My Husband Broke Me into Pieces Until I Finally Decided to Leave

For the last five days, I lay in the hospital bed, my body burning as the fever consumed me due to severe dengue. My platelets dropped. My joints felt like they were being pulled apart. But the physical pain was nothing compared to how my husband Xander was treating me. A hundred times, he ignored me when I needed him the most.

When he finally did text back, it was always the same cold, copied-and-pasted excuse. Busy with the merger. Investors are breathing down my neck. I’ll come when I can.

But he never came. So, on the day I was finally discharged, I told the driver to take me straight to the office.

I reached the top floor. The door to his office was slightly ajar. And that’s when I overheard everything.

“Your wife keeps calling and texting, Xander. Should you visit her in the hospital?”

It was Ria. His secretary.

I leaned closer, my heart hammering against my ribs.

“She’s still sick,” Ria continued, her voice dripping with a fake, sickly-sweet concern. “Because of the dengue. And… my bad. It’s really my fault.”

There was a pause. The sound of papers shifting.

“I put that plant in her room,” Ria giggled softly. “The one that attracts mosquitoes. I just didn’t think… I’m sorry. Maybe she’ll get mad if she learns? It was an accident, because the plant is pretty, so you know.”

My blood ran cold. Then, I heard Xander’s laugh. It wasn’t the warm laugh I used to love. It was cold. Cruel.

“Actually, you were good at that, baby,” Xander said. “Honestly? It would be better if she just died. I should have stopped the hospital from giving her blood, but what can I do? I still need her for the merger.”

I gasped, covering my mouth with my hand.

“So…” Ria’s voice dropped to a purr. “You are divorcing her, right? So, we can be together?”

“Baby, yes, but not yet, okay?” Xander said. “Can you just wait? A little more. The merger… the shares… I need time.”

“Okay, fine,” Ria pouted. I could practically hear the pout in her voice. “Just kiss me, then.”

Then, silence. The sickening sound of wet lips meeting filled the air.

I stood there, trembling. Not from the dengue. Not from the weakness. But from the pure, unadulterated rage that flooded my veins.

I pulled out my phone. My hands shook as I typed a message to him.

Where are you?

Through the crack in the door, I watched.

Xander pulled away from Ria. He glanced at his phone, annoyed. He typed a quick reply.

My phone buzzed.

Do not disturb. I’m in a critical meeting.

I looked at the screen. Then I looked at them.

I typed again.

Meeting or flirting with your secretary?

Inside the office, Xander froze. He looked up from his phone, his eyes scanning the room. Then, he looked at the door.

He saw me. I pushed the door open and stepped inside.

Ria jumped back as if she had been burned. She smoothed her skirt, her face instantly shifting into a mask of professional concern. She rushed toward me.

“Oh! Mrs. Lyanna!” she exclaimed, reaching out as if to steady me. “You’re here! Welcome back! Are you okay? We were just… everything has been so busy with the merger, Mr. Xander has been—”

“You are fired,” I said.

My voice was quiet. But it cut through the room like a knife.

Ria stopped. Her mouth hung open.

“I… what?”

“I don’t want to see you again,” I said, staring her dead in the eyes. “Pack your things. Get out.”

“But… Miss Lyanna!” Ria cried, looking at Xander for help. “I’ve been his secretary for two years! I’m the most reliable—”

“I am his wife,” I interrupted, stepping closer to her. I towered over her, despite my illness. “And I have the highest share in this company. So when I say you are fired, then you are fired.”

“Are you insane?!” Xander slammed his hand on the desk. He marched over to us, his face red with anger.

“She is my secretary, Lyanna! You can’t just come in here and start firing people!”

He grabbed my arm.

“Why are you even here creating a scene?” he demanded. “Is this because I didn’t go to the hospital? I told you, I was busy! I was busy with the merger! With the investors because you were sick, so I have to do your work! You’re being unreasonable, firing the one who was helping me.”

I looked at him. I looked at the man I had married. The man I had loved. And I saw absolutely nothing.

I pulled my arm out of his grip.

Xander blinked, stunned by the sudden coldness in my touch.

But it wasn't sudden. It was a long time coming.

For months, I had been drowning in doubt. I had convinced myself I was paranoid. I had convinced myself I was the problem—the nagging, insecure wife who didn't understand his ambition.

But standing there, looking at his flushed face, the memories flooded back.

The ninety-nine times before this one.

Since Ria walked into this company, I had become a ghost in my own marriage.

I remembered our anniversary dinner. I sat alone at that table for three hours while he was "fixing a crisis" with her.

I remembered the weekend getaway he cancelled last minute because Ria was "feeling overwhelmed" and needed his guidance.

I remembered the countless nights he came home late, smelling of her cheap vanilla perfume, and I had forced myself to believe it was just the office air freshener.

I had swallowed my pride. I had swallowed my intuition.

I had told myself he was just busy. That he was building an empire for us.

But he wasn't building a future for us. He was building a life with her.

The dengue didn't kill me. But this? This realization killed the Lyanna who used to make excuses for him.

The doubt vanished, replaced by a cold, hard resolve.

“Fine,” I said calmly.

I looked at Ria, who was smirking behind his back. Then I looked back at him.

“If you don’t want to fire her, how about divorce me?”