The third time Nicolas Reid and I stood before the courthouse, it was because he’d given my coveted position as lead meteorologist to the station’s newest weather anchor.

Leaning casually against his car, a cigarette dangling from his lips, Nicolas exhaled a cloud of smoke and looked at me with thinly veiled impatience.

“Is this really necessary?” he asked, his tone dismissive. “I mean, giving her your spot is just a way for you to take a break, isn’t it? God knows you could use one.” He smirked, flicking ash to the pavement. “Besides, I only gave her the role to make her happy. Can’t you just suck it up and do this? For me?”

I kept my gaze steady, staring straight ahead as if he hadn’t just uttered those infuriating words. Calmly, I replied with three clipped syllables.

“Let’s go inside.”

That evening, I saw Nicolas wrapping his arm around the new girl, laughing and drinking with his friends like he hadn’t a care in the world.

“So, what you’re gonna do if Rowena actually divorces you?” One of his friends joked, a grin tugging at the corners of his mouth.

Nicolas took a long swig of his drink, his eyes narrowing with a sense of superiority.

“That’s not gonna happen. She loves me too much to go through with it.  She’s just being extra. Typical her.”

It wasn’t until he saw me, weeks later, sitting in the back seat of another man’s wedding car that he realized I hadn’t been bluffing.

——

Walking out of the courthouse after our divorce was finalized, Nicolas shoved the divorce papers and my copy of the household registry into my hands.

“There, happy now?” he said, lighting another cigarette. His lips curved into a smirk as he glanced at me sideways, arrogance dripping from his expression.

I folded the papers neatly, sliding my copy into my bag. Then I slapped his copy against his chest, hard enough to make him stagger slightly. I didn’t say a word. Turning on my heel, I headed toward my car. But just as I reached the door, my wrist was grabbed and before I knew it, he had me pinned against the car. The sickly sweet scent of his cologne—or maybe it was her perfume—invaded my senses, making me want to gag. His grip was like iron, his eyes blazing with fury as he leaned in closer.

“All this over a damn job?” he hissed through clenched teeth. “I already told you, I gave her your position just to keep her happy. It’s only temporary. Once she gets bored, you can have it back! Why do you make a big deal out of it?”

His voice rose as he continued, “Do you really need to drag us to the courthouse every time we have different opinions? How many times has it been now? I’m not a saint, Rowena and you know it. Cut the act before I reached my limits!”

My breath hitched and then, to his surprise, I laughed—a sharp, bitter sound that cut through his tirade like a knife.

“Limits?” I repeated, my voice dripping with sarcasm. “You’re in no position to talk about limits right now, Nicholas.” 

We had grown up together, childhood sweethearts who became husband and wife. Six years of marriage had tied me to this man.

A week ago, Nicolas brought Annette into my life once again. Without so much as a warning, he made a call right in front of me to the state meteorology bureau, where I’d worked tirelessly for years.

“I’m planning to invest $2 million into the station,” he had told the director on the other end of the line. “But I have one condition.”

Holding Annette protectively in his arms, he turned to me. His gaze was cold, his tone deliberate.

“The condition is this: Rowena steps down and Annette takes her place.”

The words felt like a dagger to the chest. I stared at him, wide-eyed and disbelieving, but he didn’t flinch. Instead, he doubled down, making the decision on my behalf.

“She’s fine with it,” Nicolas assured the director. Then, looking down at me, he added, “Tomorrow, Annette will report for work. Rowena, you’ll show her the ropes.”

I lost it that day. I screamed, threw anything within reach and even slapped both Nicolas and Annette across the face.

“Who the hell do you think you are, making that decision for me? You have no right, Nicholas!” I shouted. “I never agreed to quit my job!”

“Oh, I have every right to do it.” He stared back at me with infuriating calm, “In case you forgot, I’m your husband, your legal guardian. What I say goes. And, it’s settled. You don’t have the job anymore, Annette will take over.”

He let out a sharp breath and added, “Why can’t you see it the way I see? You get to have a break and Annette gets the experience. It’s a win-win.”

