Salt in the Wound

Declan stared down at the stack of documents shoved against his chest, a sharp surge of agitation rising in his throat. His fingers gripped the rigid edges of the divorce settlement, his mind struggling to process the stark reality of the paperwork. He could not believe Kendall wasn't just throwing a dramatic tantrum to seek his attention. After all, she was the one who usually compromised, the one who always smoothed things over in their marriage.

"Are you being serious right now?" he demanded. His voice squeezed out through tightly gritted teeth as he searched her face for a sign of hesitation.

Kendall merely quirked a delicate brow, her expression nonchalant and detached. "I am dead serious. Sign it, and we will go through the administrative procedures at City Hall when both of us are free later."

He looked intently at the woman standing before him. For three long years, she had been his obedient, eager-to-please, and quiet wife. She had catered to his family, managed his household, and bent to his every whim. Now, Declan felt an unexpected stab of pain deep within his chest. Her previously warm face held nothing but an icy impatience, proving she desperately wanted to leave him and their marriage behind. The realization hit him like a physical blow.

Retracting his intense gaze, he turned his body toward the dim living room, his jaw set hard. "There's no need for that. I will see you at the City Hall front entrance tomorrow at 9.00AM," he declared coldly, stamping the final appointment into existence.

Despite believing she had mentally prepared herself for this moment of finality, Kendall walked out of the heavy front doors feeling numb. The night air hit her face, but she barely registered the chill against her skin. It felt as though her bleeding heart was being pricked by a thousand invisible needles. She had finally said the words, drawn the line in the sand, yet the victory offered no relief.

Returning to her quiet studio in a daze, she dropped her keys onto the small wooden counter. Almost immediately, her body rebelled against the emotional trauma and the burning alcohol from earlier that evening. A sudden, excruciating flare of sharp pain attacked her stomach, doubling her over in the narrow hallway. She clutched her midsection, her breath hitching, and rushed desperately to the small bathroom. She gripped the porcelain edges of the sink, her knuckles turning white, as she vomited into the basin.

She heaved until her throat burned, but the twisting agony in her gut only worsened. Because she hadn't suffered from these severe digestive troubles in a very long time, she had foolishly left her prescribed stomach medicine behind at the marital home. It was sitting in the medicine cabinet she used to share with Declan, miles away from where she needed it right now.

Drenched from head to toe in a cold sweat, her vision blurring at the edges, she slid down the tiled wall and hit the bathroom floor. She gritted her teeth, pulled her phone from her pocket with trembling fingers, and dialed Tessa's number.

The line rang endlessly in the quiet studio. Her friend was sleeping too heavily to hear the phone. The call went to voicemail, leaving Kendall alone with the agonizing cramps.

Writhing on the cold bathroom floor, fearing she might die from the unbearable agony tearing through her abdomen, Kendall swallowed the last remaining shreds of her pride. The pain was blinding her, stealing the breath from her lungs with every spasm. Desperate for salvation, she dialed Declan's familiar number.

The line rang twice. A small spark of hope ignited in her chest, praying he would pick up and take her to the hospital.

Then, a soft, waxy, and intimate female voice answered from his end. "Hello? Who is it?"

It was Chloe.

A wave of sheer fury and profound devastation crashed over Kendall, temporarily overriding the physical pain. He was already spending the late night with another woman mere moments after Kendall had left their house. He hadn't even waited for the divorce papers to be signed. Stricken and gasping for breath, Kendall remained deadly silent on the cold tiles.

"Is it you, Kendall? Are you looking for Declan?" Chloe asked tentatively into the speaker, her soft voice echoing through the small bathroom.

Refusing to subject herself to hearing any more of this humiliating nonsense, Kendall abruptly hung up the call. The silence in the room was deafening. Curling her trembling, sweat-soaked body into a tight ball on the carpet just outside the bathroom door, she navigated her phone screen with shaking fingers. In a fit of despair, she permanently blocked every single one of Declan's contact numbers and social accounts. She erased his digital footprint from her life in a few swift, agonizing motions.

Seconds later, the pain peaked. Her vision went black, and she passed out on the floor.

"Kendall?" Tessa's worried voice broke through the darkness.

Someone was shaking her shoulder. Tessa hovered over her early the next morning, standing in her wrinkled pajamas. "Was it your digestive troubles? It's all my fault," Tessa babbled, apologizing for sleeping through the desperate late-night calls. "I slept like a log last night and didn't hear your call!"

Ignoring the frantic apologies, Kendall jerked her body up from the floor in a state of panic. The lingering soreness in her stomach was overshadowed by a sudden, spiking adrenaline rush. "What time is it?" she demanded, her voice cracking as she pushed the tangled hair out of her face.

"It's 9.00AM," Tessa replied softly, taking a step back from the sudden movement.

Kendall's mind buzzed with static. Nine o'clock. She was already late for her finalized divorce appointment with a man who notoriously despised tardiness of any kind. Declan demanded punctuality; making him wait was a cardinal sin in his book.

Hastily grabbing her discarded phone from the carpet, she tapped the screen and attempted to call him. The phone rang once before it automatically disconnected. Her heart sank as the realization hit her—she couldn't reach him because her outgoing call wasn't connecting. She had blocked him in the middle of her breakdown last night.

In a wild panic, navigating the settings with clumsy thumbs, she quickly unblocked his number and successfully placed a voice call. She paced the length of the studio, her bare feet padding softly against the floorboards, waiting for him to answer.

When the line connected, she tried to keep her voice steady and courteous, masking the chaos unfolding on her end. "Are you still at the City Hall? I'm going over now."

Declan's brisk, razor-sharp voice shot through the receiver, dripping with venom. The crisp audio made it sound as if he was standing right next to her, judging her every flaw. "Are you saying I have to wait for you at the City Hall front entrance for half an hour?"

Acutely knowing she was in the wrong for missing the agreed-upon time, Kendall frantically scrambled to the closet. She balanced the phone between her ear and shoulder, pulling fresh garments off the hangers to change out of her wrinkled clothes while apologizing into the phone.

"I am so sorry. I'll try to hurry up. 20 minutes? Is it okay?" she pleaded, hopping on one foot as she kicked off her damp clothes. She just needed him to stay put so they could sever this bond once and for all.

"Do you think my time is as worthless as you?" Declan's chilling, angry voice replied, slicing through her last shred of dignity.