Prologue

—Fremont, Sandusky County, Ohio, US—

“You cheating on me?” Ann looked up with a tear on her face when she heard the bedroom door open at 2 a.m.

The dark room around her was the first thing to greet her husband—Alban Scott, the big-shot lawyer whose name was praised throughout the city. While others considered his name a blessing, Ann felt it was the worst curse she’d ever received.

“Haven’t I told you I don’t like this room dark? Are you really deaf that you keep doing this?”

Instead of answering Ann’s first question, Alban preferred to grumble and walked towards the switch to turn on all the lights. Alban hated darkness, but he wouldn’t like what he was about to see after the lights were turned on either.

“Are you insane?!” His shout rang out right after the lights flicked on.

Ann wiped her tears—allowing herself to fully gaze at the jerk she, unfortunately, had to call her husband.

“Are you insane?!” She stood up and threw the flower vase she held in her hand.

Alban managed to dodge, but the vase hit the television at the end of the room. Once again, the sound of breaking glass filled the silence of their bedroom—making the floor even more chaotic than the mess Ann had created hours earlier.

“Are you trying to kill me?!” Alban walked closer with angry steps. His eyes glared as he realized Ann had completely trashed their room.

Everything had fallen to the floor, and shards of glass littered the space, making the room look like a storm had hit it. But who cared? Ann had allowed that storm to consume her once again because she couldn’t hold it in anymore.

“If I could, I would have done it already!” Ann stood up and screamed right in her husband’s face. “You’ve cheated on me, and you expect me to sit pretty like I always have?!”

“What nonsense are you talking about? Are you accusing me of cheating?”

“I have the proof, Alban!” She threw several photos, evidence of his infidelity.

Alban didn’t look surprised when he saw the photos she threw at him. It was as if he didn’t care that his wife had discovered his affair.

“I want a divorce,” Ann took a deep breath.

“There will be no divorce.” Alban grabbed her wrist and pushed her slowly.

“You’ve cheated on me six times, and what do you expect me to do, idiot?!” She fought back, yanking her hand away—trying to free herself from Alban and whatever deceitful plans he might be cooking up.

“You’re overreacting, using this as a reason for divorce. Do you really think you can divorce me after everything I’ve given you?” Alban pushed her out of the bedroom—away from the chaos as if he didn’t want Ann to grab another object to throw at him.

“What have you given me in these three years of marriage besides betrayal, damn it?!” Ann felt like she was losing her mind dealing with this jerk in front of her. This man had cheated on her, and he felt no guilt for what he’d done. “There’s no better reason for divorce than infidelity. And damn it, you’ve done it six times, you bastard!”

“Your mouth is always filthy, and I’ve told you I hate it when you talk to me like that. Didn’t your mother ever teach you how to speak to your husband?!” Alban raised his hand and slapped Ann’s face with his hand, which was much larger than her face.

Ann could feel the pain at the edge of her lip. Maybe the wound would bruise like it always did, or maybe it would bleed.

“That’s your fault for not being able to control your mouth in front of me. Watch your fucking mouth before I do something bad to you,” he said.

Ann heard the uncertainty in Alban’s voice as he saw her crouching on the floor after what he had just done.

He had cheated on her and now hit her with a ridiculous excuse.

“Do I have to watch my mouth in front of a man who just cheated on me?” Ann looked up, her eyes glaring at Alban. She didn’t fucking care if he thought she was weak because of the wound on her lip. This time, she wouldn’t hold back. She can’t hold it anymore.

“So you still haven’t realized your mistake?!”

“Have you ever realized yours?”

“My mistake was marrying you!”

“Then we should divorce!” Ann shouted loudly as she stood up. “Do you think I enjoy being married to a jerk like you?”

“Damn it!” Alban swung his hand again, and this time, Ann didn’t expect his beat to be harder than before.

Ann felt dizzy when her body hit the floor, and the punch landed directly on her head.

It hurt so much. Not just her body but her heart, which had been shattered over and over as she realized she didn’t have the perfect marriage every woman dreamed of.

But what had she expected from a jerk like Alban? From the start, she knew her marriage wouldn’t go well. Unfortunately, she still couldn’t prevent the disappointment in her heart when she realized she was not only betrayed by infidelity but also physically hurt by the man who was supposed to guarantee her safety and happiness.

“You should’ve kept your mouth shut and stopped talking nonsense, Ann. You caused all this yourself. If you were better at controlling your mouth, you know I wouldn’t hit you, right?” Alban still spoke in an arrogant tone, full of pride, as if the fact that he had just cheated and blamed Ann for everything wasn’t a big deal worth discussing.

“Everyone in this city knows about your father’s infidelity, but your mother never did anything. That’s why your father lives happily in their marriage. You should learn something from your mother and start letting go of things that don’t matter.”

That was enough. Ann was sick of it all—she was sick of everything she always had to endure, even though she knew she didn’t deserve such bad thing like this.

“And I’ll never be like my mother,” She exhaled deeply, then struggled to stand up.

Okay, she had to admit once again that her head was throbbing with pain. But maybe this would be her only chance before she lost her nerve and didn’t dare to make a decision.

She had to do something now, or she’d be stuck in the same situation for the rest of her life because she never dared to run.

“Do whatever you want, but I want a divorce, and I’ll do it as soon as I leave this house,” she said calmly.

She could vaguely see the shock in Alban’s eyes.

Of course, he wasn’t surprised by her request for a divorce but by the courage she had never shown. She had never even had the courage to refuse their arranged marriage three years ago. But she has it now. She has the courage to run away and throw everything that holds her tight.

“If you step down those stairs, I’ll make sure you regret it for the rest of your life.” That sentence was heard just as Ann stood on the first step that would take her to the first floor. By descending those stairs, her steps to leave this house would become easier.

“I’ll regret it more if I stay here, damn it!” She said it with confidence.

After this, who knows what she would do? But the confidence in her heart gave her immense courage. Whatever lay ahead, she knew she would face many difficulties because she dared to raise the flag of war against a famous lawyer in her town.

Alban wouldn’t let her go easily; he would make her life hell if she dared to fight him. Her father would make sure she was miserable for the rest of her life if he found out what she had done. But Ann didn’t want to let her courage fade away before she tried to do something for herself.

Unfortunately, Ann was wrong.

Maybe she should’ve realized that her courage wasn’t enough to fight the jerk she was married to.

And now she had to face it with the pain throughout her body.

“You asked for this, bitch!” Right after saying that, Alban pushed her arm hard, causing her to lose her balance.

Ann couldn’t feel anything but her spinning vision as her body fell, hitting the floor. Everything felt so fast that she didn’t have time to grab anything to stop herself. But one hard impact on her lower abdomen made her groan in pain—a pain that made her curl up, hugging her own body.

“Oh shit!”

Faintly, she could still hear it—hearing the voice of the jerk who had not only broken her heart but also her body this time.

Six times, she faced the same thing during her three years of marriage to Alban.

Six times, she had found her husband cheating right in front of her eyes, showing no remorse or guilt.

Ann faced the same betrayal six times, but she was truly fed up with everything this time.

She was sick of Alban and all of his jerk behavior.

She was sick of herself for never having the strength to fight back.

She was sick of her parents for destroying her life.

And she was sick of herself for letting it all happen repeatedly.

Oh God, can someone die from falling down the stairs? If so, maybe it would be better if she died this time.