Marital Rape

Lunch was, once again, on Xavier. They’d treated themselves to a fancy meal at one of the swankiest hotels in Vernon.

Afterward, Serena leaned back in her chair, rubbing her stomach and letting out a loud burp, completely unbothered by appearances.

Across the table, Xavier just grinned, clearly amused.

“I swear, the real Serena is finally back. The one I saw with Clint? That wasn’t you—she was way too humble, like she forgot who she was.” He reached across the table and offered his hand. “Welcome back, Serena Knowles.”

Serena blinked, pushing down the emotions rising in her chest, and shook his hand. “Thanks. Let that humble version of me rot in hell.”

The next day, Serena waited… and waited. But the divorce agreement still hadn’t shown up.

She frowned. It shouldn’t take this long—couriers within Vernon could deliver in a couple of hours, max.

Clint had been so desperate to marry Poppy, right? So why the hell was it taking two whole days?

Tired of waiting, she finally picked up her phone and called.

After a few rings, he answered, voice flat. “What is it?”

Serena let out a dry laugh. This man wasn’t even trying to pretend anymore.

Even when he didn’t love her, he’d at least still call her by name. Now? Not even that.

“Just wondering why the divorce papers haven’t shown up. I’m ready to sign, you know.”

There was a pause before he said, “I’m in a meeting. We’ll talk later.” Then he hung up.

“Hey!” Serena glared at her phone, fuming. “Are you serious right now?! You couldn’t wait to divorce me before, but now that I’m ready to move on, you’re stalling?!”

The more she thought about it, the more pissed she got. She grabbed her purse and stormed out.

When she arrived at Beckett Corp, Clint was still in a meeting. His secretary recognized her and let her wait in his office.

It was just past one in the afternoon, and the quiet, air-conditioned room started to make her sleepy.

Her eyes drooped… and before she knew it, she was out cold on the couch.

She didn’t know how long she’d been asleep when something cool brushed her cheek.

Serena’s eyes flew open—and suddenly she was face-to-face with Clint.

“Ahhh!” she shrieked, scrambling up like a startled squirrel.

Clutching the armrest for space between them, she glared. “What are you, a cat? You sneak in without making a sound now?!”

Clint stood there with his hands on his hips, clearly amused. “Last I checked, this is my office. Why would I need to announce myself? And you were sleeping—what, was I supposed to wake you?”

“You—” Serena instinctively pulled her collar tighter. “Since when do you care if I’m asleep or not?”

But that tiny move flipped a switch in Clint.

Before she could react, he stepped forward, looming over her.

“W-what are you doing?!”

“What do you think I’m doing?” he said, eyes narrowing as he started unbuttoning his shirt.

“Clint, seriously?! We—”

“We what? We’re still married. You’re still my wife. This is part of your wifely duties.”

“You’re disgusting!” Serena snapped—and without thinking, kicked him hard in the thigh.

Clint flinched, groaning in pain, and she used the chance to duck under his arm and put space between them.

“Ever heard of marital rape, you jerk?!”

“Marital—what?” Clint stared at her like she’d grown a second head. “You’ve changed.”

“Oh please,” she scoffed. “Changed how? Wasn’t I always like this?”

“No. The old you wouldn’t talk to me like this. You wouldn’t reject me, wouldn’t fight back…”

Serena laughed bitterly. “Let me remind you, Mr. Beckett, I used to love you. I respected you. I treated you like my husband. But you didn’t care—you threw all that away for Poppy. So why should I keep playing the devoted little wife? What, you think after the divorce I’m gonna stick around and act like nothing’s changed?”

“Divorce,” Clint repeated, voice lower now, like the word stung. “You really seem excited about it.”

“I’m not the one who pushed for it in the first place, remember? That was all you.”

Clint didn’t say anything. He just kept staring at her, eyes searching her face like he was trying to read something that wasn’t written there.

The silence started to feel heavy, uncomfortable.

“What? Why are you looking at me like that?” she asked, crossing her arms.

“You’re my wife. Am I not allowed to look at my wife?”

“…!” Serena nearly choked on her own breath.

The room suddenly felt way too small.

Clearing her throat, she shifted gears. “Anyway, I didn’t come here for small talk.” She held out her hand. “Where are the divorce papers? Give them to me.”

Clint’s brow furrowed. “You barely ever come to the office, and now the one time you do, it’s for a divorce?”

Serena blinked. What the hell was that supposed to mean?

He was the one who didn’t want her visiting him at work. Said he wanted to keep personal stuff and business separate.

Now he was making it sound like she didn’t care?

And the divorce? That had been his bright idea. She’d begged him to reconsider and he’d still insisted. But now that she was on board, he was dragging his feet?

She smirked, shaking her head. “You and Poppy must take classes in flipping the script. Always the first ones to play the victim, huh?”

***