Ryan's POVI stared at the divorce papers lying on the desk, the ink from Claire’s signature still fresh, curling slightly where the nib had dug too deep.She had not hesitated.Not a single flicker of doubt. Four years of marriage, and she did not even give me the chance to prove I was not guilty.Not once in those years had we even shared a bed in the way real couples do. We had shared meals, shared a roof, shared dreams I thought were ours, but never the intimacy that was supposed to bind two people together. Yet somehow, this was where it ended. Ended with her looking at me like I was a stranger trying to break into her home.I had thought maybe, just maybe, she would pause before signing. That she would remember the nights I stayed up debugging her AI code until my eyes burned, or the times I carried her half-conscious from her desk to the couch so she could sleep.That maybe, she would remember the man who stood beside her through all those times.But no. She just signed.Then

Ryan's POVClaire and her relatives had always known how to press the right buttons with me. It was never loud demands or open threats, but carefully chosen words and calculated glances that left me with no room to refuse.They would smile, speak of family, of obligation, of how it was “the right thing to do,” and I would agree without hesitation. I told myself it was easier this way, that keeping the peace was worth the quiet bitterness that followed.I never noticed the pattern until Sarah subconsciously showed me how I had been used all these while.None of them ever stood up for me, none of them ever hugged me and thanked me for the services I rendered to them.Such pathetic fools.And for the first time,, I wondered what would happen if I said no—and the thought did not feel like a sin.“What did you say?” Caleb asked.I took a long look at Caleb. “I said no,” I replied and I watched Sarah smile.“Sarah! Stop this! There is no one to protect us now!” He yelled under his breath.A

Ryan's POV“Wake up! Wake up!!”I woke up to someone shaking me. My eyes felt very heavy, but I could see Sarah’s face in the dark.“Sarah?” I mumbled, my voice still groggy. “What—”She pressed a finger against her lips. “Shh.”I frowned. “What’s going on?”She didn’t answer. Instead, she rolled over me, reached for the drawer by the bed, and pulled it open. My eyes widened when I saw her take out a black pistol like it was nothing.“What the fuck?” I whispered.She glanced at me briefly. “Can you shoot?”I shook my head immediately. “No!” I yelled under my breath.Her eyes widened at me. “Seriously?”“Yeah, seriously,” I said, still yelling under my breath. “I can’t even handle a knife properly,”The only time I even touched a gun was when my dad tried teaching me how to shoot when I was eight.And it lasted just two weeks before my mom begged him to stop because I was ‘just a kid’ and I was terrible at it.Even though my father wasn't happy about the decision, he still accepted my

Ryan's POVI stood there with my heart beating fast while I stared at Sarah tied to a rusted chair in the warehouse. Claire held a gun and pointed it right at Sarah’s head while her finger hovered over the trigger. Sarah’s dad lay on the cold concrete floor, blood pooling around him. Seeing him like that hit me so hard I felt like the air got sucked out of my lungs. Sarah’s eyes were red, her face streaked with tears, but she wasn’t begging. She stared at Claire, her words sharp and full of hate.“Go ahead, Claire,” Sarah said, her voice trembling as she spoke. “Pull the trigger. But if you don’t kill me, I swear I’ll come for you. I’ll kill you myself.”Claire laughed loudly while her voice echoed in the empty warehouse. “You think you can touch me, Sarah? You’re nothing. Neither of you can do anything to me.”She tightened her grip on the gun while her face twisted into a smug grin I barely recognized. I clenched my fists and got ready to move, but then sirens blared outside. Police

Ryan's POVI stood in the penthouse living room and held Sarah’s hand while she sat on the couch, her eyes red from crying. Her dad’s burial happened yesterday, and she kept sobbing, her face wet with tears and her hands gripping the couch cushions.A knock sounded at the door, and I opened it to see Sarah’s family standing outside. They walked in with slow steps and gathered around Sarah on the couch. Her aunt spoke first while she hugged Sarah and rubbed her shoulders.“We tried everything to get justice for your dad,” her aunt said while she held Sarah close.Sarah nodded but stayed silent, her tears dripping onto her shirt. Darius walked through the door. I stared at him with narrowed eyes and closed my hands into fists while I stood by the couch. His alibi for Claire in court still made me want to shout, and Sarah felt the same. She stood up fast while she pointed at Darius with her finger shaking in the air.“It was Claire!” Sarah yelled while she turned to me and grabbed my arm