The Kleptomaniac Son In Law Is Back

The Unwanted Husband

CONGRATULATIONS, AVERY & LUCIAN.

Merrick read it again, hoping the names would somehow change, but they remained exactly the same.

Avery and Lucian.

His wife and another man.

For several seconds, Merrick couldn't make sense of what he was seeing. Perhaps the engagement party had been arranged by her family without her consent. He knew how much the Sterlings valued status, and he had witnessed firsthand how they regarded his marriage to Avery as an embarrassment.

Maybe they were forcing her into this.

The thought gave him something to hold on to as he stepped farther into the hall, scanning the elegantly dressed guests for a familiar face. If he could find Avery, he could ask her what was happening. She would explain everything, and he would finally understand why their anniversary had been met with silence.

He refused to believe anything else.

Then he saw her.

Avery sat at a table near the center of the hall, dressed in a silver gown that shimmered beneath the chandeliers. Her hair fell perfectly around her shoulders, and a diamond necklace rested against her collarbone. She looked beautiful, happier than Merrick had seen her in months.

Beside her sat Lucian Vale, the man whose name was displayed beside hers.

Avery leaned toward him, laughing at something he whispered in her ear. When Lucian reached for her hand, she placed hers in his without hesitation.

Merrick stopped walking.

He had seen that smile before, back when they were younger and Avery had defied her family's wishes to marry him. She had worn the same expression when he surprised her with their first anniversary dinner, when they spent their first Christmas together in a tiny apartment, and when she promised him that they would face whatever came their way as long as they had each other.

He had believed those moments meant something.

Apparently, he had been the only one.

A waiter passed nearby, and Merrick abruptly pulled the apron from his waist, throwing it onto an empty service cart. He couldn't stand there pretending to belong among people who had come to celebrate his wife's engagement to another man.

He had come to see Avery, and he wasn't leaving without speaking to her.

Crossing the hall, he approached her table, ignoring the curious glances that followed him. Tristan Sterling, Avery's brother, noticed him first, his expression changing from amusement to disgust.

"Merrick? What the hell are you doing here?" Tristan demanded, pushing his chair back.

Avery turned toward the interruption, and the smile disappeared from her face.

For one foolish moment, Merrick waited for her to stand, perhaps surprised to see him or concerned about how he had found his way into the party. Instead, she looked at him as though he were an unwelcome stranger who had wandered into the wrong room.

He swallowed the ache in his throat and reached into his pocket.

"It's our fourth wedding anniversary today," he reminded her, holding out the velvet box. "I thought we could talk, even if only for a few minutes."

Avery glanced at the box before returning her attention to him.

"Why are you here, Merrick?"

The question struck harder than it should have. He had spent the entire journey convincing himself that there was a reasonable explanation for everything, yet she couldn't even pretend to be pleased to see him.

"I wanted to see my wife," he answered, his voice quieter than he intended. "I've called you several times, but you haven't answered. I thought perhaps you were busy, so I came here instead."

"Well, now you've seen me. You can leave."

Merrick's fingers curled around the box.

"What's going on? Why is your name on that sign with his?" He nodded toward Lucian, who watched the exchange with barely concealed amusement. "Is this something your family arranged? Are they forcing you into another marriage?"

Avery's expression hardened.

"No one is forcing me to do anything."

"Then tell me what this is." He gestured toward the decorations, the guests, and the man sitting beside her. "We've been married for four years, Avery. You can't expect me to walk in here and act as though none of this matters."

"That's exactly what I expect you to do," she replied coldly. "Our marriage is over, Merrick. I don't love you anymore, and I don't want you in my life."

The words settled between them, leaving him struggling to find a response.

He had imagined their relationship ending before. During their worst arguments, he had wondered whether Avery regretted marrying him, but she had always returned, and he had always convinced himself that her promises were worth believing.

Now she sat beside another man, announcing the end of their marriage as though she were dismissing an inconvenience.

"Please," he said, taking a step closer. "Just give me five minutes. We can talk somewhere private. You don't have to do this in front of everyone."

He reached for her wrists, desperate to make her look at him rather than through him.

Avery immediately tore herself free.

"Don't touch me!"

Before Merrick could react, she snatched a glass of champagne from the table and emptied its contents over his head.

Cold liquid soaked his hair and ran down his face, dripping from his chin onto his shirt. A few guests gasped, while others exchanged amused looks, and the sudden silence made every drop landing on the polished floor seem unbearably loud.

Avery placed the empty glass on the table.

"Look at yourself," she said, her voice carrying across the surrounding tables. "You come here uninvited, embarrass me in front of my guests, and then expect me to entertain your pathetic demands. Have you no shame?"

Merrick remained still, champagne running beneath his collar.

He wanted to defend himself, to remind her that he had never asked for anything extravagant during their marriage. He had worked, designed, and sacrificed because he believed they were building something together, even when she received the praise and he remained invisible.

Instead, he looked at the woman he had loved and wondered when she had become someone capable of treating him this way.

Lucian rose from his chair and placed a reassuring hand around Avery's waist.

"Darling, you don't need to waste your evening on him," he murmured, drawing her closer. "Security can take care of this."

Avery leaned into him.

That small gesture hurt more than the champagne.

Merrick lowered his eyes to the velvet box still clenched in his hand. Inside was a delicate necklace he had saved for weeks to afford, choosing it because it reminded him of the simple piece Avery had worn when they first fell in love.

He had imagined her opening it at home, smiling as he explained why he had chosen it.

Now he couldn't bring himself to offer it again.

"All right," he said at last, lifting his gaze to hers. "If you don't love me anymore, I won't force you to stay. But before I go, I need to ask you one thing."

Avery's impatience was unmistakable. "What now?"

"Did any of it mean anything to you?" His voice faltered despite his effort to keep it steady. "The four years we spent together, everything we went through, the work I put into helping your company grow—was any of it real?"

For the briefest moment, something flickered across her face.

Then it vanished.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she replied. "Your work? What work, Merrick? You spent years doing nothing with your life, and now you want credit for my success?"

He stared at her, searching for even a trace of the woman who had once defended him against her family's insults.

There was nothing.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about," he said quietly.

"Enough!" Tristan snapped, stepping between them. "I've tolerated your presence for long enough. Security!"

Two guards hurried over, positioning themselves on either side of Merrick.

He didn't resist when they took hold of his arms. He didn't shout at Avery or demand that she explain herself again. Whatever answer he had come seeking, she had already given it.

As the guards escorted him toward the entrance, he glanced back once.

Avery had turned away from him. She was smiling at something Lucian said, accepting his attention as though the man she had just humiliated had never existed.

Merrick faced forward.

Outside, the evening air cooled his champagne-soaked clothes, but he barely noticed. He opened the velvet box and stared at the necklace resting inside, its delicate chain catching the light from the entrance.

Then he closed the lid.

His phone vibrated.

He pulled it from his pocket, expecting another call he would never receive or perhaps a message from Nadia asking how his anniversary had gone.

Instead, he saw Avery's name.

*Sign the divorce papers by noon tomorrow. Don't make this more difficult than it needs to be*