Drowning Him In Regret

After finalizing the details of the divorce suit with my lawyer, I didn't bother going back to the office. Instead, I made a detour to the small apartment where my mother used to live..

Casey had already sent someone over to clean the place, but the layout was still sparse, pretty much untouched since my mother left.

Everything looked the same-except for the angry claw marks etched into the headboard. Deep, jagged scratches. A cruel reminder of how much she

must have suffered in that final stretch.

The thought that I might one day be in that situation made my chest tighten. I couldn't breathe and left in a hurry.

Casey was working late, so I cooked myself a vegetarian dinner and went to bed early.

Just as I started drifting off, my phone buzzed-it was Jude calling.

I declined the call without hesitation. Moments later, a WhatsApp video popped up.

It was Jude, clearly drunk, slurring, stumbling. But the voice on the video wasn't his.

"Ada, can you please come get him?" Rafferty sounded exasperated. "He's losing it."

Jude snatched the phone and practically collapsed into Rafferty's arms, clinging to him like a child.

I remembered how rare it was for him to drink in college-I used to think it was self-restraint. Later, I realized he just couldn't handle it. When he drank

too much, he unraveled.

Rafferty sent me the address, which I forwarded directly to Vivian.

Jude didn't want to see me anyway-not really. The only person he wanted around was his darling little mistress.

I slept soundly after that. Peaceful, even. Until an hour later, when Rafferty started blowing up my phone.

His voice cracked in WhatsApp voice note. "Ada, please, I'm begging you. Jude hit someone. We're at the station."

I was wide awake before the message finished playing.

Jude. Hit someone. Police station.

The words didn't even seem to go together in my brain.

I was already pulling on my clothes when I called Rafferty back.

He picked up instantly and shouted into the chaos, "Officer! Officer, his wife's on

her way. She's coming, right now!"

"Ada, please just get here. It's bad," he said.

In the background, I could hear shouting Jude, Vivian, and another voice that

tugged at something in my memory, though I couldn't place it.

When I finally made it to the precinct, I froze in the doorway.noveldrama

Jude looked like he'd been dragged through a war zone.

Bruises on his face, scrapes on his arm, hair a total mess, clothes stained. He sat slumped forward, head down, silent.

Vivian was at his side, crying as she held onto him, but he didn't respond.

And across from him-sitting upright, collar torn, two buttons missing, but otherwise calm was Dorian Huxley.

17:01 Thu, 8 May GO.

We graduated from the same university.

I hadn't seen him since I left the country. And now here he was, apparently the

one Jude had gotten into a fight with.

"Dorian?" I blinked, taking a step closer.

He turned to me with a soft, familiar smile. "It's been a long time, Ada."

His hand was swollen and red, but otherwise he looked fine. No blood, no bruises-nothing like Jude.

Hearing my voice seemed to snap Jude out of his haze. He raised his head, speech slurred. "So you can see him, but not me?"

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He jabbed a finger toward Dorian, his face twisting. "Look what your precious

Dorian did to me! I'm going to sue him. I swear to God, I'll sue!"

He tried to get up, but Vivian yanked him back down before he could cause another scene.

The officer glanced at him with zero patience.

"You picked the fight," he said flatly. "And now that the actual spouse is here, maybe we can resolve this like adults. This is a police station. I don't care who you are-sit down and shut it."

The officer cast a not-so-subtle glance between me and Vivian. It wasn't hard to figure out what he meant.

Apparently, everyone here was already clued in on Jude's little soap opera.

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Dorian gave the pair of them a contemptuous look. "Married man, out screwing around with another woman, and now you've got the nerve to call your wife to clean up the mess?"

His voice was still soft, still gentle, but his words hit hard. "You humiliate her in public, and she's supposed to stand by you? Ada must've been blind to

ever marry you."

Something about that-maybe the word blind-sent Jude into a frenzy. He bolted to his feet.

"That's between me and my wife, you outsider!" he snapped, trying to lunge across the room.

It took both me and Rafferty to shove him back into his seat. Vivian threw her arms around him, trying to calm him down.

I turned to Dorian, desperate to defuse things. "Are you alright? Nothing broken, I hope?"

"Should I take you to the hospital? You might have some internal bruising."

I knew Jude could hit hard. Dorian had always been the calm, intellectual type- never the sort to throw punches.

Dorian shook his head with a dry little chuckle. "Some people are good at sneaking around with women, but they can't fight to save their lives."

That one stung. Leven felt my face heat up.

Vivian looked like she was about to say something, but I cut her off and pushed her back down into her seat. "Who even are you? Just shut up."

"You-" Her eyes flared, but i didn't give her the satisfaction of a second glance.

Instead, I looked at Jude. "So, what do you want to do? Get detained, or pay compensation?"

He stared at me, stunned. "You want me to pay?"

I nodded, calm and precise, gesturing toward Dorian's hand. "He hit you, sure. But look at his hand-it's swollen."

"Ada, you're my wife!" Jude's voice cracked, his fury boiling over. "And you're taking his side?"

17:01 Thu, 8 May

GO

He didn't care that his face was bruised, didn't even flinch from the pain as he

roared.

I just sighed, opened my bag, and pulled out the divorce papers.

"Not for much longer," I said quietly, placing the folder in his lap. "Look over the

terms. If you want to make any changes, tell my lawyer."