It was one in the morning when the call came. It was from the widow of my husband’s fallen partner, her voice trembling with fear. She thought she had an intruder. My husband, Liam, who hadn’t slept in three days from a stakeout, didn't hesitate. He bolted out the door to be with her. He didn't come back until dawn. “It’s not easy for Hannah, being on her own,” he explained, seeing me still sitting on the couch where he’d left me. “Especially now that Mark’s gone. Every little noise must terrify her.” When I didn’t respond, he sighed and wrapped his arms around my shoulders. “Hannah is the widow of a hero, Stella. As his captain, it’s my duty to look after her. But I promise, I’ll cut back. Don’t be upset, okay?” I calmly removed his hand, refusing to be the understanding wife I’d always been. “Let’s get a divorce.” 1 Liam’s cheeks were hollowed from exhaustion, his eyes a spiderweb of red veins. Even his breathing was ragged. His hands clenched into fists, then relaxed. He pressed himself against me again, putting on his best sad puppy eyes. “Honey, don’t say things you don’t mean. I’ll stop going over, okay? I’ll pass the responsibility of looking after Hannah to one of the other guys on the team.” No one would ever believe that the man who was invincible on the streets, the unshakable captain, turned into a big, gentle cat at home, purring and pleading for my affection. It was that contrast, that hidden softness, that made me marry him, even after I knew the dangers of his job could spill over into our lives. But now, I turned my head away and stood up, moving out of his reach. “I’m not angry. I’m serious. You can keep looking after Hannah.” “But we’re getting a divorce.” Liam’s brow furrowed. He shifted uncomfortably, but when he saw the hard line of my mouth, his expression softened again. He stayed on his knees and shuffled closer, resting his head against my chest like a big, overgrown dog. “Baby, I’m sorry. I didn’t even think about how you’d feel when I took this on. I already have so little time for you, and now I’m giving it to someone else. And I know how jealous you can get.” “I made my darling wife wait up for me all night, angry and alone. I’m the worst. But I haven’t slept in four days, Stella. I’m exhausted. Let me get some rest, and I promise I’ll make it up to my jealous little firecracker tomorrow.” He couldn't stifle a yawn, reaching for my hand to lead me to the bedroom. Anyone hearing him would have taken his side. Here was a man so tired he could barely stand, yet he was still patiently trying to soothe his unreasonable, spoiled wife. But I wasn't having it. I yanked my hand away, my voice firm and clear. “I said, I want a divorce!” Caught off guard, Liam stumbled backward, knocking over the ceramic vase we had made together on a pottery class date. It shattered on the floor. He looked down, his eyes slowly clearing, the exhaustion momentarily burned away by shock. My repeated demands for a divorce had finally pushed him past his limit. “I apologized. I promised I’d stay away from Hannah. Why isn’t that enough for you?” “You’re the one who said ‘divorce’ is a word we should never use lightly. You’ve said it twice tonight. What the hell do you want, Stella?” He even remembered that. Something I’d said offhandedly, a drunken joke from years ago. “Liam, this isn’t about jealousy, and I don’t need you to coddle me. I want a divorce.” “I want to be completely, permanently done with you.” CRACK! His fist flew past my ear and slammed into the wall behind me. My eyelashes fluttered, but I didn’t flinch. “I’ll have a lawyer draft the papers. I won’t take a penny more than what’s mine. All you’ll have to do is sign. I’ll handle the rest.” My final words were lost as I saw his eyes glisten with tears. He raised his hand, and I instinctively shut my eyes, but he only pressed his palm against his face, his voice thick with emotion. “Honey, stop. Whatever it is you don’t like, I’ll change it. I’ll change anything. Just please… please don’t leave me.” The all-powerful man, showing a raw vulnerability he saved only for me, a sight that would make anyone forgive him anything. But I stood my ground, pushing him out of my way. “I don’t like living in constant fear. And I don’t like you running to another woman’s house every night. Can you change that?” Liam’s eyes widened in disbelief. He couldn’t comprehend that I—the woman who had stood by him even after a suspect’s knife had found its way into my side—was saying these words. His face hardened. I held his gaze and finished what I had to say. “I’ll have the papers for you to sign tomorrow.” The silence that followed was broken by a sharp intake of breath from the guest room. My in-laws, woken by the noise, came rushing out. 2 Liam’s father kicked him squarely in the back of the knee, his voice a low growl. “Apologize to Stella. Running off to another woman’s house in the middle of the night and then coming home to yell at your wife? Is this how I raised you?” His mother dabbed at her eyes, taking my hand in hers. “It’s our fault, dear. We didn’t teach Liam right. You’ve been wronged.” “But looking after a widow is his duty,” she added, her tone shifting. “He can’t just abandon that responsibility. Imagine what people would say. It would destroy his reputation.” “From now on, we’ll keep a closer eye on him, make sure he knows his boundaries.” The elderly couple looked at me with pleading eyes. Just as I was about to speak, a phone rang. Liam, still kneeling on the floor, answered it instantly. “Hannah? What’s wrong?” Hannah’s voice on the other end was a shaky mix of relief and terror. She was sobbing. “Liam… the police just caught a burglar in the complex. He… he murdered a family of three down the hall. During his confession, he said his original target was my apartment.” “If you hadn’t come over… if you hadn’t stayed with me… that would have been me last night.” Three pairs of eyes snapped towards me. Liam was still trying to comfort Hannah. Hearing the tension in his voice, she quickly asked, “Liam, did you explain everything to your wife? She’s not mad, is she?” “Last night was so dangerous. Being a hero’s widow… it makes me a target. I don’t know how I’d survive without your help.” “If she’s still upset, I’ll come