The Game Is Officially Over

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For six years, I was married to Silas Vance.

In public, we were the perfect, devoted couple.

In private, he played with his little starlets, and I found comfort in the arms of younger men.

I thought that was how life would simply continue.

Until one day, a persistent young man held out a diamond ring he'd spent six months of his savings to buy.

He knelt on one knee before me.

"Brynn, don't settle for being miserable anymore. I can take care of you."

I cried.

And I said yes.

That night, I handed Silas a divorce settlement.

But he went off the deep end.

He shredded the papers, tore up our marriage certificate, and pinned me to the bed, growling, "We agreed this was just a game. Who gave you permission to take it seriously?"

1.

When I arrived at the VIP lounge of the club, Silas wasn't there.

His group of hangers-on looked at me with smirks.

"Back to check on the hubby, Mrs. Vance? Silas is in the restroom. Have a seat and wait!"

I smiled, turned around, and walked out.

The sound of their laughter followed me: "You should really learn to let go, Brynn. It's all just for fun!"

I didn't say a word because he was right.

It was all just for fun.

But I was done playing.

I found Silas in the hallway leading to the restrooms.

He was locked in an intense, heated kiss with a young woman.

I knew her.

It was his assistantDFaye.

Come to think of it, Faye had been the longest-running distraction by his side.

Over a year now.

Watching the way he kissed her, as if he wanted to consume her whole, I knew exactly how different she was to him.

I leaned against the wall and watched.

I didn't want to interrupt his "artistic" moment.

2.

It was the girl in his arms who noticed me first, pushing Silas away in a panic.

She stammered, "Mrs Mrs. Vance."

I smiled, thinking, what a pure, innocent little flower.

You'd think she hadn't been the one to text me to come here.

Silas stood tall, turned to see me, and his eyes flickered with a hint of evasion.

"What are you doing here?"

"Isn't it obvious? YourD"

Before I could finish, Faye clutched Silas's sleeve, stepping forward with her petite frame.

She looked like a little bunny trying to defend a lion.

Only I saw the provocative glint in her supposedly innocent, doe-like eyes.

"Mrs. Vance, please don't blame Mr. Vance, it was myD"

Silas pulled her behind him, looking at me with total defensiveness.

It was as if he were afraid I would pounce and eat her alive the next second.

I kept smiling, pulled up the text from Faye on my phone, and showed it to him.

I finished my sentence, "Your little secretary specially invited me to pick you up. It seems I've ruined your fun? Shall I leave?"

Faye glanced at Silas with feigned anxiety.

Silas, however, patted her hand reassuringly.

He pulled her back into his arms, shielding her.

"Brynn, get a grip. She's timid."

Hearing Silas take her side, Faye buried herself deeper into his chest.

Then she shot me a smug, triumphant look.

That was it?

Timid?

Since when does a timid person seduce someone else's husband?

Since when does a timid person challenge the "real wife" to her face?

The filter of lust really is blinding.

I couldn't be bothered to argue.

"Oh, my apologies."

"Let me do something that will make your little bunny very happy."

I took the divorce settlement out of my bag.

I looked at Silas's hands, which were busy comforting the girl.

Thinking he probably didn't have a spare hand to take it, I very considerately slapped the divorce papers onto Faye's face.

"Aren't you looking for a promotion? Congratulations, you got it."

3.

Silas abandoned his little fling and came home with me.

It had been four or five months, I suppose!

Ever since we agreed to see other people, he rarely came back.

As soon as we walked through the door, before I could even take off my heels, Silas asked impatiently.

"Didn't we agree to live our own lives? I haven't questioned you about your boy toys, so why do you always have to start a scene over this?"

True, I had caused plenty of scenes.

The first time he came home smelling like a stranger's perfume.

The first time another woman dropped him off.

The time that woman bossed me around in my own kitchen, telling me where the honey was kept so I could make him a drink to help with his hangover

What wife could endure that?

Especially since, back then, I actually loved him.

But Silas was a cad.

Every time I fought, he just replaced the woman.

Until Faye arrived.

Faye, the one woman whose position I couldn't shake, no matter how much I screamed, broke down, or acted out.

I lowered my eyes.

"I'm not starting a scene. I just realized that while playing around, I accidentally got serious. Just like you did with Faye."

Hearing her name, Silas's expression relaxed.

He walked past me and sat on the sofa.

His posture was lazy and careless, the same vibe as when he suggested we open up our marriage.

"So it all comes back to Faye. Why can't you just learn to accept her?"

"Accept? How?"

"Should I invite her to move in as a concubine?"

Silas still looked completely unfazed.

He seemed certain I was just throwing a tantrum.

He was certain I couldn't leave him.

"Men have been the same since the dawn of time. If men in the old days could have multiple wives, why is it such an issue now?"

"Brynn, you should learn to be content."

I laughed in disbelief.

