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Author: Kiara Nicole
last update Last Updated: 2024-11-12 21:15:03

Orchard.

I woke up to the incessant ringing of my alarm, reminding me it was time for another day of work.

Mornings weren’t usually my favorite time of the day, but my thoughts on that, became conflicted since I married Iris.

Although, I stubbornly refused to admit it to myself, I loved waking up to see the sunlight caressing her beautiful face. Those faint glows on her luscious lips were enough to keep me going throughout the day.

“Morning,” I whispered as I got out of bed, even though she was still sleeping.

I took a quick shower and soon fitted into my work clothes. I had them picked out for me already, so I spent a lesser time dressing up.

I hadn’t said goodbye to Iris when I was leaving. In fact, I left while she was still snoozing happily, her face buried into her pillow. I made a quick and quiet arc of getting dressed and heading outside, ensuring I barely made a sound until I was in the car and zoomed off to work.

As promised, Richard was waiting for me in front of my of
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    IrisI woke up to several text messages flooding my phone, completely covering the home screen."What?" I mumbled to myself groggily. I wiped the sleep from my eyes, muttering something incoherent about waking up to too many things and having to look at my phone so early in the morning."Hey, it's Macy. I'm meeting you for lunch today. Here’s the address." Underneath was the name of a rather popular restaurant some distance away from my house. I knew it; it was where Tiffany liked to go and "flex," as she would say, with her friends back when we were in high school.I buried my head back into the pillow, mumbling, "Why me?" I asked myself, until I suddenly remembered I was married to a rich man and that, by virtue of the fundraiser I went to, I had thrown myself into the limelight as a social butterfly."Oh God," I sat up straight. That wasn’t all she had texted. I buried my head back into the pillow and decided it best to take another nap for at least two hours.My eyes suddenly snap

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    Iris.The hairs on my skin stood still as her ever irritating voice scarred the walls of my eardrum. I could immediately feel bile rising to my throat, sucking all the air from my throat.My eyes darted to Macy and she stared back, shaking apologetically. Showing that she had no idea Tiffany was coming.So this was a set up? I thought to myself. Wonderful.“Hello, Tiffany,” I turned around to meet her gaze, offering her a wide smile. She, and perhaps everyone else in the room could tell it was fake, but I didn’t care. “Why don’t you join us,” I gestured to a seat at the corner of the room.“No, thank you.” She batted her fake eyelashes, “I’d rather sit beside you.”The reason as to why she was invited remained uncertain, but those days I let her walk over me like I was some carpet at an ancient temple, was long gone.“Of course.” I replied. “Sisters should stick to each other, shouldn’t they?” I turned to the other women, and they each gave their nod of approval. Even the one who wou

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  • Let Me Go, Ex Husband!   14

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  • Let Me Go, Ex Husband!   17

    Iris.“O—Orchard” I gasped as my gaze met his. “What are you doing here?”Orchard stood in the doorway, with only a towel wrapped around his waist. His hair was slightly messy and the hairs on his chest sprawled as his chest heaved.I gasped, unable to stop myself from staring. Orchard looked like a god that had decided to grace the human race with his perfectly sculptured body.I felt my face grow warm, realizing I was staring a bit too long, but I couldn’t seem to stop.A small smirk spread across his face as he leaned against the doorway, watching me with a playful look. “You’re the one who told me to come join you, Iris,” he said with a grin and a hint of teasing in it his voice.I opened my mouth to reply but realized I didn’t have a single good excuse. My mind was haywire, and I felt so flustered. My heart was pounding, then I suddenly remembered that I was completely naked. Heat rushed to my cheeks as I quickly crossed my arms over my chest, trying to cover myself up as best as

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  • Let Me Go, Ex Husband!   19

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    IrisPerhaps it was not just me but the entire court, but everyone seemed to let out a breath of relief. I caught sight of Karen sitting somewhere at the back of the room.Simply, I got sight of her because I was jittery, my eyes darting all over the place.Perhaps I was so eager to keep my eyes off Dave that I simply couldn’t look at the person—the wicked person—he had become. He was so unrecognizable.He was not the man I had known all my life; he was not the man I had fallen in love with. No. Buried far from those things were the sweet smiles he had given me when I was younger and the messages of conviction. *"You’re the only woman I could ever marry,"* he had said. Well, perhaps that part was true. I was the only one he married—but probably not the only one he could love. No. His love went to other places; his love had a knack for doing that, going to various places. But none of that mattered for the children. At least that chapter was closed. I raised my eyes to the prose

