My wife came home late that night, a total mess. Her stockings were torn apart, her skirt hung unevenly around her waist, and her body was covered in dark red marks.
The moment she entered, she ran straight into the bathroom, desperately trying to wash away the signs on her skin, scrubbing so hard she nearly hurt herself.
I wanted to take her straight to the police. But after she finished cleaning herself, there was no evidence of bodily fluids left, and in the end, the police refused to open a case because there was nothing to prove it.
Anger took over, and I went to the company to confront the boss who had attacked her. I beat him up, and the result was seven days of administrative detention.
Not only that, after the incident, my wife developed a serious psychological disorder. For two full months, she wouldn’t allow me to touch her at all.
Eventually, I couldn’t stand it any longer. I filed for divorce right in front of all her relatives.
My wife stared at me in disbelief. “Do you think it’s my fault that I was raped? Are you divorcing me because of that?”
I looked at her coldly, my tone flat and emotionless. “Yes, I’m divorcing you because you were raped.”
——
Tears rolled down Kaia Velasquez’s cheeks, her eyes wide with pain and disbelief. “Apollo Granger, have you been wanting to say that all along?”
“Did you plan to divorce me two months ago? Do you already see me as dirty?”
I stared blankly at Kaia, who was nearly sobbing uncontrollably, yet my heart didn’t move at all.
“Whatever you think, this marriage ends today.”
A flicker of shock flashed across Kaia’s eyes, as though she hadn’t expected me to be so firm.
My mother-in-law’s face darkened immediately. She was about to speak, but my father-in-law caught her wrist.
“Apollo, I understand you can’t move past this, but Kaia is also a victim.”
“She didn’t choose for this to happen; she’s already been through enough. You’re husband and wife, this is when your bond is truly tested.”
My mother-in-law quickly added, “That’s right, Apollo, hasn’t Kaia treated you well all these years? Just look at her, she’s beautiful and does so well in her career. Marrying her was the luck you earned in your last life!”
“Enough already, stop making trouble. You’re a man, ending your marriage over something like this, aren’t you worried people will laugh at you? Go on, apologize to Kaia!”
At that point, Kaia seemed to regain her composure. She gently held my hand and spoke softly.
“Alright, Apollo, none of this was your fault. I know these past two months have been hard on you, too.”
“I don’t need you to apologize. Let’s just move forward, alright?”
The other relatives sitting in the living room began to speak as well.
“Apollo, this is your fault. What happened to Kaia wasn’t her choice. You’re the man here; you should be more understanding.”
“Honestly, part of this is your fault, too. Kaia was working overtime so late. Why didn’t you go pick her up? If you had gone, none of this would’ve happened.”
“Alright, stop talking like that. Getting divorced over this? You’re both still young, there’s so much ahead of you.”
A hint of hope returned to Kaia’s face. “Apollo, I know the last two months have been hard for you, too.”
“I’ll try to get better. Let’s just act like this never happened, okay?”
Her voice started to shake again as she spoke.
To anyone who didn’t know what really happened, it might have looked like she was the one making a huge sacrifice.
Taking a step back, I ignored the voices around us and said coldly, “Kaia.”
