Chapter 5 Just For Fun

Kayson tightened his grip on Miriam's wrists as if he were going to snap them in a second.

"What did you say? Miriam, you're the one who forced me to marry you. Or have you forgotten?"

"I was stupid enough to make the mistake of marrying you. I don't want to prolong this mistake anymore. I don't ever want to see you again!" Miriam shrieked indignantly, trying to jerk away from him.

What did she mean she never wanted to see him again?

He had no idea she was such an unpredictable and fickle-minded woman.

Was he merely a plaything to her all along?

Was she trying to end her little game now that she was tired? No. He wasn't going to let that happen.

Kayson narrowed his eyes and glared at her with the rage of a ferocious lion.

"Fine. I'll divorce you. But before we do, I should give you a gift!" As he spoke, he suddenly stretched out his arms and pulled down her pants.

His movements were forceful and wrenched at her legs. Her skin was abruptly exposed, her face burned in humiliation, and a surge of resentment and fury swept through her. Without thinking, she slapped Kayson across the face.

The strike finally stopped him. They both froze, a horrible silence descending upon the room.

The blow had turned his head to one side, a red mark growing on his cheek. Kayson stilled, his expression unchanging, his cold, terrifying eyes slowly meeting hers.

Miriam's hand, raised after the slap, trembled violently under his gaze. She thought about escaping, but her legs wouldn't move. Her blood felt frozen in her vein.

The harrowing silence only lasted for a brief moment. Miriam let out a yelp when Kayson grabbed her wrists again, gripping them tightly as he tore at her clothes, ripping them off more brutally than before.

She felt panic mounting in her chest as she struggled to no avail. He clearly intended to rape her. Realizing in horror what was going to happen, Miriam let out a blood-curdling scream. "Let go of me, you bastard!"

Goosebumps erupted on her bare skin as a chill went down her spine. Miriam gritted her teeth, flailing and struggling wildly to break free from his grasp. But the more she fought, the tighter he pressed their bodies together.

"Christ! What the hell are you doing?" A shrill shriek rang through the air and interrupted them.

Panic-stricken, Miriam desperately looked over to see Annette. She had walked in and stood there, gaping at them in shock.

Kayson looked up to see her, too, and seemed to snap back to his senses. The clouded fury in his eyes dissipated as he glanced back at Miriam's tearful face. He realized what he was caught doing and instinctively jumped back as if he had been scalded.

When the natural heat of his body left, her skin was met with a sudden tinge of coldness. The abruptness of the situation caused Miriam to take a second to realize what had happened. She quickly pulled her shirt back on to cover her body. Her arms wrapped tightly around her chest and her legs curled up. She looked even thinner than before.

Kayson looked at her fragile form, the mixture of remorse, frustration, and confusion twisting in his chest. He opened his mouth the say something to her, anything, but nothing came out.

"Kayson, you and Miriam..." Annette whimpered, a sob escaping her throat. She was always good at acting, and people who didn't know the truth would think she was the victim here.

Kayson dragged his eyes away from Miriam to look at Annette. In a split second, his eyes became vacant with dead indifference. He smoothed his messy shirt and strode over to Annette.

"Anne, it's not what you think it is," Kayson explained in a placid tone. He placed his arm around Annette's shoulders and cast Miriam a scornful glance. "I was bored, so I thought I'd play a joke on her to kill time."

A joke to kill time?

Miriam bit her lip hard, but tears began to leak from the corners of her eyes. She wiped them off quickly with the back of her hand.

Annette looked skeptical. She gazed at Miriam and questioned in a soft voice, "Really? But Kayson, I don't think this is funny. Look at Miriam. She's crying."

Despite her tears, Miriam's lips curved in a wry smile. She watched Annette as she put on a show.

Annette blinked innocently, masking her malice behind her perfectly angelic expression.

Kayson turned his head to look at the disheveled woman curled on the sofa. His fingers, hanging limply by his side, twitched slightly. He looked at her and said apathetically, "Is that so? As compensation for this joke, I'll give her an extra five hundred thousand dollars after the divorce is settled."

