Bye, My Ex-husband

It was late into the night, and the lights inside the Lu family villa shone brightly, a stark contrast amongst the otherwise dark street.

As she stood in front of the windows looking out, Janessa Qiu made her last call to Rayan Lu. After a few rings, the call was abruptly ended, as she expected. She took a few deep breaths to steady herself before flinging the phone aside, unwrapping her bathrobe, and stepping into the steaming bathtub. She closed her eyes to rest.

The warmth of the water calmed her, and her eyelids soon grew heavy.

A few years back, her father passed away, and now, her mother was seriously ill. This made her Uncle Aydin started to cause trouble for them. She had been working a few days in a row and she was exhausted by now.

Before she could fall into a deep sleep, she could vaguely make out dull footsteps from outside the room. It seemed close by, but she couldn't bring herself to open her eyes and step out of the bathtub.

When she heard a muffled 'bang', she woke up completely and was suddenly alert.

"Who is it?" she called. Janessa quickly wrapped herself in her bathrobe and hesitantly opened the door with eyes wide open.

The bright light emanating from the hallway made it difficult to see the man's face, and she was terrified of the sudden noise he caused. When she finally recognized his face, her heart skipped a beat.

"Calm down, it's me!" the man drawled. His voice was low and hoarse, and she could smell alcohol from where she stood.

Janessa's tense body relaxed a fraction at the sound of the familiar voice. Out of instinct, she moved back into the bathroom. She warily looked at Rayan Lu, who was obviously intoxicated.

"I'm having a bath right now. You need to leave!" she ordered in a shaky voice. There was a hint of embarrassment in her words.

Rayan's brows furrowed as he looked back at Janessa with hazy eyes. His sharp features had an indescribable expression in them, different from the brooding and domineering expression he normally wore.

With every step he took towards her, Janessa's body coiled in tension, and her breathing soon grew ragged.

Even after all this time, she still couldn't forget what he had done to her on their wedding night. No one should ever feel that kind of pain in their lives.

Rayan swayed as he pulled off his tie and made his way over to the bathtub. He looked down at Janessa and sneered at her. His eyes traveled from her face onto the white, delicate skin of her neck, all the way down to her slender thighs. The vulgar smile on his mouth pulled wider.

"Is it really you? I could've sworn you moved out. Why did you come back?" He bent down at eye level with Janessa and assessed her with cold and fathomless eyes. He was so close to her that their noses touched, and the alcohol in his breath engulfed her senses.

Janessa's lips thinned and she tightened her hold on the bathrobe that covered her. "What do you want?"

When she looked into his eyes, she could see the panicked look on her face reflected in them.

After all their years together, she was still terrified whenever he initiated intimacy with her.

"Are you curious to see what I'm going to do?" The smirk on Rayan's face instantly fell. He clutched the back of her head tightly and bared his teeth at her. "Mrs. Lu, I believe I should be the one asking questions around here! Where have you been all this time? Answer me!"

Janessa shut her eyes tightly and trembled when he raised his voice at her.

She decided to humor him, and explained in a slow voice, "I had something to take care of in the company. I tried to call you, but you didn't pick up." She managed to sound calmer than she felt.

The malicious look in Rayan's eyes faded, and she could tell that he wasn't as furious as he had been moments ago.

He loosened his grip on her, and her eyes slowly fluttered open.

Rayan straightened himself and tossed his coat on the floor. As he unbuttoned his shirt at painstakingly slow pace, he held her gaze. There was a dangerous look in his eyes.

Janessa's heart pounded in her chest. She brought the bathrobe further around herself, to cover as much skin as possible. Her face flushed with embarrassment.

"How about you wait for me outside while I shower? Or would you prefer to shower first?"

Rayan scowled at her words, and he stared at her with stony eyes.

Janessa forced herself to raise her chin and straighten her posture, which sent goosebumps down her arms.

His shirt was unbuttoned halfway at this point, which revealed a strong clavicle that looked enticing under the soft light.

He stepped closer and closed the distance between them.

Before she could register what was happening, she suddenly felt a sharp pain in her shoulder.

He grabbed her neck and thrust her backward, which forced her to lean back. The back of her waist hit the washstand. She grimaced at the pain that bloomed at her hips, but she held back from saying anything.

"Did you think I wanted to be with you?" Rayan growled as he tightened his grip on her shoulder. He turned and looked at her with disgust in his eyes. "If it weren't for my mother's arrangement, do you think I would've chosen to be with you? Janessa, you're something else. How could you even manage to win my mother's heart? You're just a manipulative woman!"

Everyone knew the real reason why they were married, but no one had ever dared to voice it out loud.

This time, he was finally going to say it. What did it matter? There was nothing they could do to change the past.

