Goodbye Toxic Ex

Chapter 3

Riley looked up at his wife.

At first, he had just wanted to walk away from her and from them without either of them even realizing it.

Now, he stared at her and their eyes locked, but not from love. He had always thought they were strangers to each other ever since they got married.

All this time, he had been wrong.

Strangers were far better off than they were, and in fact, they had no business being together.

"Then let's get divorced!"

For the first time, she flinched, stepping backward before her gaze and stance solidified once again.

She frowned deeply and her eyes turned dark.

"I didn't realize that you could become this petty just because you are jealous," she said.

"Go back home. You have no business here. When you are done with your charades and throwing words in the air, then try contacting me!"

With those words, she ended it and turned around to leave when suddenly, the earth beneath them started to rumble.

The security system in the room let out a blaring sound that rang throughout the entire hotel.

A metallic voice, seemingly AI-generated, rang out.

"There is a magnitude 3 earthquake and all residents are advised to quickly make use of the emergency exits!"

These words rang through the air and at the same time, his head pounded and he staggered.

Panic instantly flashed through Sophia's eyes as she turned to look at Harry, not him.

Even though Riley was shaky and could barely keep his footing, she barely noticed. The only one that mattered in that room at that moment was Harry.

She quickly rushed over to him and pulled him up, holding him by the shoulders and draping his arm over hers.

While her face flooded with desperation and urgency, Harry's expression was far more intimate than the emergency warranted.

Sophia flashed a cold, grim look at Riley.

"See what you caused? You slapped him and now he can barely move properly!" she snapped.

"You should carry him to the emergency exit!"

She said the words so casually, as though she hadn't just slapped him across the face like it was nothing only moments ago.

Riley said nothing. His face was hard as stone and she scoffed.

Her face burned bright red beneath the emergency lights flashing through the floor.

"Sometimes I worry about my poor taste in men!" she screeched, hoisted Harry onto her back, and he clearly enjoyed it.

They all raced toward the exit, but when they got there, there were only two spaces left.

Without a thought, she turned to Riley and said in one rushed breath,

"You have to use the stairs."

"What?" Riley's eyes widened.

That single word was more than enough to make Sophia's face twist with rage.

"What do you mean by what?" she snapped.

"After what you stupidly did? Can't you clearly see that he's in pain? Or are you really that cruel and heartless toward someone who's suffering this much?

Did I really marry a cruel beast? Harry just lost his sister and he's going through tremendous trauma and psychological distress, yet you dare to cause him even more pain. It's only right that you take the stairs."

Before Riley could even get a word out, she shoved him aside and rushed into the exit.

Riley's head rang and the ground beneath his feet rumbled.

There was no time to think about what had just happened. His life was in danger, he had been betrayed, but he still needed to live.

Placing one hand against the wall just to find his way through the halls and past his blurring vision, Riley pushed through the pain.

Despite it tearing right through his skull and despite the feeling that his head was going to split into two at any moment, he kept moving.

Down the sloping stairs. Soon, debris and concrete started flying from every direction.

Each piece tore into Riley's skin and he gritted his teeth against the intensity of the pain that burned through every part of him.

His blood pooled beneath his shirt and clothes until they turned dark red.

Yet he didn't stop. He kept walking, and finally, he made it.

He was almost at the exit. He spotted Harry and Sophia. They were safe, and a crowd of people, most far less injured than he was, made way for him.

Then he saw it: a large chandelier hanging directly above Sophia.

She hadn't noticed it before stepping underneath, and the forces of nature cared nothing for precautions.

The chandelier came crashing down and Riley's body moved.

From years of instinctively protecting Sophia, from years of deep care and the purest loyalty, he didn't even need to think about it. Every instinct in his body screamed toward one thing.

Sophia was in danger and he had to save her.

He shoved her out of the way, taking the full impact of the chandelier. The pain tore through Riley's body in an explosive burst, ripping through every part of his being like lightning.

Riley's vision gradually slipped away. From a distance, he could hear the wail of sirens, and through the haze he made out Sophia's blurred figure rushing toward Harry, forcing their way into an ambulance that was already stretched beyond capacity, completely ignoring where Riley had fallen.

He watched his wife with slipping consciousness as she fought relentlessly for another man.

Then a hand caught him. From the feel of it, gloved, it had to be one of the paramedics nearby.

"Prepare a stretcher quickly, this young man is in critical condition!" the paramedic exclaimed, seeing how fast Riley was deteriorating and how shallow his breathing had become.

"We are not coming down!" It was easy for Riley to pick out Sophia's voice even through the chaos, and it was thick with disdain.

"I fought to get myself and Harry in here. Why should we have to leave?" It was the last available ambulance before Riley had been discovered.

"His condition is extremely critical!" the paramedic responded.

"I don't think you know who I am. I am the founder of BeeBio Pharmacy!"

The name was enough to send an immediate wave of silence through the noisy crowd.

"And I am ordering you to leave that young man and take us right now. If you refuse, you will not like the consequences!"

The paramedic panicked, shaking where he stood.

He couldn't bear to watch someone die on his watch when he could have done something about it. On the other hand, he couldn't afford to lose his job either.

"Besides, I am his wife!" she continued.

"And I know him very well. He's just being dramatic and nothing more!”