In the end, I told them both to get out. Nicolas, ever the protector, shielded Annette keeping her safe in his embrace. Before they reach the door I herald him muttering under his breath, “You’re crazy.”

No one knew how I spent that miserable week. Nicolas, fearing I’d interfere with Annette’s new job, locked me inside the house. I was a prisoner in my own home, trapped with my spiraling thoughts and emotions. I alternated between crying and laughing—both hysterical, both hollow. The man I had once trusted above all else had made me a pawn in his twisted game and I had no one to blame but myself for letting it get this far.

It took me six years to climb to the top as the most beloved weather anchor at the Gravenhold TV station. Six years of relentless work, dedication and sacrifices to secure my position. And Nicolas? He knew exactly how much this job meant to me and how hard I had fought for it.

But he didn’t care.

Or maybe, for Annette, sacrificing my reputation and career was no big deal. After all, hadn’t he already proven that when he coldly had our child aborted for her sake?

The thought made my eyes sting. The slap I delivered to Nicolas was fueled by every ounce of betrayal and it left him stunned for a fleeting second.

“You’re in no position to talk about limits right now, Nicholas.” I spat, my voice shaking with anger.

“Do you even hear yourself? What do you mean, she can have my job until she’s bored of it and then she’ll just hand it back? Do you think I need your charity? That position was mine—earned by my own blood, sweat and tears!”

I glared at him, the words tumbling out like venom. “You’re always pulling this crap—hitting me with a slap, then handing me a candy to smooth it over. That’s so you, Nicolas. Manipulative to the core.”

I pushed past him and pulled a gift bag from the back seat of the car, the one he had so proudly bought to ‘compensate’ me for losing my job. Without hesitation, I hurled it at his feet.

We parted ways on a sour note, driving off in separate directions—his car heading west, mine east. The symbolism wasn’t lost on me. Just like our arranged marriage, the once-parallel paths we shared were now hopelessly divergent.

That evening, I got a text from Annette. She summoned me to a private lounge, like a queen summoning her subject.

When I arrived at the door, I saw them.

Nicolas was lounging on the center sofa, arm draped around Annette, grinning as if he hadn’t a care in the world. Their group of friends surrounded them, laughing along.

One of them teased, “So, what you’re gonna do if Rowena actually divorces you?” 

Nicolas scoffed, downing his drink. “That’s not gonna happen. She loves me too much to go through with it.  She’s just being extra. Typical her.”

From where I stood, peeking through the gap in the door, Annette caught sight of me. Her gaze turned sharp, like a dagger with an unspoken message: Hurry up and divorce him already.

I didn’t stay. I turned on my heel and walked away without looking back.

For the next two weeks, Nicolas didn’t come home. I didn’t care.

The rain had been incessant, tapping against the windows like a soft, persistent reminder of my solitude.

One night, as I sat on the couch flipping channels, Annette’s face suddenly filled the screen. She was dressed in a tailored blazer and pencil skirt, her hair cascading over one shoulder. Her expression was plastered with a smile, but it was stiff, awkward.

“Over the coming days, temperatures across the country are expected to drop further due to repeated cold fronts…”

Her voice was monotone and when she stumbled over a tricky phrase, I felt a smug sense of satisfaction.

It was at that moment that the front door opened, bringing in a gust of cold, damp air. Nicolas walked in, drenched from head to toe. Without a word, he tossed a towel in my direction and leaned closer, water dripping onto the fabric of my nightgown.

I didn’t move. My expression was stone cold.

When he realized I wasn’t going to dry him off, he snatched the towel back, rubbing it through his hair. Catching sight of Annette on the TV, he smirked, pride practically radiating off him.

“Not bad for her first official broadcast, huh? I knew she had potential,” he said, his tone dripping with self-satisfaction.

I ignored him and got up, heading straight to the bedroom.

Nicolas followed, his gaze flicking down to where the damp spot on my gown clung to my thigh. His eyes darkened with unmistakable intent. Before I could react, he pinned me against the headboard, his lips trailing rough, uninvited kisses along my face.

