Mercy For None

I Married You Out Of Pity

The clang of the prison’s metal doors echoed down the corridor, followed by a voice.

“Number one-eight-six. You have a visitor.”

Riley flinched at the sound of his number. Suddenly, a guard strode toward his cell, a heavy ring of keys clinking at his side. A pistol rested on his hip, and a baton swung lightly from his belt as his boots thudded against the concrete floor.

“On your feet, one-eight-six.”

Riley rose slowly, his joints aching from the cold concrete bench. As the door swung open, the guard added, “ Hands behind your back.”

Riley complied without saying a word, turning his back to the guard. The guard moved closer to him and handcuffed him.

Then, he was then escorted to the visitation room where he met his wife, Catherine. Catherine was already seated, putting a handbag on her lap while she fixed her gaze on the floor.

The guard pushed him toward the chair opposite her. “Sit. You have just a few minutes”.

Riley gently sat down, resting his hands on the cold metal table. Suddenly, Catherine dipped her hand into her bag and brought out a file. Then she slid it over to Riley.

“Riley, sign the divorce papers and let me be on my way. I have a plane to catch,” she muttered, her voice barely rising above a whisper. She shifted in her chair, pushing the file across the table until it touched the edge of his cuffed hands. “You’re taking too much of my time. Quickly sign it.”

Riley blinked, his lips parting in stunned silence. The metallic clink of his handcuffs echoed as he raised his hands slightly.

He stared at her for a while before responding, his voice trembling. “Were you offered money to lie against me in court? Or did you fabricate all of it… because of Henry? Did you do all that just to be with the person you really love?”

Catherine scoffed, titling her head back slightly, her hair shifting over one another as she hissed loudly at him.

“Why… why should I?” she retorted, her lips curling into a cold smile as her eyes narrowed at him. “You never deserved someone like me from the start. I… I only married you out of pity.”

Tapping her fingers slightly against the edge of the table, she added, “And I’ve had enough of all this. I’m tired. Sign the papers and let me have my way.”

“After all that I’ve done for you, Catherine?” Riley responded, gazing at the divorce papers in front of him. “Is this the way you’re supposed to repay me?” The chains of his cuffs clinked as his hands trembled slightly on the table. “If not for the money I gave you, your company would have gone bankrupt, and your mother would have died, Catherine.”

Riley paused, his eyes filled with disappointment.

“I did everything to make you happy and loved,” he confessed, a bitter smile escaping his lips. “I never once raised my hand on you, cursed you, or beat you. I’ve always been the one to apologize, even when you were wrong. I… I gave you everything you needed, Catherine. And instead of appreciating what I did, you turned your back against me.”

Catherine threw her head back and let out a loud, cruel laugh. A faint, mocking smile tugged at the corner of her lips as she folded her arms across her chest and leaned back in her chair.

“You’re funny,” she muttered, her tone laced with scorn. “Who’s helping who, Riley? You’re nothing but a poor, lowly man trying your best to make me happy. And even then…” She paused, her eyes glittering with cold amusement. “I’ve never felt happy since we were married. So I don’t know what you’re trying to prove.”

“Your mother would…” Riley began, his voice faltering. But before he could finish, Catherine cut him off sharply.

“Stop telling me that same narrative,” she said coldly, leaning forward, her elbows resting on the table. “All of that was just part of your efforts to make me happy, and I don’t see a big deal in it. Riley, sign the divorce papers!”

“You… you even lied to me that you were pregnant with my child,” Riley whispered. His fingers curled into a tight fist on the table, the chain of his handcuffs rattling softly.

Riley lifted his head slowly, his eyes burning with anguish as he talked.

“Catherine… After all my sacrifices, you still went and got pregnant by another man. I… I cared about you and gave you everything I could to make you happy. But you repaid me by cheating on me and carrying another man's child.”

Catherine flickered her eyes but she didn’t look away. She tightened her fingers around the strap of the handbag resting on her lap before moving it aside.

“You know…” she muttered, a mocking smile curling at the corners of her lips. “You’re still living in the past, Riley. And digging up old wounds won’t change anything. I made those decisions long ago, and I never regretted making them. In fact, I’m very happy for cheating on you and getting pregnant with another man.”

Riley’s eyes widened in shock as he stared at her. His fingers trembled where they rested on the table

“I didn’t deserve any of what you did, Catherine,” his voice trembling with fury. “And I will make you regret doing it.”

Catherine folded her arms across her chest, her shoulders resting on the chair as a mocking laughter escaped her lips.

“What’s even there to regret?” she snapped, her eyes mixed with contempt. “By the time you’re released, I’m sure you won’t even remember your own name, let alone anything else. And if you like, you can keep searching for those parents who abandoned you when you were fifteen.”

This angered Riley. Instantly, he roared at her, his cuffed fists slamming down on the metal table, the echo reverberating through the room. He lunged forward, but before his hands could reach her, the guard stepped in, hitting Riley with the barrel of his gun.

“Behave yourself,” the guard yelled, choking his neck with his hand. “Or I'm going to shoot you".

Catherine let out a deep breath, titling her head slightly.

“Even after your poor parents abandoned you, I gave you a chance by marrying you. But you must sign those papers, Riley, because our marriage is already over.”

Riley’s jaw clenched as he drew in a rough breath, his cuffed hands trembling and the pen shaking between his fingers as he bent over the papers. After a few seconds, he wrote his name on the divorce forms and signed them.

“You will regret this, Catherine. I will come for you,” Riley vowed, staring at Catherine, his eyes widened with disgust and betrayal. “I will make you pay for everything you have done.”

Catherine hissed loudly as she took the divorce papers from the table and slipped them back into her bag. Without another glance at Riley, she rose from her seat and strode toward the door.

As she stepped outside the prison, she reached into her pocket and brought out her phone. Dialing a number, she lifted it to her left ear, her eyes darting briefly around to make sure no one was listening.

“I’ve done my part. The rest is left to you. Finish him up and erase the evidence. I want him dead as soon as possible”.