weak now. If you won't look out for her, at least think about the rest of us who care.

"I know you're mad at me, so to show my apology, let me show you something."

As he spoke, he pulled out his phone and held it up to me, then whispered in a voice only the two of us could hear, "That bowl of soup didn't kill you, did it? Guess you got lucky.

"Here. Let me show you a different side of Adella."

He started scrolling through the videos on his phone. On the screen, she was posing provocatively, acting so bold and intimate that the clips were so hard to watch.

I stared at the screen and was too angry to speak.

Adella and I had been in love for seven years, yet we'd never shared that level of intimacy. Every time I thought we were steady and ready to move our relationship forward, she would find a thousand excuses to stop me.

When she solemnly told me that she wanted to wait until marriage, I thought I'd been too impatient and even apologized to her.

But from the photos and videos on Raiden's phone, it was clear that they'd been checking into hotels together for the last three years. All the love I thought we had was nothing more than a curated lie.

I looked at Raiden with fury burning in my eyes. Just as I was about to say something, he threw himself backward and crashed onto the floor. His phone went flying and shattered into pieces.

Adella finally snapped. She charged over, hauled Raiden to his feet with one hand, and with the other, delivered a stinging slap to my face.

"Have you lost your mind? Why would you suddenly attack him?"

As Raiden scrambled to his feet, looking wronged and scared, he looked at me with wide, fearful eyes. "I don't know why Orion did it. He shoved me out of nowhere and smashed the phone I'd saved up for myself."

His eyes welled with tears as he muttered.

I'd been standing perfectly still, so Adella could clearly see what'd happened. Even if she couldn't, anyone could tell that Raiden had staged a fake, obvious fall just to set me up.

But when it came to Raiden, who was almost like her poison, she lost all ability to think.

She lunged forward, grabbed me by the collar, and snapped, "I can't believe how vile you are. You're just jealous that he has a grandma who actually loves him, unlike you, an unwanted orphan!"

It was true that I was an orphan. My parents died early, so I had to fight my way through life alone. I'd learned to stand on my own and face the world long before most people did.

But the world never went easy on people like me. Cruelty and malice came in overwhelming tides, all for a simple reason—I was an orphan.

That was a wound that would never heal, but because I loved Adella, I'd laid my scars and past bare to her. Back then, she'd cried her eyes out and held me tight, promising that she was my family now and that she'd never leave me.

But now, she was tearing that wound open and using my painful past against me.

My expression went horrifyingly dark, but Adella acted like she hadn't noticed. She marched up to me, snatched the crate from my hands, and assembled a handgun in seconds with practiced ease.

Then, she pressed the barrel against my forehead. "Orion, drop everything right now and get the hell out of this club, or I'll pull the trigger."

My team of professionally trained bodyguards reacted instantly. They immediately grabbed the weapons they were packing, and for a moment, the room turned into a standoff.

"What's going on here? Lower your weapons!"

The police chief marched in with a squad of officers.

I'd called him here. Since these firearms were registered with the police, I needed official oversight to reclaim them.

Besides, the chief and his officers often used my range for training. I'd provided the space and equipment for free as a service to the community.

Seeing the police, Adella reluctantly lowered the gun. It took several tense minutes for the chief to de-escalate the situation before the officers packed the firearms away for inspection, stating they needed to take them in for secondary verification.

That was when Adella and Raiden finally relaxed.

As they were leaving, Raiden slunk over to me and leaned in as if to offer a timid apology. But his voice was a sharp, mocking hiss.

"Orion, if you know what's good for you, just get lost. Adella is mine now, so stop this pointless struggle.

"She told me that only with me by her side does she have the drive to keep shooting and chase her dreams, so do yourself a favor. Stay away from her and sign the divorce papers as soon as you can."

That line set my anger ablaze. Adella was my wife, so why did Raiden, the gigolo, have the guts to tell me to stay away?

Adella frowned as well. "Enough, Raiden. I get to decide whether we divorce or not."

She turned to me, and her tone softened. "Stop making a scene, alright? I promise we'll have a proper wedding this time.

"Just stop causing trouble for Raiden. He's had it hard enough."

I glared at her with bloodshot eyes and slowly curled my lips into a grin. "Fine."

I was looking forward to seeing how things would turn out. It was about time they paid the price.