Janessa scoffed at him, raised her chin, and looked back at him with defiant eyes. "We both know that all we do is take what we need from each other. You're not innocent in this either."

"Take what we need?" Rayan's eyes flashed with fury. He leaned over her ear and said through gritted teeth, "If that's what you think this is, I won't bother wasting another second with you!"

As he spoke, he wrapped his arms around her waist and propped her up on the washstand. He ripped her bathrobe open and kissed her passionately.

Janessa frowned at the way he dominated her. The anger and resentment that had been brewing inside of her suddenly threatened to burst out. She couldn't take any more of the humiliation.

As he continued to kiss her, she fumbled for something behind her and smashed it on his head.

Before she realized what she had done, he fell sideways and hit his head against the shelf beside him.

He attempted to brace himself against the wall to soften his fall, and slowly slid onto the floor. Blood trickled down his head and dyed the water on the floor red.

Janessa shivered as she watched him. When she finally came to her senses, she quickly jumped off the washstand in a hurry. The blood drained from her face as she moved him to turn his face upwards.

In only a matter of seconds, the blood gushed out and quickly soaked his shirt. No matter how many times she called out to him, he didn't respond.

Janessa quickly called the Lu family doctor, Gracie, with trembling hands as she stared at Rayan's limp body on the floor.

"Dr. Mo, Rayan is injured..."

Before she could even finish speaking, the person on the other end quickly hung up and rushed over in less than ten minutes.

When Janessa heard the knock on the door, she quickly wrapped herself in a bath towel and scurried to answer the door.

The doctor didn't even take a second glance at her. She immediately rushed to the bathroom with her medical kit in tow with a frantic look on her face.

Janessa stood frozen at the door as she stared at Rayan. "I tried to get the wound to stop bleeding, but it didn't work. I don't know what to do..." she explained in a shaky voice.

"He's drunk. Go downstairs and make some soup to ease off the effects of alcohol. I'll take it from here." Gracie knelt down beside Rayan and made herself busy, and then gave the other woman the order in a cold, indifferent voice.

Janessa was in a daze at the time, so she turned around and went to the kitchen as she was told.

Rayan had never liked strangers getting close to him. Not a single servant was present in the villa.

It was a good thing that he provided her the phone number of the family doctor a few days ago. Calling an ambulance at this time of the night would alert the media, and the consequences would be unimaginable.

The mere thought had Janessa's hands and feet going cold with fright.

The sizzle of the soup spilling over and hitting the flames brought her back to her senses. She quickly took down the pot, filled a bowl with soup, and brought it upstairs.

She was about to go to the bathroom when she heard a sudden slam resound from the bedroom. The sound was eerie in the empty villa.

Janessa bit her lip and carefully tiptoed to the master's bedroom with the bowl of soup in her hands. Suddenly, a cold, sharp voice came through a crack of the door.

"What are you doing here?" The voice was weak, but the harsh demand in the question remained.

Janessa took two steps forward and was about to explain when an even angrier voice boomed out and nearly shattered her eardrums.

"I'm asking you, why are you here? Say something! Why don't you say anything?"

Janessa felt a cold shiver down her spine. Rayan's furious expression flashed in her mind, making her stop in her tracks.

"Janessa asked me to come and dress your wound." Gracie's voice sounded very stable, but the choking feeling behind the words was difficult to ignore.

"Janessa? Janessa! Do you know who Janessa is now? She is my wife, Mrs. Lu! I have to thank you for all of this! Are you happy now? You must be!"

His teeth gritted, Rayan turned his bloodshot eyes at Gracie in a furious glare.

Gracie pressed her lips tightly, and a trail of tears instantly slipped down her cheeks and hit the back of his hand.

A deep frown appeared on Rayan's forehead. He had never felt so sorry for her. Unconsciously, his grip on the woman loosened.

"I thought you would be fine after we broke up. Your mother said that you both came from equal family backgrounds and that you would have your own child in the future. Besides... I don't deserve you."

When Gracie threw herself into his arms with tears on her face, the door was suddenly pushed open. In a hurry, she pulled out of his arms and ducked her head. Her hands came up to her face to wipe away her face.

Janessa stood at the door, the bowl of soup in her hand forgotten. Cold sweat broke out on her back, and her palms were numb. The knuckles of her hand turned white with how hard she was clutching the tray.

Her thoughts swirled wildly in her head as she stood there in a panic. She had simply thought that the Lu family wanted her to give birth to Rayan's son, who would carry on their family name. She was not aware that she was a wedge they used to separate Rayan and Gracie.

She actually became the mistress without even knowing it.

However, she could have done without such an "honor."

Janessa's heart sank. Under the pressure of acting as Rayan's wife, she sneered and stared coldly at the two people on the bed.

