Chapter 3

Despite being emotionally spent on the day's events, Fiona returned to work out of a sense of duty. She regained her composure after the jarring encounter with Alice, Kahl, and his mother and pretended nothing had happened.

Her colleagues began asking her questions incessantly, wanting to pry into her personal life, but she remained quiet. Instead, Fiona focused on her work as she treated her subsequent patients.

Thanks to the hospital's chaos, she was temporarily distracted from her personal issues.

After her sixteen-hour shift at the hospital, Fiona returned to the Browns' residence, only to be met with eerie silence and darkness.

"Hello? Anyone here?" Fiona asked, her voice echoing through the large hall of the living room.

She walked in and was met with silence. No one was there to greet her. Then she surmised Laura was with Alice in the hospital, and everyone there handled her with care.

Considering this disparity, Fiona tasted the bitter pill in her mouth. She was forgotten while Alice was being treated like a queen. Frustrated and downcast, Fiona stomped on the stairs without turning on the lights.

As she reached the stairs, she heard a faint metallic sound. The living room was filled with the sound of a lighter igniting. Then and there, a familiar figure appeared from the shadows, his lighter flame illuminating his handsome face.

It was her husband, Kahl.

'What is he doing here? Shouldn't he be with Alice?"

Even after being married for so long, Fiona still felt a jolt of surprise and curiosity whenever she saw him. Despite her confused emotions, she couldn't deny how attractive he was, despite her better judgment.

"Kahl..." She gulped and continued, "I thought you were in the hospital. It's already late. Why are you still up?" Fiona hooked her handbag tightly in her arm as she gazed at him while he sat languidly on the recliner.

Her heart couldn't stop pounding fast when she watched her dastardly husband smoking nonchalantly. She hadn't expected him to be at home, and her grip on the handrail tightened as she tried to steady her emotions. Despite the anger bubbling inside her, she remained silent and let him speak.

"You can see that Alice was carrying my baby. Do you need me to explain this to you?" Kahl's voice was distant and cold, and his words cut through the heavy silence like a knife.

Fiona's fingers turned pale as she tightened her grip on the handrail, her heart racing with mixed emotions. She wanted to hear an explanation. Who wouldn't if anyone was in her shoes?

'More than anything, I deserve to know the truth,' Fiona pondered.

Her husband betrayed her, and everyone else seemed to know about it. But with Kahl's insincerity and impatience, she knew there was no point in asking for one. All she could do was try to salvage her little dignity.

Trying to mask the pain in her voice, Fiona said calmly, "You don't have to do that. I understand. Besides, I'm tired, and I need to sleep."

Kahl smashed the cigarette into the ashtray, ascended from the couch, and dropped the bomb on her. Standing before Fiona, he blatantly said, "Well, that's good because I don't think there's anything to explain, either. Whatever the case, I'll have Attorney Rafael draft the divorce agreement."

"Divorce?" she asked, her eyes blinking in disbelief and her voice trembling. "What do you mean?"

Kahl's eyes met hers, and she could sense the coldness in his gaze. "You heard me, Fiona. Divorce." He confirmed it; his voice was devoid of any emotion.

At that moment, Fiona felt like her entire world was crashing. The room's darkness seemed to close in on her, suffocating her. She wished she could sneak inside Kahl's mind to know what he was thinking, but she could only make out his silhouette.

And then, as if driving the knife deeper into her chest, Kahl continued, "Looking at things now, I think it's time we ended things between us. There's no point in staying married to each other." His voice sounded as though they were discussing one of his business meetings.

"So you can marry your mistress and make your relationship legal, am I right?" Fiona's voice was hoarse, and her heart was heavy as she finally asked what had been gnawing at her for so long.

She had tolerated his infidelity while he openly flirted with the bimbo, but hearing him say he was done with her felt like a slap in the face.

Perhaps Fiona had known this day would come a long time ago. Even so, she was surprised by how fast it happened. This shock of sobering reality was more than she could handle.

Kahl's eyes darkened with a hint of anger at her bold gesture. "That's none of your business," he sneered, his words dripping with disdain. "All you have to do is agree to the divorce and sign the papers."

Fiona felt like she had been punched in the gut. She tried to suppress the pain and sorrow that threatened to overwhelm her, but it was difficult to hold back the tears in front of the man she had loved for so long—now deliberately hurting her in the cruellest way.

"Alright, just send me the papers after it's been drafted," she whispered, her voice barely audible.

Kahl's lips twitched. "Okay. I will." Then his lips curled up, seemingly shocked. "I'd never thought you'd agree so quickly. I've always counted on you to turn a blind eye to my relationship with Alice.

He was right. Fiona had stayed silent throughout their affair and let him do as he pleased. But she had had enough of him this time and finally accepted their impending divorce.

'What's the sense of waiting for something already doomed from the start?' Fiona pondered.

Clearing his throat, he fiddled on the buttons of his sleeves and asked blandly, "So, lay out your terms for me."

His words were calm. But Fiona was taken aback when she saw his eyes were filled with anger, frustration, and maybe even a hint of guilt.

'But why would he?'

He was the one who brought up the subject of divorce.

***