Anna closed her eyes, feeling the sting of fresh tears burning against her skin. It wasn't the first time Robert had hit her, but each blow carried a new, crushing weight of humiliation.
"How dare you accuse me of his death?" Robert hissed, his narrowed eyes burning with unconcealed rage. "I did everything I could! You have no right to complain!"
Complain?
Anna let out a hollow laugh—bitter and devoid of amusement. After all these years, after everything they had been through, he hadn't changed. Not even a little.
"You could have done more," she murmured in a quiet voice. Her gaze remained fixed on the floor, as if looking at him might break what little control she had left. "Or at the very least… you could have told me before it was too late."
A sob pressed against her throat, but she swallowed it down. She refused to break—not now.
Six years ago, when the Hyde family teetered on the brink of financial ruin, her father, Steven Adler, had been their last hope. He had invested everything—his fortune, his trust, his very future—into Robert's desperate attempt to salvage his family's name.
Robert had been eager to launch his own software startup, chasing after the latest trends in tech, but no investor had wanted to take a chance on him. His track record was disastrous—several failed businesses, countless burned bridges, and a reputation that warned others to stay away.
But Anna… she had believed in him.
Naive and devoted, she had pleaded with her father to help.
And in the end, it had cost him everything.
Steven adored his daughter. Anna was his only child, and her happiness meant everything to him. So when she came to him, pleading on behalf of her husband, he hadn't hesitated. Without a second thought, he poured his entire fortune into Robert's business, believing he was securing his daughter's future.
But that sacrifice brought neither of them happiness.
Robert's startup finally gained traction, drawing attention from investors and competitors alike. But with success came danger. Rival companies sought to undermine him, and soon, the situation spiraled out of control.
To the Hyde family's utter shock, Robert was accused of tax fraud and stock manipulation—allegations that threatened to explode into a full-blown public scandal.
Anna was devastated. Deep down, she knew Robert was guilty. She had seen the warning signs, the secrecy, the desperate decisions made in the name of success. But the thought of her husband losing everything—of him being thrown behind bars—was unbearable.
That was when her father stepped in once more.
Steven took the fall. He claimed full responsibility, sparing Robert from legal consequences. He even managed to gather enough money to cover the fines, hoping to shield Anna from the ruin that loomed over her.
But no matter how many lawyers Robert hired, no matter how much money changed hands, nothing could alter the verdict—Steven was sentenced to prison.
Anna had wanted to visit him, to hold his hand and promise that everything would be okay. But out of what she had initially believed to be concern—mainly on her father's part—she was forbidden from seeing him. His sentence wasn't long, he assured her, and she only needed to be patient.
In the meantime, Robert made promises. He swore he would pay off Steven's debts, find a way to reduce his sentence, and bring him home sooner.
But none of that ever happened.
Because the moment Robert settled the last of Steven's debts… Anna received the news.
Her father was dead. A heart attack had taken him in his prison cell, alone.
Her father—the only real family she had left—was gone. And she hadn't even been there to say goodbye.
A sharp breath shuddered through her, but before she could gather her thoughts, Robert's voice sliced through the silence like a rusted blade.
"You always do this," he sneered. "Always dragging up the past, blaming everyone else for your misfortunes. Your father's death was beyond my control, so why do you insist on making me responsible for it? If anything, you should be grateful. If it weren't for me, you'd have been buried under the mountain of debt he left behind!"
Anna's lips parted, but no words came out. Resentment curled inside her like a viper ready to strike, yet before she could summon the strength to respond, Robert delivered the final blow.
"Look at yourself," he scoffed, shaking his head. "What have you even become? Your father would turn in his grave if he saw the way you speak to your husband."
He exhaled sharply, raking his fingers through his sleek black hair, as if trying to temper his growing irritation.
"I can't do this anymore. This—" he gestured vaguely at her, his mouth twisting in disgust. "This is exactly why I'm divorcing you. You're greedy, calculating, bitter. You never let anything go, always hanging my mistakes over my head like a noose. It's exhausting being around you, Anna. I'm done."
Anna stood frozen, her breath hitching.
I can't believe this.
Bitter tears welled up, spilling over before she could stop them. Her cheek throbbed where he'd struck her, but the pain in her chest swallowed everything else.
Walking on eggshells. Sacrificing everything—her father, her dignity. Enduring his family's cruelty, the whispers of his friends. And yet, somehow, he was the one suffocating?
"For fuck's sake!"
Robert's voice exploded through the room as he snatched the plastic folder and hurled it at the wall. The papers inside spilled onto the floor like a shattered illusion.
"Look at you!" he roared. "Tears—again! That's all you ever do! Cry and play the victim, making me feel like the biggest asshole in the world!"
Robert loosened his tie, rolling his shoulders as if shedding an invisible weight. His gaze flickered toward his crying wife, and with a sigh—one that feigned composure—he spoke with chilling finality.
"I've done my part, Anna. I don't owe you anything."
Without hesitation, he slipped off his wedding ring and tossed it onto the bed, his fingers releasing it with such indifference that it might as well have been a piece of trash. The small band landed with a hollow thud, a final, unspoken severance.
"So now," he continued coldly, "do your part and get out of my life. I… I want to be with the woman I love."
Anna's breath hitched, her trembling lashes lowering until her eyes shut completely.
"And more importantly…"
She stiffened at the hesitation in his voice. "What?" she whispered.
Robert exhaled sharply, as if forcing out the words. "I need a child, Anna. And you can't give me one."