I couldn't help but roll my eyes.

"And I suppose I should be thanking you for that?"

4.

I turned around and pulled out another copy of the divorce agreement.

"Don't worry, I won't take advantage of you in the asset division."

I flipped through the pages, pointing at the settlement section.

"We split everything fifty-fifty. Since you've already moved Faye into the lake house, keep it. You can take four of the seven cars. The company share structure remains the same; I'll keep my thirty percent"

Silas suddenly grabbed my left hand, the one pointing at the document.

The massive diamond ring he'd bought me when he hit it big was gone.

In its place was a simple, thin band.

Silas's pupils contracted.

His face and personality were cut from the same clothDthe look of a charming, reckless rake.

When he smiled, he looked incredibly gentle and affectionate.

But he had been at the top for a long time; when he dropped that mask, the sense of oppression was suffocating.

He narrowed his eyes and asked, "What is the meaning of this ring?"

I followed his gaze to the ring on my finger.

My expression softened.

"What do you think it means? My guy wants to get married. I couldn't say no."

Silas slammed the document onto the coffee table, narrowing his gaze to appraise me.

"Brynn, you're still my wife. How dare you wear a ring from someone else?"

I didn't yield an inch. "You were able to take off our wedding ring for another woman, so why can't I wear one from another man?"

He'd started seeing Faye not long before.

Faye had said wearing his wedding ring made her feel guilty.

He hadn't worn it since.

I'd thrown that expensive rock out the window in a fit of rage.

Never to be seen again.

Until now, the empty space on my ring finger had been filled with a simple, honest band.

"Are you serious?" Silas finally looked grave.

I kept my mouth shut, taking that as a confirmation.

"Brynn, have you lost your mind?"

"Do you know what a nightmare this divorce will be? The assets, the share prices, the moneyDit's all about the money. You're giving all that up?" Silas looked increasingly grim.

I looked at him, wanting to laugh.

"Money? It's enough to get by. Having an extra hundred million won't make me any happier!"

"Pfft"

Silas scoffed, then broke into a loud, mocking laugh.

"Brynn, you really are regressing as you get older."

"Without the money, do you think that little brat will still want you?"

"You think he loves you for you, or he loves your money?"

I looked at Silas earnestly. "Silas, loveDor the lack of itDis something you can see."

Like Silas back in the day; I believe he once loved me.

It's just that, later, he grew tired.

In Kieran's eyes, even when I was dressed to the nines or carrying the most expensive bag, I could still see the pity.

Or perhaps, sympathy.

Sympathy for the woman who looked glamorous on the outside but was lonely and homeless on the inside.

That day, he knelt on one knee with red-rimmed eyes, holding out a ring he'd saved up for six months to buy.

I'd originally planned to just humor him.

But he was so earnest and stubborn as he finished his confession.

He said, "Brynn, it's been seven years. Let yourself go. He isn't worth this."

My heart twitched.

Right, seven years.

Silas and I had been fighting for seven years.

I'd wasted the seven most precious years of my life on those fights.

How many seven-year stretches does a person actually get?

Kieran was right.

He wasn't worth it!

I slid that simple ring onto my finger.

And whispered, "Okay."

5.

After I calmed down, I felt I might have been impulsive.

Silas was right.

Divorcing would cause too much of a mess.

But remembering that young man's determination, I felt I owed him an answer.

And I owed it to myself.

My resolution must have infuriated Silas.

He stood up from the sofa with a jerk!

"Brynn! Don't forget, everything you have now is because of me! Without me, what do you think you are?"

"What am I? I'll be a wealthy woman with thirty percent of your company's shares and half your assets!"

He must have lived in the lap of luxury for too long.

He'd been pampered for too long.

He'd even forgotten that everything he had now, I had helped him build from the ground up.

The startup capital for his business came from me selling the house my parents left me.

And now he was asking me what I was?

I suppose my constant concessions had given him the wrong impression.

It made him forget that I, Brynn Vance, was never a soft pushover!

Silas kicked the glass coffee table over.

Shards flew everywhere.

I jumped, having never seen this violent side of Silas!

He stepped over the glass and stood before me.

He grabbed my hand roughly, staring at the ring with disdain: "You're saying this to me, just for some loser who can only afford this piece of junk?"

"Watch your mouth. He may not have your money, but he is a hell of a lot cleaner than you!"

"Brynn!"

I looked at his clenched fists.

I suddenly felt exhausted.

What was the point of this childish bickering?

"Silas, let's just get the divorce."

"Are you unhappy with the division? Let's draft a new one, sixty-forty in your favor!"

I didn't expect my compromise to completely enrage him!

He grabbed me, kicked open the bedroom door, ignored my struggles, and threw me onto the bed!

His hot body pressed down immediately!

As he tore at my clothes, he roared against my face, "Brynn! I only told you to play aroundDwho gave you permission to take it seriously?!"