Page 58

CHAPTER FIFTY-EIGHT

SHE RAN.

I fucking let her run.

My body was frozen, but my mind was roaring, every instinct telling me to go after her, to fix it, but I couldn’t move.

Because she was still here.

The woman who had just torn my world apart.

She was smirking, standing there like she’d done nothing more than knock over a drink, not just ripped Zeynep’s heart and mine out in front of the entire club.

The room was still silent, everyone waiting for me to move, to react.

I finally did.

My fist slammed into the table beside me.

Glasses rattled. A bottle tipped over. The sound cracked through the air like a gunshot.

My wife—no, the woman I was fucking done with—arched a brow.

“There he is.”

I turned my head slowly, locking onto her with a look that should’ve put her six feet under. Fuck her, I needed to find Zeynep.

The second I took a step forward, a hand grabbed my arm.

“Oh no, sweetheart. You don’t get to run after her.”

My pulse roared in my ears, my body locked so tight I thought I might snap. She was still smiling, still playing the role of the perfect, conniving, manipulative bitch she had always been. I had let her get away with it for too long.

But not tonight.

I ripped my arm free, my voice a growl. “Not now.”

She tsked, shaking her head like I was some unruly pet that needed discipline. “Oh, sweetheart, but it is now.”

The smirk returned. “What, you thought I would just stand back and do nothing?"

My fists clenched. “Chelsea—”

“You thought you could replace me?”

My entire body went still.

And she saw it.

Of course, she fucking saw it. She stepped closer, lowering her voice just enough so only I could hear. “Tell me, Kain,” she murmured. “How did it feel? Watching her walk away?”

My breathing turned sharp, uneven.

She laughed softly, shaking her head. “You really thought you deserved something good, didn’t you?"

I moved before I thought. Grabbed her wrist—hard, not enough to hurt, but enough to pull her in. Enough to make it clear—we weren’t doing this here. Her eyes flashed with something close to excitement.

She loved this.

Loved knowing she could still get a reaction out of me.

I exhaled sharply, my voice low and clipped. “Outside. Now.”

She arched a brow. “Make me.”

I did.

She didn’t flinch. She never did. But that smirk? It twitched.

The moment the night air hit me, I released her with a shove and inhaled deep, trying to force some of this rage out of my system. It didn’t work.

The bitch stood there smiling at me.

Of course, she would. She lived for this shit.

“What the fuck was that?” I snarled, rough, all teeth and venom.

She gave an exaggerated sigh, crossing her arms. “That was me reminding you who you belong to.”

A sharp, bitter laugh ripped from my throat. “The fuck I do.”

I stepped closer, close enough that she had to tilt her chin up to meet my eyes. She didn’t look scared. Because she thought she still had a hold on me.

She was wrong.

“It’s over,” I ground out. “We’re done. We’ve been done. You fuckin’ agreed when I talked to you yesterday.”

She let out a scoff. “Oh, please and you believed me? We’re still married, Kain and that’s not going to change. Wouldn’t want me showing that tape, now would you?”

God, I hated her.

The woman who had wrapped her hands around my throat the second I stepped off that plane, fresh out of war, broken in ways I didn’t understand yet. She’d never loved me—she’d just claimed me like a paycheck.

And I’d let her.

Because she kept that tape around my neck like a noose.

Because she made me think no one else would ever want me.

Because I hadn’t wanted to deal with her and the bullshit, so I walked away finding it easier to be alone forever than fight her.

Until now.

“I want a divorce, and I don’t give a fuck about that tape,” I said, my voice even, final.

For the first time, her mask cracked. Her lips parted. Her brows drew together, just slightly. Not in pain—in surprise. Because she never thought I’d do it. Zeynep gave me the determination and reason to finally deal with this bitch.

She recovered quick, her smirk snapping back into place. “You say that now. But we both know you’re not going anywhere.”

I took another step forward, my chest nearly brushing hers, forcing her to crane her neck up. “Watch me.”

Something flickered in her eyes—jealousy. Frustration. Anger. But not fear. She wasn’t scared of me. She should’ve been. Because I wasn’t that fucking broken kid she married anymore.

She exhaled, rolling her shoulders back like this whole thing was boring her. “Fine. You want a divorce? Go get the paperwork. We’ll see if I feel like signing.”

I smiled.

And she finally flinched.

Because my smile meant I wasn’t playing her game anymore.

“I don’t need your permission, sweetheart. I just need a damn good lawyer, and I got one. I’m not playing games anymore and the best part—you won’t get shit.”

Her nostrils flared. That smirk—gone.

Now, she looked pissed.

“You really think you’re gonna run off with your little charity case and leave me with nothing? You think she’s gonna love you, Kain? You think she won’t get tired of that scarred up face, that fucked-up head of yours, and realize what a mistake you are?”

My vision went red.

I didn’t touch her.

Didn’t say a word.

But she must’ve felt the violence coiled under my skin, because for the first time tonight, she took a step back.

I leaned down, close enough that my next words were a breath against her skin. “Get the fuck gone.”

“Kain—”

“Get. The fuck. Gone.”

For once, she didn’t argue. She turned on her heel, stalking toward her car. The second her door slammed shut, she rolled down the window just enough for her final words to slip through.

“I’ll fucking ruin you, Kain. You wanna leave me? Fine. But I’ll make sure you go down as the violent piece of shit everyone already thinks you are. I can make you look like anything I want. And you know what? They’ll believe me.”

Then she peeled out, tires kicking up gravel.

I stood there, breathing hard, my fists aching from how tight I’d been clenching them.

It was over. Finally. Fucking. Over. But the victory felt hollow, because Zeynep was still gone.

And I had no idea how to get her back.