The Useful Fool: A Husband's Revenge

The Useful Fool: A Husband's Revenge

Gavin

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The charity gala shimmered around me, but all I heard were hushed voices from behind a private lounge door. I was looking for Olivia, my wife of three years, the woman I believed was my true love. "He actually believes it, you know," Olivia' s voice, smooth as silk, drifted through the gap. "Three years, and he still thinks my 'no intimacy' rule is some noble test of true love." Then came a man's chuckle-Daniel Sterling, her adopted brother. "He's a useful fool, Liv," he said, his tone a mix of affection and contempt. "A perfect, respectable shield. Father got his business deal, and we got our time. Everyone's happy." My world crumbled. Every shared smile, every kiss, every whispered promise - all lies. I was the useful fool, a meticulously crafted performance for an audience of one. Shock rooted me. I couldn' t let them see me break. I backed away, each step a robotic act of will, leaving behind the poison they spoke. Even as I called Mr. Sterling, Olivia' s powerful father, my voice was cold and empty. "The agreement is over. The one that made me your daughter' s husband. It' s finished. Tonight." But Olivia' s mother, desperate to salvage the family name, revealed the dark truth: my marriage was a desperate attempt to break Olivia and Daniel' s "unhealthy" bond. I was just a pawn. She proposed a final, insane test: a yacht trip, an "accident" where Daniel and I would fall overboard, and Olivia would have to choose. I agreed, desperate for a definitive truth. On that boat, with the waves churning, Daniel shoved me. I surfaced, gasping, only to see Olivia frozen, then turning, swimming not to me, but to him. As the dark water pulled me under, her face, filled with belated horror, was the last thing I saw. Ethan Hayes, the architect, was dead. But I survived, pulled from the sea by a stranger, Sophia, who taught me what real love was. I built a new life, a happy life, but Olivia' s obsessed ghost couldn't let me go. I met her to end it, only to have Daniel appear, a bottle of acid in hand. He lunged for me, but Olivia, with a primal scream, threw herself in front of me, taking the caustic spray intended for me. Her screams will haunt me forever. They destroyed each other, leaving me free.

Introduction

The charity gala shimmered around me, but all I heard were hushed voices from behind a private lounge door. I was looking for Olivia, my wife of three years, the woman I believed was my true love.

"He actually believes it, you know," Olivia' s voice, smooth as silk, drifted through the gap. "Three years, and he still thinks my 'no intimacy' rule is some noble test of true love."

Then came a man's chuckle-Daniel Sterling, her adopted brother. "He's a useful fool, Liv," he said, his tone a mix of affection and contempt. "A perfect, respectable shield. Father got his business deal, and we got our time. Everyone's happy."

My world crumbled. Every shared smile, every kiss, every whispered promise - all lies. I was the useful fool, a meticulously crafted performance for an audience of one.

Shock rooted me. I couldn' t let them see me break. I backed away, each step a robotic act of will, leaving behind the poison they spoke.

Even as I called Mr. Sterling, Olivia' s powerful father, my voice was cold and empty. "The agreement is over. The one that made me your daughter' s husband. It' s finished. Tonight."

But Olivia' s mother, desperate to salvage the family name, revealed the dark truth: my marriage was a desperate attempt to break Olivia and Daniel' s "unhealthy" bond. I was just a pawn.

She proposed a final, insane test: a yacht trip, an "accident" where Daniel and I would fall overboard, and Olivia would have to choose. I agreed, desperate for a definitive truth.

On that boat, with the waves churning, Daniel shoved me. I surfaced, gasping, only to see Olivia frozen, then turning, swimming not to me, but to him. As the dark water pulled me under, her face, filled with belated horror, was the last thing I saw.

Ethan Hayes, the architect, was dead. But I survived, pulled from the sea by a stranger, Sophia, who taught me what real love was. I built a new life, a happy life, but Olivia' s obsessed ghost couldn't let me go.

I met her to end it, only to have Daniel appear, a bottle of acid in hand. He lunged for me, but Olivia, with a primal scream, threw herself in front of me, taking the caustic spray intended for me.

Her screams will haunt me forever. They destroyed each other, leaving me free.

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After a devastating divorce with the man she had been married to for over three years, Rachel thought her life was over. Her family disowned her, they wanted nothing to do with her anymore and she couldn't blame them. She had just divorced David Hart, one of the top successful bachelors in the country and heir to the Hart industries. But they would never understand that she didn't divorce him, he divorced her after she caught him cheating on her with her god-damned best friend! Rachel was just about to end everything by jumping off a bridge when she was saved by the most unexpected person. The boy she once bullied severally in highschool because he always wore ugly glass and was from a poor background, how come that glass make him so hot now? Why was he helping her get revenge on ex-husband who is trying to make her life even more miserable? And most important how did he get so handsome? What exactly does he want from her? ... No, you must want something, anything. If you can really help me get revenge on David and Lana, I can't just let you do it for free". Ethan went quiet for a while. I held my breath waiting for what his request might be. If it was something money could buy, I'll try my best to get it for him even though I was somehow broke right now. "You're right I do want something". He said after thinking for few minutes "What?" I asked slowly. " Until you get your revenge on David, Lana and every other person you want, you will live here". Live here as in...?  " Wha... What are you saying? ". I stammered hoping he wasn't saying what I thought he was saying. I tried to step back but I missed a step and almost fell on the bed but Ethan caught me holding me in his muscular arms.  Ethan moved his face closer to mine be was so close, our nose almost touched. " I want you to be with me! ".

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