Driven by Jealousy

Caleb froze at the doorway. The blood drained from his knuckles, his grip turning bone-white on the brass doorknob. On the other side of the threshold, Desmond sneered. His predatory gaze cut into the room, sweeping the bright, open space like a detective scanning a fresh crime scene. He took in the unpacked suitcase, the warm lighting, and the domestic intimacy of the scene.

"Did I disturb your little affair?" Desmond spat, his voice dripping with venom.

Footsteps sounded on the wooden stairs. Maya descended with unhurried grace, a white towel draped over her damp hair. She patted the wet strands, unfazed by the heavy tension suffocating the entryway. She paused on the bottom step, looking past the renowned actor to the man she had called her husband for three years. Her gaze met Desmond’s, cold and detached.

"You've seen the divorce agreement," she said, her tone flat and unwavering. "Whenever you're free, we can go get the certificate."

The veins in Desmond’s neck bulged against his tailored collar. "I didn't agree to the divorce!" he roared.

He lunged forward, reaching out with forceful hands to grab her arm and drag her out of the house. Before his fingers could make contact, Caleb shifted. The actor positioned his tall, broad frame directly in the line of fire, becoming a human shield between the furious billionaire and Maya.

Desmond’s eyes darkened to a lethal shade. He stared at Caleb, his jaw tight with unchecked aggression. "If you don't want to be blacklisted from every studio in this country, get lost."

Caleb didn't flinch. He met the corporate titan's glare with equal defiance. Over the years, he had built an unshakable foundation and vast network in the entertainment industry.

"It's not that simple to blacklist me, Mr. Radcliff," Caleb replied, his voice steady and even. "Besides, it seems Maya doesn't want to go with you."

Desmond’s fury spiked. He dug into his suit pocket, pulling out his phone to make a call, ready to mobilize his massive corporate power and make good on his threat right then and there. Seeing the situation escalating toward a dangerous boiling point, Maya stepped out from behind Caleb's protective stance.

"Desmond, this is our problem," she interjected sharply. "Don't get other people involved." She turned her head, giving the actor a stern look and gesturing toward the hallway. "Caleb, go inside."

Caleb hesitated, his protective instincts warring with her command. He didn't want to leave her alone with a man radiating such volatile anger. But catching the finality in her eyes, he nodded slowly. "Call me if you need anything," he murmured before stepping back into the house.

Left alone with her enraged husband, Maya barely had time to brace herself. Desmond closed the distance, grabbed her arm with an unforgiving grip, and dragged her toward his black Maybach parked in the driveway. He shoved her into the plush leather seats, slamming the passenger door shut with enough force to rattle the chassis.

He stalked around the hood and took the wheel. The engine roared to life as he sped off recklessly, tearing the heavy vehicle up the winding, darkened roads of the nearby mountains.

Maya gripped the safety handle above the window, refusing to back down from his intimidation tactics. The towering trees blurred past them in the pitch-black night as the car took sharp turns at terrifying speeds.

"Let me out!" she demanded, her voice cutting through the tense silence of the cabin. "What's the point of controlling me like this?"

"Fasten your seatbelt!" he yelled, his knuckles pale on the steering wheel, his eyes fixed on the treacherous road ahead.

She ignored his order, keeping her posture rigid, refusing to let him see an ounce of fear. "What I said about divorce wasn't a momentary outburst or some childish tactic to get your attention. I meant every single word. I am serious."

Desmond slammed his expensive shoes onto the brakes. The massive car jerked to a halting screech, tires burning against the asphalt. Momentum hurled Maya forward. Her head crashed hard against the dashboard and the lower edge of the windshield. A blinding, intense pain throbbed instantly in her skull. She let out a sharp gasp, her hands flying to her bruised forehead, struggling to orient herself.

Desmond didn't offer a fraction of a second of sympathy. He scoffed, the sound malicious in the confined space.

"You want to divorce me to be with this little pretty boy?" he mocked. "Not in a million years!"

Fighting the ringing in her ears and the sharp ache above her brow, Maya glared at him. Her voice laced with pure, exhausted disdain. "You like Audrey, so I chose to quit. What more do you want from me? Dare you say she's not the one you love?"

An icy, suffocating silence settled over the car. The engine idled, humming softly beneath them. Unable to deny his deep-rooted feelings for Audrey, Desmond pivoted his attack, deflecting the blame back onto her.

"What right do you have to accuse me?" he snapped, his chest heaving. "At least I haven't betrayed you. You stayed the whole night at another man's private villa, living under his roof! I, at the very least, have kept my physical boundaries. You have no ground to stand on to judge my relationship with Audrey."

Maya stared at him. His staggering hypocrisy and sheer audacity drained the last remnants of her fighting spirit. The burning rage cooled into an unbreakable, icy detachment. She dropped her hand from her throbbing forehead.

"Do you want me to catch you and Audrey red-handed before it counts?" she asked, her voice eerily calm. "No matter how you put it, Desmond, I've decided on the divorce."

"What if I never agree?" he pressed, his tone dropping into a dark, possessive threat.

Before the bitter argument could escalate further, the sharp ring of Desmond’s cell phone shattered the tension. He glanced at the screen illuminating the dark cabin. The caller ID flashed Audrey’s name.

He answered. The sound of hysterical sobbing filled the car's quiet interior.

"Desmond, the villa has a power outage," Audrey cried on the other end, her voice trembling with terror. "I'm so scared. Can you come and stay with me?"

Upon hearing her tears, Desmond's aggressive hostility vanished into thin air, melting away as if it had never existed. The hard lines of his face softened instantly. The man who had just nearly sent his wife through a windshield now spoke with a gentle, soothing warmth.

"Don't be afraid. I'll be right there," he promised, his voice soft in a way it never was for Maya. "Nothing will happen."

He hung up the phone. When he turned back, he met Maya's mocking, disgusted stare. He offered not a shred of remorse for the situation or her injury.

"There's a power outage at Audie's villa," he stated casually, dismissing Maya's presence. "I'm going to check on her. Find a taxi and take it home."

He was abandoning her on an isolated, dark mountainside, miles away from the city. He reached to unlock the passenger doors, but before the mechanism clicked, he issued his iron-clad decree.

"Forget about the divorce. I won't agree."

Maya remained unmoved by his threat. She looked at him as if he were a stranger, stripping away any lingering illusion he might hold about their broken marriage.

"Whether you agree or not has nothing to do with me," she stated with cold finality. "I don't love you anymore, so I'll definitely divorce you."