Rayan stood in front of Gracie, shielding her from Janessa's glare. His cold eyes held a gloomy expression.

Janessa calmly walked forward with the tray in her hand, trying to suppress the surging anger.

"I was unaware that you and Miss Mo have such history together, but that's all in the past. I didn't force you to break up. Miss Mo, there's no need for you to linger. Please don't hold on too much to the past."

A congenial smile lingered in her mouth as she said these words, but her heart was trembling.

Rayan's piercing glare told her that if looks could kill, she would by lying on the floor in pieces.

"Janessa, it's none of your business. Get out!" Rayan maintained his protective stance in front of Gracie. With his face in a stern mask, he glared at Janessa and spoke in a cold tone.

In the past, she never would have stooped so low as to fight another woman over a man who did not love her.

Now, she did not even think twice.

"This is my house. Why should I leave. Rayan Lu, I know that you still haven't made peace with all of this, but that wouldn't change the fact that we are married and I am your wife. If you wish to protect her, take the issue up with your mother. After all, she will be the first to disagree." Janessa spoke in an indifferent tone, but every word was like a needle piercing her heart.

"Miss Mo, you know what to do if you don't want to embarrass him." Her stare turned toward Gracie.

Color drained from the other woman's face. She looked up at her with hurt eyes, lowered her head, and rushed out of the room with one hand covering her mouth.

It was too late for Janessa to dodge-the bowl on the tray tipped over, dousing her front with extremely hot soup.

Janessa gasped at the pain of the burn, but the breath was suddenly caught in her throat as Rayan stalked toward her and pushed her against the wall with a hand around her neck.

"If anything happens to her, I won't spare you!"

His hot breath hit her face, and his words were dripping with hatred. Janessa's heart ached.

Even as the tears fell unchecked from her eyes, she sneered up at Rayan. "My life is much more valuable than hers. If you don't believe me, you can ask your mother."

"How dare you threaten me!"

The hand around her throat tightened in an instant, cutting off the supply to her lungs and making her gasp desperately for air. She could feel the sluggish throb of her blood in her veins, and her temples throbbed.

The more he acted like a savage, the brighter the smile on her face became, even if calling something as brittle and ugly a smile was a travesty.

"If you don't go now, you won't be able to catch up with her," she reminded him in an exaggeratedly kind voice, as if she were an outsider.

The anger on his face filled her with such satisfaction.

All of a sudden, the grip on her neck disappeared. She slid down the wall and looked up to meet the warning in Rayan's frigid eyes.

The noisy bedroom suddenly became suffocatingly quiet, and even the rapid breath and the occasional fierce cough became deafening.

She nursed her scalded hand to her chest as she took out her phone to called Gordon Shen.

As she waited for the call to connect, the exhilaration she felt dissipated, leaving her drained. Her messy heart sank, and her mouth tightened.

"It's late. Why are you still up?" she heard the gentle voice from the other end of the call. The sound was calming, but instead, it inadvertently aroused an inexplicable fire.

"Didn't you work in the same hospital with Gracie before? Did you know the relationship between her and Rayan?"

Janessa tried hard to keep her voice even, but Gordon Shen still sensed that something was wrong.

The man was silent for a few seconds, and then he subtly changed the topic. "Why are you suddenly asking about it? Did you quarrel with him?"

Janessa only felt a rush of anger, accompanied by a tightness of her scalp and dizziness. She couldn't even breathe properly.

"You knew it, don't you? Gordon Shen! I can't believe you lied to me as well!"

A teardrop hit the floor, followed by another two and then three until it finally came like rain.

"Did he tell you? Or did you see Gracie with him?"

Sneering, Janessa raised her hand and wiped off her tears. The bitter tears instantly burned the scalded part of her skin, and there was a hint of coldness in her laughter.

"What's the point of arguing about this now? Just because I married him out of commercial interests doesn't mean he could run around making me look like a damned fool. And for what? Because it's fun? Because it's interesting?"

Her nerves that had been strained for a long time finally showed signs of snapping, and all the grievances she had been holding began surging up.

"Are you at home? I'll come over right now." There was a hint of worry in the man's voice from the other end of the line.

"Don't bother!" Janessa refused without hesitation.

With a straight face, she sniffed hard and said, "I just want to know who on earth Gracie is. Can you just tell me that?"

"We can talk about her later..." Gordon sighed helplessly, desperately wanting to explain.

Janessa bit her lip and hung up the phone. Suddenly, she heard Rayan's voice sound from behind.

"Are you so eager to know our relationship? Well, let me tell you now."

Before she could even blink, he already grabbed her by the collar, lifted her up, and then pressed down on the bed. He bore down on her enough to restrict her breathing.