He was saying that to Annette.

The only purpose for it was to ease Annette's anxiety and make her happy.

It seemed like he was trying to humiliate Miriam further rather than an act of compensation.

Miriam clenched her fingers, irked. She smiled bitterly. "Kayson, I don't need your money. You'd better give it to Annette. She must have suffered quite a lot as a mistress for the past two years. She should be compensated for that."

Annette's face darkened. But she didn't take the bait. Her eyes filled with tears, and she clutched at her chest. Her face paled as she leaned on Kayson for support. "Miriam, what you said was hurtful."

On reflex, Kayson held Annette in his arms and peered at her haggard face worriedly. A rush of disgust and outrage overcame him. He looked back up at Miriam's numb expression and felt even more irritated.

His hands clenched, and he couldn't help yelling angrily, "You're provoking Annette on purpose, aren't you? You know she has heart disease, but you're still doing it. Don't forget how we got married in the first place. Annette is not the mistress. On the contrary, you're the other woman who tore us apart."

His words were like a sharp stab in her heart. Miriam pursed her lips tightly. She didn't know how to respond.

Yes. That was exactly what he thought of her.

Kayson was getting increasingly agitated, to the point where he couldn't think straight.

This woman and this entire marriage were so revolting!

He was so stupid to think he didn't want to divorce her.

He carefully helped Annette onto the sofa and then approached Miriam. He bent to grab the pen on the coffee table and aggressively signed his name on the divorce papers.

Then he grabbed the two sheets of documents and threw them at Miriam as a way to vent his anger.

"From today on, we are no longer married. Don't ever show up in front of me again. You make me sick!"

The papers fell, hitting Miriam and scattering on the floor.

Miriam watched the papers on the floor, her eyes wide. A sudden chill came over her entire body.

Kayson's fingers flexed unconsciously again when he saw her petrified expression. He lowered his eyes for a moment. When he raised them again, they were filled with coldness and disgust.

Without sparing her a second glance, he turned around swiftly, picked up Annette, and left.

The room fell into a deafening silence.

The door was still open, swinging lightly on its hinges. A gust of frigid wind blew in and sent the papers gliding across the room.

Miriam stared at the papers, frozen in place, her eyes wide open, tears streaming silently down her cheeks.

She didn't know how long she sat on the sofa, staring at nothing. The sky outside turned dark at some point.

Finally, Miriam decided to move.

Her limbs were stiff and sore; hours of sitting in the same place caused her limbs to go numb. She could hardly feel anything.

It took her about ten minutes just to walk from the living room to the bathroom. After turning on the tap and splashing some cold water on her face, she seemed to regain some of her senses.

She looked up and stared at her haggard reflection in the mirror. Her face was deathly pale, her clothes and hair messy and tousled, her eyes and nose red and swollen. How ugly she was!

With a self-deprecating smile, Miriam turned and walked out of the bathroom.

She sat for a while longer, her thoughts fading in and out. She suddenly remembered that she should inform Shawn Harvey, Kayson's grandfather, about the divorce. She took out her phone and tapped it open, the screen glowing blindingly in her sore eyes. A notification popped up. It was some entertainment news.

"Kayson Harvey, the CEO of Harvey Group, was seen going to an examination with Annette Murray. She may be in a family way!"

"Kayson Harvey declared he had divorced his ex-wife and planned to marry Annette Murray in a week's time!"

Below the articles were several photographs of Kayson and Annette being intimate with each other.

Miriam scrolled through the news and pictures, staring at them with complete stupefaction.

They just signed the divorce papers. The process hadn't even been registered or completed yet.

He couldn't wait to marry Annette.

It seemed the world already knew. She didn't need to tell Shawn about the divorce.

Miriam curled up on the sofa and shut her eyes tightly, slowly letting her consciousness be swallowed up by the dark bit by bit.