Till Death Do Us Part

Orion

I stood there, frozen, as Ava’s words hung in the air. ‘I want a divorce’.

For a moment, I didn’t know how to process it. Divorce? The word echoed in my head, loud and jarring, as though someone had just shot a bullet in a silent room. I blinked at her, trying to read the expression on her face, but it was cold—unreadable.

This isn’t what she wants. That was my first thought. It didn’t make sense. Ava had been the one to fight for this marriage, to dig her claws into my father’s empire, and now… now she wanted to walk away?

I forced myself to breathe. “What did you just say?” I asked, my voice low and dangerous.

Her gaze didn’t waver. “You heard me. I want out, Orion. I want a divorce.”

A bitter laugh escaped my lips, one I couldn’t hold back even if I tried. “Isn’t this what you wanted all along?” I stepped closer to her, my voice sharp, each word cutting through the tension. “To get married. To have access to all of my father’s properties. To cement your name into something you didn’t build.”

She didn’t flinch, but I saw her fingers twitch slightly at her sides. “If that’s what you think of me, then you know I’m making the right decision by leaving.”

Before I could respond, her phone buzzed on the vanity table. Ava’s eyes darted toward it instinctively. The name flashing across the screen sent a surge of heat through me—Mason Brown.

I didn’t think. I reacted.

I snatched the phone before she could even move. “Why is he calling you?” I growled, holding the phone in front of her face like evidence in a courtroom.

“Give me back my phone, Orion,” Ava snapped, reaching for it.

I yanked it out of her reach, my grip tightening. “Is that what this is about? Mason?” My voice rose, filled with anger and something else—something I didn’t want to name. “You want to leave all this for him?”

She laughed bitterly, her voice dripping with disdain. “What I do with Mason is none of your business. Didn’t you and your mistress Chloe want me out of your lives? I’m ready to leave, so why are you being such a jerk about it?”

My jaw clenched at the mention of Chloe. “Don’t bring her into this.”

Ava stepped closer, her eyes blazing with fury. “Why not? Isn’t that what you wanted, Orion? A life with her? You hate me, remember? So why does it matter to you that I want to leave? Unless… unless you just can’t stand the idea of someone walking away from you first.”

Her words hit harder than I cared to admit.

“That’s not it,” I said through gritted teeth. “Do you even understand what will happen if we divorce? What will happen to my father’s legacy?”

“Yes,” she shot back, her voice unyielding. “And I don’t care. I’m willing to do whatever it takes to leave you and your twisted mind. Did you really think poisoning my sister would break me? That it would make me feel like the broken girl I used to be? The same one that you rejected and disgraced? News flash, Orion—I’m not that kid anymore.”

Her words sent my mind spinning, and I felt like screaming that I didn’t poison Holly. But no. Nothing I say will make her believe me, so why try ?

“No,” I growled, the sound rumbling deep in my chest. “The only way you leave this marriage is if I allow it. And I don’t.”

Her eyes narrowed, her lips parting in disbelief. “You can’t force me to stay.”

“Can’t I?” I stepped closer, my gaze pinning her in place. “Are you ready to forfeit everything? The properties, the will—everything my father left for us? It will be sold to charity, Ava. Every last cent.”

Her eyes didn’t waver. “Yes,” she said firmly.

The word hit me like a punch to the gut.

For a moment, I just stared at her. I couldn’t believe it. She was willing to let go of everything—the company, the wealth—just to be rid of me.

“You think I don’t know what you’re doing? You think I don’t know about the hotel and this mansion being in your name? So you think you can make me lose everything my father has worked so hard for while you keep some to yourself?”

“Stop whining, Orion,” she sneered. “I didn’t ask for any of that!”

My face darkened, my fists tightening at my sides. “You’re lying,” I spat. “You’re nothing but a gold-digging, selfish—”

“At least you won’t be on the street,” Ava cut in sharply. “You have your own company, don’t you? You’ll be fine.”

The calmness in her voice was infuriating.

I turned and grabbed the vase off the vanity table, hurling it across the room. The shattering sound echoed like thunder, but Ava didn’t even flinch. She just stood there, watching me, as though daring me to keep going.

I turned back to her, my chest heaving. “Here I was thinking something had changed,” I said, my voice cold, shaking with anger. “That maybe you weren’t as bad as I thought. That maybe we could learn to live side by side. But you’re still the same conniving bitch who forced her way into this family.”

I saw it then—a flicker of hurt in her eyes. It was fleeting, but it was enough to make me snap.

Before I knew it, I’d stomped toward her, my hands reaching out and grabbing her by the neck. I didn’t even think. My anger had taken control, and I couldn’t stop myself.

“Do you understand?” I hissed, my grip tightening. “I am my father’s only child. His only son. His heir. As long as I’m alive, his legacy will remain in this family. His name, his blood—it all lives on inside me.”

Ava struggled, her hands clawing at mine. “Let me go,” she gasped, her voice barely a whisper.

I held her there for a moment longer, her body trembling beneath my grip. And then I let her go.

She fell to the ground, coughing, gasping for air. I flinched at the sight of my handprints on her neck, the dark red marks already starting to form. For a brief second, guilt clawed at my chest—but I pushed it away. She deserved this. She deserved worse.

I turned to leave, stopping at the door. I didn’t look back. I couldn’t.

In a voice colder than ice, I said, “The only way out of this, Ava—the only way—is till death do us part. I’m not willing to die. But if you want to leave so badly, then go ahead and die. I’ll even help you arrange that.”

And I meant every word. Every word.