THE AWAKEN RAYMOND WEST STRIKE BACK

Chapter 8

However Raymond didn't let her finish.  

“Say no more.”

The words came out sharp and final, cutting through everything like a blade through silence. His voice was low, but there was nothing quiet about it. It carried the weight of a man who had just watched the last thing he believed in crumble to dust.  

He looked at Megan really looked at her as though seeing her clearly for the very first time.  

“Since you don't see me as a person,” he began, his voice tight with barely contained fury, “since you never believed in what I was capable of, since you never trusted me enough to fight beside me when things got hard—”

He stepped back, as though the distance between them was already inevitable.  

“You want me to hand everything over? To bow my head and surrender what I built with my own hands and give it all to him? You want me to strip myself of every ounce of dignity I have left and crawl into Simon's company like a defeated man?”

His jaw tightened.  

“Never. I will never work for this man. Not today. Not ever.”

He exhaled, and when he spoke again, something in him had shifted not broken, but resolved.  

“And you know what? I think you're right about one thing.”  

His eyes met hers without flinching.  

“There is absolutely no reason for this marriage to continue. So let's end it. Let's cancel all of it every promise, every arrangement, every carefully constructed lie we called a life together.”  

He straightened his back and looked around the room one final time.  

“Let's make it official. Let's make it clear to everyone in this room, and to anyone who ever asks this marriage never existed. It never happened in the first place.”

The moment the words left Raymond’s mouth, Megan’s heart lurched.  

Her chest tightened, her breath hitching as her body tensed in a way she couldn’t hide. This wasn’t how it was supposed to go. She hadn’t expected him to agree so quickly. She hadn’t expected that cold, final resolve in his voice.  

This was never meant to end like this.  

She had only wanted to corner him to push him hard enough that he would give in, that he would see reason, that he would accept working under Simon because, in her mind, that was the only way left to save him. The only way left to protect him.  

She hadn’t meant to push him off the edge.  

But Simon noticed the change.

He saw the way Megan stiffened, the way her fingers curled slightly at her sides, the way her eyes flickered not with triumph, but panic. And in that instant, he understood something crucial.  

She loved Raymond.  

And that love was precisely why Simon was here.  

He had come to dismantle it. To twist it. To break it apart and mold the aftermath into something that benefited him.  

He cleared his throat, stepping forward with practiced ease.  

“Raymond,” he said, shaking his head, “why are you being so stubborn and stupid at the same time?”  

His tone was almost disappointed, almost patronizing.  

“You should be thanking Megan right now. You should be grateful to her. Do you have any idea how much she’s sacrificed for you?”  

He gestured toward her.  

“All that love, all that effort, everything she’s asked for on your behalf you just threw it all away. Just like that.”  

Simon’s eyes hardened.  

“And don’t forget, I can still sue you. Again. That idea you’re clinging to? Everyone knows it belongs to me now. If I really wanted to, I could push this further. I could make sure you end up in jail.”  

He paused deliberately.  

“Do you know what it took for Megan to convince me to offer you a job? To give you a chance?”  

His voice sharpened.  

“And instead of accepting it, instead of working hard to give her the life she deserves, you stand here threatening her acting proud, acting heartless.”  

Simon leaned in slightly, his words dripping with controlled contempt.  

“Why are you like this?, Megan doesn't deserve this.”

Megan’s mother was the first to explode.  

“No. This is the height of it!” she shrieked, stepping forward as though Raymond’s words had physically struck her.

 “This good‑for‑nothing bastard thinks he can threaten our daughter with divorce? He? When he is the useless one?”  

Her finger trembled as she pointed at him.  

“Yes, the divorce will happen. We don’t need him in this family anymore. Even if he changes his mind. Even if he crawls back and agrees to work for you, Simon, we will never accept him again. The disrespect is too much. Far too much for a poor, heartless, ungrateful bastard like this.”  

Megan’s father nodded in grim approval. “He has crossed the line. Completely.”  

Before Raymond could respond, Joseph stepped in, shaking his head as though this outcome had always been inevitable.  

“This is exactly what I’ve been saying from the very beginning,” Joseph declared. “Raymond does not deserve this family. He certainly does not deserve Megan.”  

He turned toward Megan dramatically.  

“Just listen to what Simon said. Do you know the amount of pressure she went through for you? The stress? The sleepless nights trying to convince Simon to give you a chance? To clean up your mess?”  

He faced Raymond again, his expression filled with disdain.  

“But here you are, acting as though she’s the villain. Acting as though you would have secured everything on your own. Everyone knows you wouldn't be able to secured the city contract. The state and national deals? You can't even get close.”  

He gestured toward Simon confidently.  

“Simon can secure all of them. And that means influence. That means power. That means real money.”  

He scoffed.  

“So what exactly is the value of your pride now? What is the essence of it? You have nothing to stand on.”  

Megan’s mother crossed her arms firmly. “He should be thrown out immediately. Out of this house. Out of this family. He is useless. Completely hopeless.”  

Her voice turned cold and decisive.  

“Let the divorce papers be prepared and served today. If possible right now.”