"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.

The next day, news of my upcoming wedding with Adella flooded Lowell City.

Though she favored Raiden, she knew deep down that I was her best option for marriage. I could offer her everything, not just my support, but also the power to skyrocket her career, whether through my reputation or fortune.

I was her best bet, and I knew it, too. Raiden wasn't even in the same league with me in terms of pedigree, power, and fortune.

I used to view a wedding as a sacred testament to our love and the starting line of a lifelong happiness. I remembered being overwhelmed with preparations for the wedding, yet every stressful moment was sweetened by the thought of giving Adella the best, perfect wedding.

Instead, she bailed on me time and time again. She abandoned me at the wedding and ignored my humiliation and the way the guests mocked me.

But now that she was finally settled down, I felt no joy at all. I looked at the way her eyes sparkled as she rattled off a list of media outlets and business partners she'd invited.

Deep down, I let out a self-deprecating laugh at the fact that I was such a fool. It took me this long to realize that she didn't love me anymore.

All she cared about was pushing Raiden, her secret lover, into the spotlight and helping him climb higher.

Leading up to the big day, Adella probably knew she couldn't afford any slip-ups right now and stayed on her best behavior. As for Raiden, he sent me different, daily updates, including intimate photos of them together and even explicit videos.

When Adella was with me, she was all conservative, but it turned out that she just didn't love me. With him, she was a completely different woman.

Perhaps it was her way of making it up to Raiden for marrying me, but she stopped flaunting him in my face. Still, she found excuses to slip away and see him every day.

I scrolled through the texts Raiden sent me daily, recording details of the beautiful life he and Adella fantasized about together, and let out a cold laugh. I truly hoped she could keep it together on the wedding day.

…

Soon, it was the big day. Adella and I stood at the entrance of the grand ballroom, she in her wedding gown and me in my tuxedo.

Everything was perfect, but deep down, we both knew that this wedding wasn't meant to celebrate our love. It was a publicity stunt for the shooting club.

The ballroom was packed with media and reporters. Adella didn't miss a single chance to pitch Raiden to the cameras, gushing about the prodigy athlete the shooting club had discovered. She relentlessly hyped him up and called him a rising star.

In the past, I might have felt threatened. But now, I just watched and smiled faintly.

If the clowns were working this hard putting on a show, the least I could do was show some respect, right?

Adella noticed my smile and thought I was mocking Raiden, so she shot me a warning glare.

Even now, her priority was to protect him. I couldn't help but lament the difference in her treatment of the men she loved and didn't.

When I gave her a half-hearted nod, she beamed, took my hand, and led me to the center of the stage. Smiling, she thanked the guests.

This was the first time she'd ever stood by my side to thank the guests hand in hand. I used to dream about moments like this, but now, it was nothing more than just my path to revenge.

To please me, major investors in the room were willing to drop fortunes just for a chance to dine with me. So with my backing, the shooting club became the ultimate hot asset every investor fought to invest in.

Reporters swarmed forward with questions. "Mr. Blaze, are the rumors true? Is this wedding truly for love, or is it just a business alliance?"

I looked at the smug Raiden standing in the crowd, then at Adella, who looked at me with expectant eyes. Smiling gently, I announced, "It's for love."

The ballroom erupted in congratulatory applause. Investors who hadn't even heard of the club started circling us like sharks smelling blood.

Seeing the plan working, Raiden couldn't even wait for the ceremony to end before he started trading flirtatious looks with Adella, who stood onstage.

Unfortunately for them, they celebrated too early. My seven years of financial funding and connections were reasons for this club's existence. Today, I was going to make sure Adella lost everything in front of the entire world.

As the thought crossed my mind, I gripped the microphone and continued, "But that's all in the past. We're divorced now."

Before anyone could process what was happening, I raised my voice and announced into the microphone, "I'm officially announcing that as of this moment, I'm withdrawing all investment and support from Adella Marlowe's shooting club.

"Let this serve as a warning to everyone in the room that I'll never partner with any firm that's associated with her again."