My bloodied palm struck his face.

"Enough. It's filthy."

His face tilted slightly to the side. He didn't ask whether I meant the blood was filthy—or he was.

Instead, he called for Uncle Johnson, the butler, and handed him the medical kit.

The girl's name was Penelope.

When I tried to dig deeper into her background, I found nothing. Derek had erased every trace of her. If I hadn't moved fast, I wouldn't have even learned her name.

I confronted him. "So you like her that much? You've even sealed off her information from me?"

He sighed. "Esther, what's the point of holding onto this?"

I slammed the divorce papers in front of him again. "Sign it, and I won't have a reason to hold on anymore."

The papers barely lasted two seconds in his hands before he ripped them to shreds.

With a flick of his wrist, the fragments scattered across the floor.

"I told you—between us, there's no divorce. Only death."

I laughed.

And the next second, a bottle smashed against his head.

Red liquid streamed down his face—I couldn't tell if it was wine or blood.

I grabbed the knife from the table and drove it forward.

He caught my wrist mid-strike, locking us in a deadly standoff.