Retaliation of the God of War

Damien Murdock smiled to himself as he drove back to his modest home from work in his Tesla model X. He had had the most stressful day at work that day, but he didn’t care. Nothing compared to the happiness he was feeling as he was on his way home. Tonight was his one-year anniversary with his wife Holly.  Tonight, was the day he would tell her the secret he had been keeping from her all this time because of a stupid law. She would finally get to see him for who he was and then maybe they could skip right to the part where they had children.

The thought was too good to pass up because in no time, Damien was parked in the driveway of his home and didn’t miss a beat before he was already out of the car and walking towards the building where Holly would be waiting for him. Damien approached the door as the stress from the day’s work lifted off his mind. 

As he turned the handle, his mind could only wonder how she would have prepared for the anniversary. The table set with care, the flicker of candlelight, the warmth of her hug, and quite possibly the sexy fabric she would be concealing under her clothes. He couldn’t help but grin to himself. 

Damien had all these thoughts and yet when the door creaked open, he was greeted with silence and dim lights. A stark contrast to what he received whenever he got back from work each day. Usually, Holly was always at the door ready to take his briefcase and remove his jacket with a smile on her face and a peck on his cheek. She had never missed the opportunity to do so even when she started working. A trait he had come to love, so her absence was a bit confusing. 

He dropped his briefcase by the shut door and removed his jacket himself while calling out to his wife.

“Holly.”

As soon as his jacket was off, Damien went into the dim home, shadows stretching across the floor and the lack of a response from Holly ever present. Once he walked through the archway leading to the living room, his eyes landed on who he was looking for. There was just one problem. Holly’s face was not adorned in a smile but armored in a scowl, her demeanor very off putting.  He casually glanced at the clock behind her head and saw that he was an hour later than he normally was.

Damien frowned and swiftly closed the distance between them. With soft steps, he got closer to her and hugged her, something they had always done when the other was feeling down or angry. He wasn’t sure how he’d stayed at work so late when he knew it was his anniversary, but he was willing to make it up to her later tonight. 

He expected Holly to deepen the embrace and then ask where he had been all night, but he was met with a different reaction. Holly pushed him off her body and took a step back trying to put more distance between them. Something Damien couldn’t understand what for.

Confusion coated his face and concern laced his voice when he spoke.

“Holly, what’s wrong?”

“I want a divorce.”

Damien froze, sure that he hadn’t heard her correctly. It sounded like she said divorce, but he was sure that was not the case.

“What?” He asked, wanting her to say it again.

“I’m sure you heard me the first time, but I’ll say it again. I want a divorce, Damien.”

Damien’s heart stopped. Divorce. From the woman who said she would never leave him. Was he in a fever dream?

“What do you mean divorce? Did I do anything wrong? I can change, I swear. Just don’t...” Damien began in a bid to dissuade her from the choice she had seemed to make while he was away.

“Just stop. I can’t do this anymore, Damien,” she declared, her voice making a cut in his heart. “Your status… it’s not enough. I have to move on.”

“What? It doesn’t matter. I can change my status. I can be better.” He said as he moved closer to her, but Holly countered it and took several steps back.

“There’s nothing you can do because I don’t love you. I’ve found someone else, someone who can give me the life I deserve.”

Damien could only breathe as Holly’s words sank in. How? How could she say that to him and on their anniversary for that matter? She had found someone else? While she was still married to him. 

The world tilted on its axis, Damien’s grasp on reality slipping as her words carved through him. He had been ready to reveal his true self, to offer her a gift that symbolized the depth of his love and the heights of his capability. A gesture to show her that she was the one for him. A gesture. 

Damien’s mind shifted to the gift he had gotten for her that still sat heavy in the right pocket of his pants. He reached into his pockets and dug out the velvet box before handing it to Holly.

“I got that for you. To show you how much I care for you.”

He took a step forward and placed the box in Holly’s hands.

“I am so much more than the man you think I am. I can protect and provide for whatever you need in this life. All you have to do is trust me.”

Holly eyed the black velvet box in her hands as if she was contemplating whether to take him back or not. For a second, Damien saw a glimpse of hope for their future, but he was sadly mistaken as Holly hurled the box across the room and screamed at him. 

“I said stop it. I do not love you, Damien Murdock. I have never loved you. The only reason that I even married you in the first place was for the money I thought you had but you couldn’t even keep that up for a while. I am a queen and I deserve the best in life, not to be slumming down in the muck with you, a no-good husband who can’t even provide for his family. I have found someone else to suit my needs and I do not need you anymore. I’m leaving.”

Holly turned and grabbed the boxes that Damien hadn’t noticed in the first place. She moved to leave and in that split second, regardless of how he had been degraded and insulted, Damien grabbed onto her arm wanting to plead one last time to keep her with him. What she had said had hurt but he was willing to overlook it all and start afresh.

“Holly, please. I love you. I don’t care if there’s someone else, just stay with me. We can work through this. I know deep down you must care for me.” he implored, his voice a mixture of pain and hope, but Holly didn’t budge.

“Well, I hate you and everything you stand for. Let me go your scum.” She shouted; her words final.

Damien could see the hatred in her eyes. The eyes that once looked up at him with love and care were so dark and dangerous, so much so that he knew she wasn’t lying. She had been playing him all this time and because of his love for her, he had no idea.

With trembling hands, Damien leaned in and kissed her, a last-ditch effort to make her remember the love they had maybe once shared. Their lips locked but like all the things that had gone wrong that night, this was no different. Holly pulled back from the kiss, her face showing how repulsed by what he had just done. Her hand went back and with a resounding crack, the echo of her slap on Damien’s cheek filled the room. 

Holly wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and sneered at him. She walked past a shocked Damien and was about to disappear behind the archway when she spoke, not bothering to look at him again.

“You are a disgrace of a man. Just die already.” 

The sound of malice in her voice and the opening and shutting of the door reached Damien’s ears as the stick of the slap on his cheek lingered for a second more. He rubbed his cheek, turned around and walked over to where Holly had thrown his gift. He saw the box, bent down and picked it up before opening it and looking inside.

A ring of gold and sapphire, looking like it came right out of a fairytale book stared back at him. The Sky Halo. A ring symbolizing royalty and purity. A gift that Holly had thrown right back in his face. There was also a high-tech wristband which was meant to be how his subordinates, who were well known government officials as of now, from his old life would welcome her into the family but it didn’t matter anymore. Holly had left him so there was no point. 

Damien closed the box and placed it back in his pocket. His heart ached for what had just happened and for someone like him, losing was a foreign concept. He could break down and mourn his lost family, but he persevered, telling himself that if she left him at his low then she didn’t deserve to be with him when he revealed himself. The anniversary was a painful one and all in all he was a bit glad that she had shown her true colors to him.