My Ex-Wife Will Kneel Before Me

Sever ties

Chapter 5

Ryan pulled a suitcase from the top of the closet and dropped it open on the bed. He moved through the drawers mechanically, pulling out shirts, pants, socks, and folding them in tight rows. He did not take anything that Jessica had bought for him. No designer jackets. No silk ties. No cufflinks from their anniversary. Only the things that were his before he married into the Palmer family.

Richard stood in the doorway with his arms crossed, his face still red from the confrontation in the study. He watched Ryan pack with a look that shifted between fury and disbelief.

"You walk out that door, you leave with nothing." His voice was thick with contempt. "You understand that, right? Nothing. Not a penny. Not a plate. Not even the shoes on your feet if I have anything to say about it."

Ryan did not look up. He folded another shirt and placed it in the suitcase.

"Everything in this house was paid for by my family." Richard stepped further into the room, his chest puffed out like a man who was used to being feared. "The roof over your head. The car in the driveway. The clothes your daughters wear to school. All of it comes from Palmer money."

"I'm aware." Ryan's voice was flat.

"Then you should also be aware that a man who bites the hand that feeds him ends up on the street with nothing but his pride to keep him warm."

Ryan zipped the suitcase shut and finally turned to face his father in law. His expression was calm, almost bored, and that seemed to infuriate Richard even more than anger would have.

"You can keep every single thing in this house, Richard. The furniture. The art. The wine collection you're so proud of. I don't want any of it."

"Damn right you don't. Because none of it belongs to you."

Ryan reached into his pocket and pulled out a small plastic bag. Inside were several strands of dark hair. He set them gently on the nightstand beside the bed.

"What the hell is that?" Richard's eyes narrowed.

"Hair samples. From both girls." Ryan looked directly into the older man's eyes. "Take them to any lab in the city. Run the test yourself. And when the results come back, try not to be too shocked."

Richard's jaw tightened. "I already told you. My daughter says those tests are fake."

"And I'm telling you she's lying." Ryan picked up his suitcase and walked toward the door. "But you don't have to take my word for it. That's why I'm leaving you the samples. Test them. See for yourself. And when you finally realize what your daughter has been doing behind closed doors for the last ten years, don't call me. I won't be interested."

He brushed past Richard and stepped into the hallway.

Behind him, he heard the older man's voice, lower now, almost shaking. "If you're making this up to hurt my family, I will bury you. I will use every connection I have in this city to make sure you never work again."

Ryan did not answer. He kept walking.

He was halfway down the stairs when the front door burst open. Jessica came rushing in, her heels clicking against the marble floor, her coat half falling off her shoulder. Her eyes were red and swollen, and the moment she saw Ryan with the suitcase in his hand, a sound came out of her that was somewhere between a gasp and a wail.

"Ryan, no. Please. Please don't do this."

She ran up the stairs and threw her arms around his waist from behind, pressing her face into his back. Her entire body was trembling, and her fingers dug into his shirt like she was clinging to the edge of a cliff.

"I'm begging you." Her voice was muffled against his back, broken and wet with tears. "Don't leave. We can fix this. Whatever you think happened, we can talk about it. We can go to counseling. We can do whatever you want. Just please don't walk out on us."

Ryan stood perfectly still. He could feel her tears soaking through his shirt. He could feel the desperate strength in her grip, the way her nails pressed into his ribs. And for one terrible moment, the old version of himself wanted to turn around and hold her.

But that version of him was dead.

"Let go of me, Jessica."

"No. I won't. I can't." She squeezed tighter. "You're my husband. You're the father of my children. You can't just leave."

"I'm not the father of your children." His voice was quiet, and it carried more weight than any shout could have. "You made sure of that."

"That's not true. Ryan, I swear to you..."

"Stop." He peeled her fingers off his shirt, one hand at a time. She fought him, grabbing at his arms, his wrists, his sleeves, but he was stronger and his mind was made up. He pulled her hands free and stepped away from her on the staircase.

Jessica collapsed against the banister, sliding down until she was sitting on the steps. Her mascara was running down her cheeks in black streaks, and her shoulders heaved with each sob. She looked up at him with an expression that begged for mercy, but his eyes gave her nothing.

"You'll regret this," she whispered. "You'll regret walking away from everything we built."

"The only thing I regret is the ten years I wasted building it."

He turned and walked down the remaining stairs.

At the bottom, he stopped.

Katie was standing in the foyer, clutching a stuffed rabbit to her chest. She was wearing her pink pajamas and her curly brown hair was tied in two messy pigtails. She looked up at Ryan with wide, confused eyes that made his entire chest cave in.

"Daddy? Why is Mommy crying?"

Ryan set down his suitcase. He crouched in front of his daughter and took her small hands in his. The lump in his throat was so thick he could barely breathe, but he forced a smile onto his face anyway. It was the hardest thing he had ever done.

"Mommy's fine, sweetheart. She's just a little tired."

"Are you going somewhere?" Katie's lower lip trembled as she looked at the suitcase.

"Yeah, baby. Daddy has to go on a business trip for a little while."

"How long?"

"Not too long." He brushed a curl away from her forehead. "And when I come back, I'm going to take you to the amusement park. Just you and me. We'll ride the Ferris wheel and eat cotton candy until our stomachs hurt. How does that sound?"

Katie's face brightened just a little. "Can we get the blue cotton candy? The pink one tastes weird."

"Blue cotton candy it is." He pulled her into a hug and held her tight, breathing in the smell of strawberry shampoo one more time. His eyes burned, but he refused to let the tears fall where she could see them.

He let go, stood up, and picked up his suitcase.

At the top of the stairs, Jessica sat crumpled on the steps, still crying. Richard stood behind her in the hallway, his face a mask of stone. Neither of them moved.

Ryan looked up at them one last time. His gaze was cold. Empty. Final.

Then he turned away, opened the front door, and walked out into the evening air.

With one last cold glance at his in laws, Ryan walked out the door, determined to finalize the divorce and sever ties with the family once and for all.