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    Iris’ Pov I got the call from the police station. They told me Dave wanted to see me. I didn’t want to go. After everything he’d done, why would I? But then, Orchard’s mum, Halle, said she’d come with me. I needed her support, so I agreed.When we got to the station, my hands were shaking. Halle held my arm gently, and we walked in together. They led us to the room where Dave was sitting. “Iris,” he said, “you came.”I didn’t sit down. I just looked at him, feeling all the anger rise inside me. “You better pray Orchard wakes up,” I said, “if she doesn’t, you’ll regret ever knowing me.”Dave smirked. “I don’t care what happens to me. If Orchard dies, I’m justified.”I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Justified? For what? Before I could say anything else, Halle held me.“There’s no use talking to a man like him,” he’s lost his mind. Let’s go, Iris.”Just as we turned to leave, a cop walked into the room. He had a file in his hand and a serious look on his face.“We found new evide

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    Iris’ PovI sat in the cold, hard chair outside the operating room, my breaths were shallow and uneven. It felt like I had been holding my breath the entire time.Orchard was in there, fighting for his life. The doctors had rushed him in as soon as we arrived at the hospital, I wanted to believe he would make it, but the blood, there had been so much blood. I couldn’t stop seeing it.My hands wouldn’t stop shaking. I joined them together, pressing them tightly against my lap, trying to steady them, but it didn’t work. My clothes still smelled like blood and sweat, and I hated it.“Iris,” a soft voice said beside me.I looked up to see Orchard’s mother. I had called her as soon as I arrived. She placed a hand on my shoulder.“He’s strong,” she said, though her voice cracked. “He’s going to make it.”I nodded, but I couldn’t speak. I couldn’t find any words.The hallway was too quiet, the kind of silence that only made things worse. Every time the doors to the operating room swung open,

  • Let Me Go, Ex Husband!   163

    Dave’s PovThe sound of the gunshot still rang in my ears as I stumbled back, my breath coming in short, ragged gasps. The scene before me felt surreal, like something out of a nightmare I couldn’t wake up from. Orchard was on the floor, blood spreading around him like a dark, growing shadow. Iris knelt beside him, screaming his name, her hands pressed desperately against his chest as if she could stop the life from slipping out of him.“Orchard! Stay with me! Please!” she sobbed, tears streaming down her face. Her voice was filled with panic, raw and heart-wrenching.And I just stood there, frozen. My hand was still gripping the gun, my knuckles white. I couldn’t move, couldn’t think. All I could do was stare at the chaos I had caused.What have I done?The question repeated over and over in my mind, but I couldn’t find an answer. I hadn’t planned for this to happen, not like this. I just wanted to scare them, to make them pay attention, to make her listen to me. But now… now it was

  • Let Me Go, Ex Husband!   161

    Iris’ Pov The gun pressed against my head was a constant reminder of how close I was to disaster. I could see the anger in Dave’s eyes, the wild, unpredictable rage that told me he wasn’t bluffing. He was mad enough to do anything. The memory of the day he shot my stepsister, suddenly hit me. The look on his face then was the same as now. No hesitation, no regret. Just pure fury.I knew better than to argue with him. If I made one wrong move, one wrong word, this could end horribly. I forced myself to take a shaky breath, trying to calm the panic that threatened to overwhelm me.“Dave,”please, let’s not do this. Name your price. Whatever you want, we’ll do it. Just… just let us go.”For a moment, he didn’t say anything. He just stared at me, his grip on the gun tightening and loosening, like he was considering his options.Then he laughed, a bitter, hollow sound that made my stomach twist. “Name my price?” he said mockingly. “It’s too late for that, Iris. Don’t you get it? There’s n

  • Let Me Go, Ex Husband!   160

    Iris’ Pov My body stirred, waking me from a restless dream. At first, I didn’t understand why I woke up, but then I felt a familiar discomfort in my stomach.I sighed quietly and got out of bed, careful not to wake Orchard. The room was dark, lit only by the faint light of the moon that filtered through the curtains. I paused for a moment, listening to his steady breathing, and then padded softly toward the bathroom.The bathroom tiles were cold under my bare feet, and I shivered slightly as I finished and washed my hands. I thought I would just crawl back into bed and try to sleep again, but as I stepped out of the bathroom, I realized how dry my throat felt. My mouth felt like sandpaper, and my lips were cracked.“I need some water,” I murmured to myself, my voice barely above a whisper.The thought of going downstairs in the middle of the night wasn’t appealing, but I knew I wouldn’t be able to sleep if I didn’t quench my thirst. So, I turned toward the stairs, walking as quietly

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