Shadows of the General

Chapter Two – The Weight of Regret

Selene Carter couldn’t breathe.

The television still blared, the thunderous applause of thousands echoing in her living room, but her mind couldn’t process the noise. It was only his face she saw, Adrian’s face, stone-hard and unreadable, crowned by medals that glittered under the floodlights.

General, Her husband, no, her ex-husband, was a five-star general.

Her hands shook as she pressed them against her mouth. She had begged, pleaded, demanded for years that he give her something, anything. She had stood between her mother’s cutting remarks and her father’s mocking silences, defending him until her own voice cracked. She had lived with the shame of his arrest, the endless whispers about his failures, the unbearable quiet whenever she asked him why.

And through it all, Adrian Kane had given her nothing.

No answers, No comfort, No fight, Just silence.

And now, with the ink barely dry on their divorce papers, the world had risen to salute him.

Her chest ached so fiercely she thought her ribs might split.

Her phone vibrated again. This time, she almost didn’t answer. But when she saw her brother Nathan’s name flash on the screen, she swiped it open.

“Selene,” Nathan’s voice was sharp, edged with fury. “Do you see this? Tell me you’re watching.”

“I… I see it,” she managed, her throat tight.

“You divorced him yesterday.” It wasn’t a question. It was an accusation.

Her silence was enough.

Nathan let out a bitter laugh. “Do you have any idea what this means? The Carters are going to look like fools. Our sister divorces a man who turns out to be the highest-ranking general in the country? Mother is livid. Father”

“Stop,” Selene cut in, pressing her fingers to her temple. Her voice trembled. “Please, just stop.”

But Nathan didn’t stop. “You should’ve known, Selene. How could you not know? You lived with him!”

The words tore through her, because she had wondered the same thing. How could she have lain beside Adrian all those years, felt the weight of his silences, and never once guessed what they hid?

She ended the call without another word.

The silence that followed pressed in like a suffocating shroud.

By evening, the news had spread everywhere. Selene couldn’t step outside without cameras flashing, couldn’t open social media without seeing Adrian’s face, couldn’t breathe without her name being dragged alongside his.

The Ex-Wife of the General, The Woman Who Left Him, The Wife Who Walked Away.

Each headline was a blade.

She locked herself inside her apartment, the curtains drawn, the television muted. But nothing could silence the memory of his voice, the words he had mouthed, invisible to the crowd but clear to her:

You will regret this.

The warning echoed until it hollowed her out.

Night fell, Selene stood in her kitchen, untouched glass of wine in her hand, when the intercom buzzed. She froze. She wasn’t expecting anyone.

She set the glass down carefully, her pulse spiking.

The buzzer rang again.

“Who is it?” she asked, her voice tight.

Static. Then a man’s voice, low and smooth: “Damon Locke.”

Her heart stuttered. Damon. The name carried weight in her world, wealth, danger, and a reputation for getting what he wanted.

Selene’s grip tightened on the edge of the counter. “What are you doing here?”

“Congratulations are in order,” Damon’s tone carried a smile she couldn’t see. “You’re the most talked-about woman in the country. I thought you could use some company.”

Selene’s stomach knotted. Damon Locke didn’t offer company. He circled like a predator, and everyone knew it.

“I’m not interested,” she said sharply.

A chuckle drifted through the speaker. “You may not be. But the world is. Doors will close on you now, Selene. Your family’s power won’t shield you from this storm. You’ll need an ally.” A pause. “And I’m offering.”

Her hands shook. She didn’t reply.

The intercom clicked, the line going dead, Selene backed away, her chest heaving.

First Adrian. Now Damon, Her world was unraveling.

Across the city, Adrian Kane stood in a private chamber, his uniform stripped away, his medals set aside. Alone, he sat with a glass of whiskey, his silence as suffocating as ever.

But tonight, the mask cracked.

He gripped the shattered remnants of an heirloom, his mother’s locket, broken beyond repair. His thumb pressed against its jagged edge until blood welled up.

The past, the mission, the sacrifices, they all pressed down at once, And in the quiet, he whispered Selene’s name, For the first time in years, his voice trembled.

The following morning, Selene awoke to the shrill ring of her phone. Groggy, she fumbled to answer.

A cold, official voice spoke on the other end.

“Mrs. Carter? This is Military Intelligence. We need you to come with us. Now.”

Selene bolted upright, heart hammering. “Why?”

The voice didn’t hesitate.

“Because your ex-husband’s life may depend on it.”