Dear Ex-wife, the Apocalypse King Has No Mercy

White-hot agony tore through Rhys Darby’s abdomen.

A rusted, serrated blade was chewing through his flesh, carving him open inch by bloody inch.

His sight flickered. Through the haze, a familiar face appeared above him.

The face of the woman he had once trusted more than anyone in the world.

Lexi Stowe Darby. His wife.

There was no sorrow in her eyes. No fear. No pity.

There was only a terrifying, hollow hunger.

“Don’t hate us, Rhys.” Her voice shook, though he could not tell whether it was from the cold or excitement. “It’s fifty degrees below zero. We need something to eat.”

Rhys stared at her, his mind unable to process what he was hearing.

“She’s right,” a male voice drawled, sickeningly casual. “You’ve kept us alive this long. You won’t mind being useful one last time, will you?”

That’s Curry Barker. The same Curry that Lexi had repeatedly sworn was "just a friend." Out of love and blind trust, Rhys had never pushed the issue.

Now, Curry slipped an arm around Lexi’s waist, and right in front of Rhys's dying eyes, she leaned in and kissed him.

“Time to eat,” Curry muttered, breaking the kiss.

He glanced down at the shrinking figure in the corner. “Come here. Hold the bowl steady, and catch it while it’s still warm.”

“Okay, Daddy.” little Chris stepped forward obediently.

Daddy? Why was his son calling Curry that?

Lexi watched the truth dawn on him, and a cruel, satisfied smile touched her lips.

“Chris was never yours, Rhys. He’s Curry’s. Now that you have nothing left to live for....”

She crouched beside him and raised the knife high.

“You can die in peace.”

The blade hacked into his thigh, severing a slab of meat.

“Ghh—!” Rhys tried to scream, but his damaged throat produced nothing more than a wet, broken hiss.

Having grown up an orphan, he had been desperate for a family. So he had always treated them like his whole world.

Before the apocalypse, he had handed over every paycheck, let her parents and deadbeat brother move in, and catered to their every whim. When the great freeze hit, he repeatedly braved the wasteland to scavenge for food and medicine, nearly dying more times than he could count.

He had thought he was being a devoted husband. It turned out, he had been nothing more than a dog to them, kept alive solely to defend their shelter and fetch their food.

Now that they had consumed everything he had collected, they had decided to consume him as well.

“I swear…”

Rhys forced the words through his ruined throat. Every syllable filled his mouth with blood.

“Even if I die… Even if I become a ghost… I will come back for every last one of you!”

Rhys poured the final trace of his strength into the curse.

Then, the darkness swallowed him. He died.

…

“Sir?”

A gentle voice drifted through the void.

“Sir, are you all right?”

Rhys jerked upright. His chair screeched against the polished floor as he lunged backward.

He gasped for air, looking wildly around.

There were no frost-covered walls. No faithless wife and her lover carving flesh from his body.

Only a bright, spacious office.

Sunlight poured through the floor-to-ceiling windows. Cars moved along the street below, while cool air flowed quietly from the central ventilation system.

Across the desk, a female bank manager stared at him in alarm.

Rhys froze.

With trembling hands, he fished his phone from pocket. The screen lit up.

August 10, 2026. 2:30 p.m.

His pupils contracted. That was impossible.

Rhys checked the date again and again, terrified the numbers would melt away into a hallucination.

Suddenly, a laugh burst from his throat. “I’m alive! I came back!”

His laughter echoed through the office, wild with relief, madness, and the exhilaration of a man who had just crawled out of hell.

The bank manager looked ready to call security.

But Rhys couldn’t have cared less. He had returned to three months before the global freeze!

In exactly ninety-two days, an unprecedented solar storm would tear through Earth’s magnetic field, sending temperatures across the planet into a sudden, deadly plunge. Civilization would collapse within weeks. Ninety-five percent of humanity would die from cold, starvation, or disease. And the survivors would butcher one another for a scrap of moldy bread.

But right now, the sun was still shining.

“Mr. Darby…” The bank manager studied him warily. “Would you still like to proceed with the loan?”

Oh, that’s right. On this exact day in his previous life, Rhys had come to the bank to mortgage his childhood home, so he could borrow money for Lexi’s younger brother, Henry Stowe. Henry had sworn he was launching a tech company and that success was practically guaranteed.

Before Rhys could speak, the office door swung open.

“What on earth is taking so long?”

A woman strode in. Silky hair framed her delicate, flawless features. Her skin glowed in the sunlight, and her designer dress clung perfectly to her elegant curves. A sweet, practiced smile rested on her lips.

But all Rhys could see was the rotting monster hiding beneath the skin.

Lexi.

His heart clenched. For a split second, phantom teeth tore into his flesh. A sharp, paralyzing agony shot from his abdomen to his neck, stealing the breath from his lungs.

“Rhys, Sign it now.” Lexi walked right up to him and pushed the pen toward his fingers. “It's not like we're taking your house. Henry's company is going to be huge. Think of it as an investment opportunity.”

Ha. An opportunity.

Rhys had heard those exact words the first time this happened. And like a fool, he had believed them. Then within one month, Henry had taken the money straight to a casino and lost every cent. The company had been nothing more than a gambler’s lie.

And when the dust settled, Henry walked away scot-free, leaving Rhys to drown in the debt.

That would not happen again.

Under the confused gaze of the bank manager and the impatient stare of his wife, Rhys slowly picked up the loan agreement.

Then, he ripped it cleanly in half.

Riiip!

The shredded paper fluttered onto the mahogany desk.

Lexi’s perfect, sweet smile instantly vanished.

“Have you lost your damn mind?!” she shrieked.