Our Anniversary, You Chose Her – I Chose Divorce

”What are you doing?”

Iris Yates cried out. She never expected him to lose his mind again. Did this man ever have a normal moment?

William Quinn grinned at her, flames dancing in his blue eyes. It was an emotion Iris was entirely too familiar with. ”Baby, I’ll be leaving the island in three hours,” he said. ”We need to make the most of our time.”

Iris’s expression stiffened. He was leaving again?

That was wonderful news!

Whenever he left, he would be gone for at least a week, which meant she could enjoy another week of peace. She stopped struggling and let him carry her back to the bedroom.

William was overwhelmed by a sense of urgency. The thought of being separated from her filled him with anxiety, and he desperately needed to draw energy from her.

Pinning her against the door, he captured her lips in a fierce, passionate kiss. He only shifted his attention down when Iris was completely out of breath.

Iris tilted her head slightly, her eyes moist and glassy from the intense kiss. Her breathing was ragged and hurried. She simply closed her eyes, surrendering to whatever he was about to do. She told herself that she just had to endure it. Once these three hours were over, she would be free.

Later, as they lay in bed, William sucked on her earlobe. ”Baby, I’ll bring you a gift when I come back,” he asked between heavy breaths. ”What do you want?”

Iris opened her mouth, her instinct screaming to say that she wanted to go home. But she swallowed the thought the moment it arose. He would never agree to that. The ”gifts” he spoke of were merely trivial trinkets meant to humor a girl. For now, she needed to make her life as comfortable and easy as possible while she figured out a way to escape.

Her own breathing was just as fragmented. ”A... a game console.”

It took her several tries just to squeeze out those few words, a true testament to how ruthless he was being.

”Alright,” William agreed cheerfully. He was pleased that she hadn’t said anything to ruin his mood. He held her even tighter, pulling her deeper into his embrace.

By the time everything was over, Iris’s stamina was completely depleted, and she passed out. William kissed her forehead with lingering affection, a complex light flickering in his blue eyes.

His poor baby. His broken baby. He would come back as soon as he could.

And then, he would break her all over again.

By the time Iris woke up again, it was early the next morning. Her body felt clean and refreshed, but her waist and legs ached so much she could barely stand.

She cursed William out loud for nearly ten minutes, but in the massive, empty room, no one answered her. Falling back against the mattress, she felt a boundless sense of loneliness swallow her whole.

Suddenly, she remembered Mimi in the pet room on the first floor. Her eyes lit up. Enduring the soreness in her muscles, she dragged herself out of bed to wash up, then headed straight downstairs to the pet room.

A maid spotted her and asked respectfully, ”Ms. Yates, what would you like for breakfast?”

Iris waved a hand dismissively. ”Anything is fine.”

She pushed open the door to the pet room and saw the beautiful, adorable Ragdoll cat perched high on its scratching post, surveying the room with its brilliant blue eyes.

”Mimi.”

A smile broke across Iris’s face as she walked over and reached out to stroke its soft fur.

Just then, the maid walked in to clean the litter box. Iris immediately stopped her. ”I’ll do it. You can leave.”

The maid was slightly startled. ”I couldn’t possibly. Mr. Quinn ordered—”

”I said I’m doing it! Go tell on me if you want!” Iris snatched the scoop from the maid’s hands, squatted down, and started cleaning the litter box herself.