“It’s been so long since we’re having it,” he murmured, his breath hot against my skin. “Don’t you want it too, baby?”

I laughed—a bitter, mocking sound that filled the room.

My mind flashed back to the image of him tangled with Annette on our living room sofa, their bodies entwined in a way that still made my stomach churn.

I tried to push him away, but his hands were relentless, pinning mine behind my back.

Our eyes locked and I could feel the anger burning inside me as I taunted him. “Oh, so now that Annette is busy with her new job as weather anchor, you lack of woman who can satisfy you, Nicholas?” 

Nicolas was busy loosening his tie, raising an eyebrow and giving a smirk.

“What are you talking about? Isn’t that why we’re in this position right now?”

I never imagined he could go to such lengths just to annoy me.

His warm breath was close behind me and I couldn’t hold back any longer—I started gagging.

Nicolas almost instantly backed away, his face showing clear signs of disgust and anger. Once I managed to compose myself, he grabbed my face firmly.

“So now I’m repulsive to you, huh? But didn’t you say you loved me, what happened? Can’t no longer keep up the act, Rowena?”

Tears started to slide down my cheeks and he let go quickly, as if burned by my reaction.

I forced a smile, feeling a strange calm inside me.

“I don’t love you anymore. A cheating man is like a rotting carcass — foul, repulsive and impossible to ignore once the stench fills the air. No matter how well you try to hide it, the decay always seeps through, leaving nothing but disgust and betrayal."

Nicolas' face changed and he seemed ready to argue, but when he saw how pale I had become, he shut his mouth.

“Say whatever you want, but you have to remember that I own you, Rowena. and I’ll make you regret ever saying that to me,” he muttered, throwing those words at me before walking into the bathroom with his clothes in hand.

I held back my disgust and walked to the living room, gulping down a glass of water. Tears spilled uncontrollably, blurring my vision.

Nicolas wasn’t wrong — he did owe me.

The weather report show had already been canceled and the rain outside picked up, pattering against the windows.

My phone buzzed a few times. It was a message from Annette.

She sent a few screenshots of her bank transfers, along with a few lines of Nicolas’ complaints about me.

“I really can’t stand her. Always walking around with that sour face, acting like I really owe her something!”

“She has no sense of fun! Every time something good happens, she always ruins the mood—so boring!”

“Are you done with work yet? Change into something nice, I’ll pick you up.” 

I opened a voice message from Annette and her playful, naive voice filled my ears.

“Did you watch my show, Rowena? It’s my first time on screen. Nicolas said I did better than you, so he even sent me five million for luxury items.”

“By the way, I heard Nicolas said you were upset because of your layoff? I’m here to talk some sense into you. Being upset will only make you age faster. After all, you’re already twenty-six, so you can’t compare with us twenty-year-old girls.”

I closed my eyes, already used to Annette’s occasional provocations. But right now, I couldn’t take it anymore. Opening my eyes again, I clicked on my brother’s chat.

Last year, my brother had sent me an application for a job opportunity at a major network. Back then, I still wanted to give Nicolas one last chance and had turned my brother down. After thinking it over, I realized how foolish I had been at the time.

But now, I had given Nicolas three chances and with the layoff and the two incidents that followed, all the chances I’d given him were gone. My feelings for him had completely faded.

“About that application you mentioned last year—if I fill it out now, will it still be valid?”

His reply came almost immediately. “It will be.”

“But... have you really thought this through?”

“Yeah,” I replied, wiping away my tears.

“And what about the offer I made to you? What do you say?”

“I’ve made up my mind. I do, Kyle.”

Although my brother was an adopted son, my father had once considered him as a potential son-in-law before he passed away. If my parents were still around, I didn’t think they would have opposed it. As for Nicolas and me, there was no need to drag it out anymore. My feelings to him and our marriage had reached their end.

Nicolas didn’t say a word after his shower. He grabbed his coat and left.