Rift in the perfect picture

While Nick was texting, I had already unlocked the central control panel. I was out of the car by the time he finished checking in with Claudia.

The cold wind instantly enveloped me, rushing under my clothes and making me shiver. I cursed inwardly.This content © Nôv/elDr(a)m/a.Org.

I should have checked my horoscope before going out today. Not only was the party ruined, but anything involving Nick inevitably led to Claudia.

There was no escaping it. How annoying! Just thinking about Claudia made the air feel tainted. I started retching involuntarily. I quickly leaned against a nearby tree for support as snot and tears streamed down my face.

Nick caught up to me, only to find me in this messy state. His touch made me vomit even more. The strange smell on him was unbearable. Nick handed me his handkerchief and smiled.

“Look how strong your reaction is. Still saying you don’t love me?”

I mentally rolled my eyes. Did he not know about morning sickness? He kept making light of the situation.

“Don’t catch a cold out here. Let’s go home.”

I was already feeling awful, and now my blood was really boiling. I did not know where I found the strength, but I swung my handbag and hit Nick’s shoulder.

“Which home?”

The Coral Villa that Claudia had taken over? The new house where we had spent a few brief, tender days? Or the Hawk manor where I had waited for him for so long? How dare he even mention the word “home”

to me?

Furious, I hit him hard with each swing. Nick’s smile froze as his expression turned cold. He did not dodge, just calmly watched me. Little did he know, it was in calmness that people were driven mad.

“Feeling better?”

“No!” I shouted, finally hurling the entire bag at his face to vent my anger.

The bag fell to the ground, bounced, and rolled to the roadside. Glaring photos spilled out, as if they had wings, all flying around Nick.

I had meant to show these to Nick during the divorce, but they made an unexpected early appearance. Nick bent down to pick up one photo, then another.

It was not what I expected. I thought he would be shocked, given that the photos starred his dear sister and a man old enough to be her grandfather. But he showed no emotion. He just picked them up one by one, his expression blank as he repeated the mechanical motion.

Suddenly, a gust of wind blew, and his hand grasped at empty air. Nick froze, then violently threw the photos he had already collected to the ground. A flying photo left a bloody scratch on his face.

His fist clenched and unclenched repeatedly. After a while, he straightened up and looked me in the eye. He said calmly, “Arlana, if you want to make a big deal out of this, the fastest way is to post it online.”

“Thanks for the advice!” I absolutely did not believe he was sincerely helping me. This was a warning, a threat! And he… he already knew!

Nick’s actions once again shattered my understanding, showing me how important Claudia was to him. Back then, when I thought we were already divorced, even a hint of intimacy with Pete was unacceptable. Everyone around me suffered because of it.

But Claudia’s affair was already a fact, and he would rather pretend not to know just to keep her by his

side.

“Ariana, what’s wrong?” Nick suddenly reached out to me, shouting.

But I felt like the distance between us was growing. In a flash, he took a big step forward and held me tight. Only then did I realize I had almost fainted from weakness.

I suddenly laughed. “Nick, if we can’t get divorced today, I swear I’ll kill your child!”

After holding on all night, I had finally been driven mad by the two of them.