over and apologize to her myself.” Liam’s expression was one of pure frustration. He soothed her in a low voice. “Stella’s a little upset, yes. But now that she knows how dangerous it was, I’m sure she won’t be angry with you anymore. Don’t worry.” The implication was clear. If I continued to be angry, I would be the unreasonable one. I snatched the phone from his hand, my voice calm and cold. “You don’t need to apologize to me. Because I’m divorcing Liam. You can save your apologies for his next wife.” I hung up, and before the three stunned faces around me could react, I walked out of the apartment. “Since we’re getting a divorce, it’s better if I move out. It will make splitting the assets easier.” “Stella!” Liam’s voice was like ice behind me, but I didn’t turn back. “I can’t keep coddling you every single time. If I hadn’t been there last night, Hannah could be dead. You have the facts right in front of you. Are you still going to fight me on this?” His words made me feel, for a fleeting moment, like a hysterical, irrational woman. But I stepped out the door and left anyway. I found an apartment to rent. As I was leaving the building, I noticed several plainclothes officers lingering downstairs. Liam’s job was dangerous, and threats against his family were common. Living with him was safe. Living alone multiplied the risk. He had said he wouldn’t coddle me, but he had still reported my move to his unit and requested a protective detail for me. He had told me once, if I ever got hurt because of him again, he would lose his mind. I looked away, my face impassive, and accepted a folder from the lawyer who was waiting for me. The divorce papers. I had been messaging Liam since morning, trying to arrange a time to sign them. He hadn’t responded. Finally, I couldn't wait any longer and dialed his number. He declined the call almost instantly. I frowned, standing frozen for a moment. Suddenly, the officers protecting me started moving, their postures tense. One of them approached me, his face grim. “Ms. Martinez,” he said, using my maiden name. “Captain Foster is in the ICU. They need a family member to sign for surgery.” His tone was laced with resentment. “The captain was in the middle of a high-risk operation. Your call gave away his position. He’s been shot. He might lose his arm.” 3 The hospital hallway was crowded with Liam’s teammates. Their eyes were red, filled with blame as they watched me approach. One of them turned and punched the wall in frustration. I walked past them without flinching and entered the room. Liam was lying on the bed, his face as white as the sheets. When he saw me, he managed a weak, reassuring smile. “Don’t be scared. I’m okay. It’s just a scratch. I’ll be fine.” He reached out for my hand, but I pulled away. Beside the bed, a young officer named Ricky couldn’t hold back his anger. “Just sign the papers,” he snarled. “If he doesn’t get surgery soon, the captain could die.” I gave him a cool glance and pulled the divorce agreement from my bag. “I’m not signing the consent form. If you want to live, you’ll sign this divorce agreement. Let your parents be your next of kin.” “You—!” A vein throbbed on Ricky’s temple. He lunged at me, his face contorted with rage, looking like he wanted to tear me apart before his teammates grabbed him and held him back. My gaze swept over their shocked faces. Threatening my own husband’s life to force a divorce. They had probably never met a woman as venomous as me. Liam’s expression shifted through a dozen emotions before he finally closed his eyes, his voice raspy. “Is this all because I stayed with Hannah last night?” Under the weight of a dozen glares that felt like they could skin me alive, I answered flatly. “Yes. It’s because you stayed with Hannah.” As the words left my mouth, someone grabbed my collar from behind, yanking me off balance. Seeing who it was, Liam tried to sit up, a gasp of pain forcing him back down. “Hannah, don’t touch her.” Hannah was covered in dried blood, her limbs so thin she looked like a skeleton. She seemed unnaturally weak. “If you hate me, I can disappear from your lives forever. But Liam is hurt. He can’t wait. If he doesn’t have surgery, he’ll be crippled.” “I already owe him so much. If he becomes disabled because of me, I’ll never forgive myself.” Another officer, Jake, the most capable on the team besides Liam, helped Hannah up as she sobbed into her hands. His eyes were spitting fire at me. “Why would the captain marry a stupid, evil woman like you? He risks his life every day to protect people, and all you can think about is your petty jealousy.” “Even if the captain did cheat on you, it would be because you drove him to it!” It was only then that I learned the full story. Liam had been shot while trying to shield Hannah from the line of fire. He could have avoided it otherwise. I let out a cold laugh and turned to Liam. “You said you were passing the responsibility for Hannah to your teammates. Why were you with her today?” “Liam, you’re so protective of her. Are you two already a thing?” “Stella!” The veins on Liam’s forehead bulged. His hand whipped out, the slap echoing through the silent room. The force of it split my lip, and I calmly spat a mouthful of blood onto the floor. “Liam, how could you hit Stella!” My in-laws, who had just arrived, cried out, rushing to pull me behind them. Liam was panting, his chest heaving. “She can hit me, she can scream at me, but she will not insult the widow of a fallen hero.” The elderly couple looked at me in disbelief. I tilted my chin up. “Did I hit a nerve? You spend every day at her house, you even stay the night. Don’t tell me nothing is going on.” Hannah’s crying stopped for a second. Her eyes flickered away before she let out an even louder wail, crying that she wanted to die. The room felt like it was about to explode. If my in-laws weren't shielding me, I would have been buried under a pile of fists. But I didn’t care. I held up the divorce papers and threw them in Liam’s face. “If you don’t sign these, I can spread a lot more rumors about you and Hannah. I wonder how her fragile mental state will handle that.” “I have all the time in the world. I wonder if your arm does.”
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