“Now that the baby’s born, you're suddenly disgusted by the stretch marks on Tia’s stomach? Upset about how her body’s changed? Is that why you want a divorce? You ungrateful piece of shit! Have you no shame?”
Eddie acted like a moral police and quickly labelled me the villain. The shouting came with fists right behind it, but before he could land a hit, I dodged easily.
I looked at him coldly, a smirk tugging at my lips. “Oh? And how would you know about the stretch marks on my wife’s stomach? Unless…”
Eddie’s face turned red. “It's just common sense, man! Ask anyone here then, who doesn’t know that pregnancy causes that?”
Everyone around us nodded, chiming in like a damn jury.
My father-in-law stepped in, trying to talk me down. “Chuck, marriage isn't something you throw away on a whim. My daughter almost lost her life giving birth to your child. This is the time that really tests a couple. You’ve always seemed like a decent man—don’t let us down now.”
My mother-in-law scoffed, arms crossed. “I knew it. Men—never any good. Now you bring up divorce? You must already have someone else out there, huh?”
“Spill it! Who’s the mistress? Is she pushing you for status, pressuring you to dump my daughter?!” She rolled up her sleeves like she was ready for a street fight.
She gave Tiana a pat on the back. “Don’t worry, Honey. Mom’s gonna take that homewrecker down.”
I gave a hollow laugh. “The problem was never with me. You can say whatever you want, but I’m getting a divorce today. That’s not changing.”
Tiana’s eyes were red and swollen, like she hadn’t slept in days. She stepped forward and grabbed my hand.
“Charles, please… just tell me what’s going on. You weren’t like this before. Don’t you remember our wedding vows? In sickness and in health, through good times and bad…” she said with trembling voice.
“Enough. Cut the act.” The emotion in her eyes made me sick.
“Get out of my way.”
I shoved her aside in disgust. She let out a soft cry as she fell to the ground. Her elbow scraped against the floor, bleeding instantly.
Eddie lost it and rushed towards me. Fingers pointed at me as he barked like some mad dog. “If you dare divorce Tia today, I swear I’ll beat you into a coma!”
“You’re a damn disgrace. I’d rather she be a widow than live with a man like you!” He snapped.
Eddie lunged at me, slamming me to the floor, fists flying like he wanted to kill me.
But I just sneered. “This is between my wife and me. Why the hell do you care? This isn’t your business.”
“We grew up together! I’m her brother!”
I laughed coldly. “Oh? The sleeping together kind of brother?”
“Shut the hell up! You’ve got a dirty mind and assume everyone else does too.”
He hesitated for just a second. That was all I needed. I landed a solid punch right in his gut.
Eddie liked to flex his six-pack, but it was just for show. He had no idea I’d trained.
Meanwhile, Tiana screamed at the sight. “Charles, stop it! You might hurt him for real!”
She panicked as I pinned Eddie down, my hand gripping his throat. His face turned purple as his breathing grew labored.
Tiana, frantic, grabbed a porcelain vase from the side table and smashed it over my head.
Chaos exploded. People screamed.
“Oh my God! There’s so much blood!”
“Call an ambulance!”
Warm liquid trickled down the side of my face. My vision blurred as the noise around me faded into a chaotic hum.