With a livid face, he stared at her fiercely. Gritting his teeth, he grabbed her jaw. "Gracie is the daughter of a servant in the old house. We grew up together and had a good relationship. Before you, she was my girlfriend. Now do you understand?"

Rayan said the last sentence through his clenched teeth.

With a bitter smile and a pale face, Janessa looked at him and said, "So you hired her to be the family doctor to secretly date her. And you also gave me her phone number and asked me to contact her in case of emergencies. You disgust me, Rayan!"

In the end, Janessa screamed hysterically at her husband.

In the past, she hated women who yelled at their spouses. She did not expect that one day, she would turn into one, too.

She must have done something terrible in her previous life to be punished like this now.

Hearing Rayan's confession, Janessa's heart burned with white-hot rage. Veins started bulging on her forehead as she pressed her lips tightly together in a thin line, draining them of color.

However, she refused to admit defeat. The mockery in her eyes eventually started getting to Rayan.

Taking a sharp breath, Rayan dragged his wife all the way to the bathroom, balled his fist around the locks of hair at the back of her head, and forced her to look in the mirror.

A disheveled, pale-faced woman stared back at Janessa. Her eyes were sunken and were surrounded by bruise-like circles. Her lips were white, and her cheekbones were almost poking through her skin.

Her bloodshot eyes were still spouting tears. Janessa had never looked this distressed and haggard in her entire life.

"Look at your face carefully. You say I'm disgusting? You're willing to sell yourself for money, Janessa. Only you are eager to do such a thing! How are you innocent compared to me?"

Rayan pinched her cheek forcefully and looked at her coldly.

Janessa sneered and glanced sidelong at him. "And yet you still agreed to marry me. It doesn't matter if you love Gracie. All she'll ever be is an insidious bitch!"

She finally struck a nerve in Rayan. The fierce expression on his face instantly twisted into something ugly and ferocious. He lifted his fist high in the air as he angrily eyed Janessa's smirking face in the mirror.

Without a care, Janessa scoffed and raised her chin. "What? Are you going to hit your new wife for your ex-girlfriend? You think you scare me? Go on. Hit me, and I'll give the media a field day. I'm sure they'll be interested in tales of your domestic violence. Once that is all over the news and the Internet, not only you will suffer but also all the companies under Lu Group."

Janessa's chest was heaving violently, and her face was tense, but her tone was firm.

Her determination to fight to the end made the corners of Rayan's mouth twitch.

He had been angry for the whole night, but he could not vent it.

When he stood in front of her, he wanted to explode with anger.

With a gloomy and cold face, Rayan put down his fist.

He held on tighter to Janessa's hair and almost planted her face in the mirror. His body was pressed against her back. Staring at her face in the mirror, he whispered word per word, "Is that all you can do? That's it? Huh? I'd like to see how long you can hold out without my mother's support."

The edge of the washstand dug into Janessa's lower abdomen. She winced and trembled at the building pressure.

She gritted her teeth and once again smirked at her husband through the mirror.

When she was about to speak, Rayan tilted her head sideways and bit her earlobe. He glared at her and asked, "Was that her you were talking to on the phone earlier? Did you rat me out to her?"

His low, ruthless voice was now laced with pure hatred. He sounded as if he wanted to kill her after questioning her.

He repeatedly shut and opened his teeth on her earlobe and ignored her little cries of pain.

Janessa pressed her lips together to keep herself from making a sound. She grabbed the edge of the washstand tightly, turning her fingertips and knuckles white.

When she was about to lower her head to avoid his eyes, Rayan once again pulled her hair forcefully backward, tilting her head up.

The sudden pull dragged her earlobe out of his mouth. She almost screamed because of the pain.

She stared at her fierce, deformed face in the mirror.

In an instant, she changed her mind.

She took a deep, steadying breath, looked at Rayan casually, and put on a charming smile. "Yes, I did. What are you going to do about it?"

Rayan had finally lost his composure. He pulled Janessa away by the hair and pressed her back against the wall. He began hurting her, driving her out of her mind with pain.

Janessa felt as if she was going to die, but she gritted her teeth and endured Rayan's wrath.

Only in this way could she make him angrier and turn the tides to her favor.

Even if she wasn't talking to his mother on the phone.

But what did it matter?

As long as it made Rayan angry, she would do it. Even if it meant hurting herself in the process, she would not falter and regret.

When the torture finally came to an end, Janessa had no strength left to stand up. Seeing that Rayan left without looking back, she lied on the floor with a bitter smile.

Then, blood trickled out from between her legs. Janessa pressed her hands against her lower abdomen that suddenly felt tender. It seemed like she finally got her period, which had been late for two months now.

After lying on the floor for a long time, Janessa finally regained her strength and climbed to her feet. She hurriedly took a shower and then threw herself in bed. She slept like she was dead.