In our sixth year of marriage, Liam started keeping a mistress. He pressured me relentlessly, demanding a divorce. I absolutely refused to sign the papers. Eventually, he stopped hiding it. He flaunted his little lover everywhere he went, bringing her into the light. But then, one day, I called him with urgent news. I told him to hurry up and finalize the divorce. Because I was about to deploy on a high-risk mission—one where I had just signed my Last Will and Testament. I probably wasn't coming back. 1 I had been obsessed with Liam Hayes since we were kids. We grew up on the same block in the suburbs. But unlike his calm, measured personality, I was loud, reckless, and shamelessly chased him everywhere he went. The older folks in the neighborhood always said my personality was cut out for the Marines. I didn't join the military in the end. I went to the Police Academy. But Liam never liked me. He had a type: gentle, big-eyed, pale-skinned girls. Yet, the girl he loved the most ended up running off with another man right when his first tech startup hit its lowest point. That same year, his mother passed away from cancer. His business was completely paralyzed, completely out of capital. Hit by wave after wave of tragedy, he reached the darkest, most lost point of his life. He completely fell apart. He drank heavily and let his beard grow out, looking like a ghost of his former self. I didn't even think twice. I sold the downtown condo my parents had bought me and gave him every single penny. "Liam, take this money. Use it." When he found out where the cash came from, he was furious. He cursed at me, saying some truly awful things. I was used to him finding me annoying, but that was the first time he had ever made me cry. My lips trembled, and I bawled right in front of him. "I believe in you! Your company is going to succeed. You'll make so much money, you'll be a huge CEO. This is just an investment!" To my absolute shock, he pulled me into a tight embrace. He told me that once the company took off, we would get married. 2 I had never made an investment before in my life. But the investment I made in Liam Hayes was wildly successful. His startup took off. Within the first year, he made his first million. He bought me a massive house, twice the size of the condo I had sold. He kept his promise. He got down on one knee and proposed. We got married. The house, the cars, the money—we had it all. We lived a happy, perfect life. But as his company expanded, his business trips became more frequent. He was busier than I was chasing down muggers and thieves on the streets. By our second year of marriage, he stopped coming home on time. By the sixth year, his company was preparing to go public. Only, his phone would often go straight to voicemail, and his collars frequently carried the faint scent of women's perfume. My insomnia grew worse and worse. "Liam, we need to talk." He sat there, running his fingers through his hair. "Sarah, I met a girl. She's incredibly gentle, so understanding. I know this is entirely unfair to you, but if you agree to a divorce, I'll give you ten percent of the company's shares." That day, I lunged at him and slapped him hard across the face. "Liam, you bastard! I loved you with everything I had, and this is how you repay me?" He grabbed me and held me tight. "I am so grateful to you. You stayed by my side during my darkest hour. But it's been six years, and I still can't bring myself to love you that way. Sarah, let's get a divorce." 3 I was usually so easygoing and agreeable when it came to him. But on the topic of divorce, I lost my mind. It was simply because I loved him too much. I still held out hope that I could win him back. I tracked down the girl and confronted her. I told her she was a homewrecker, that what she was doing was immoral. I told her if she agreed to leave Liam, I would personally write her a massive check. I even went to Liam's father and exposed the fact that his son was keeping a mistress. I thought doing all this would bring Liam back to his senses. The reality was, he stormed into our house, grabbed me by the shoulders, and exploded in a terrifying rage. He called me psychotic. He said I knew his father had a bad heart, yet I still went and spilled everything. It triggered his dad's heart condition, and he accused me of trying to kill the old man. He told me if I had a problem, I should come at him, not threaten an innocent girl. He called me malicious. He smashed half the things in our living room. He told me I disgusted him, and that from now on, I was on my own. After that day, I could never get through to his phone again. I sent him texts. "Liam, I'm sorry. I know I handled this terribly. Please don't be mad anymore. Come home. I know you like girls with long hair and pale skin. I can grow my hair out. I can do skincare routines." He replied with one single message: "Sarah, being married to you feels like being married to a guy. I just want a divorce so we can part on decent terms. Can you just let it go?" 4 The girl got pregnant. He couldn't wait any longer. He personally brought over the divorce papers, along with a legal document transferring ten percent of his shares to me. That's when I understood. From the very beginning, he never intended to have a child with me. I had suffered a miscarriage once before. After my body recovered, despite my protests, he always made sure to use protection. Yet now, he had gotten another woman pregnant. I felt violently sick. I ripped the divorce papers to shreds. I tore up the equity transfer agreement and threw the confetti in his face. "Liam, you are the one who wronged me. I don't want your shares, and I will never make it easy for you two." I couldn't bear to face the wreckage of my life. I requested a transfer to the Major Crimes tactical unit, putting myself right on the front lines against violent cartels. I refused to come home. I refused to talk about the divorce. He didn't bother saving my pride anymore, either. He bought a luxury villa for his mistress so she could rest during her pregnancy. The scandal spread to all our friends and relatives. People started whispering that I was barren, and that his affair was partly justified because I couldn't give him a child. They looked at our broken marriage and felt exhausted by the drama. Even his father, knowing there was a grandchild on the way, stopped speaking up for me. 5 Everything changed when a major player showed up in a criminal syndicate we had been tracking. We raided one of their safehouses, and they retaliated with brutal force. They torched police cruisers. They ambushed our officers. One of our veteran detectives was spotted while doing surveillance. They stabbed him dozens of times. He died on the spot. That detective had a five-year-old daughter. A dead, heavy silence fell over the entire precinct. According to our intel, this syndicate was incredibly ruthless, operating near the northern border, and heavily armed with military-grade weapons. I lost five pounds in three days. Captain Reynolds patted my shoulder heavily. "Sarah, don't let it crush you. We're going to catch these bastards." I nodded, but my mind was already made up. I was going to catch these animals with my own two hands. "Here's your transfer order. You're being moved to the records department tomorrow. Pack up your desk and report in." I froze for a second, then stubbornly dug my heels in. "Captain, I'm not going back to a desk. I'm staying on the front lines." "Don't be stubborn, kid. What woman stays permanently on the tactical assault line?" I hesitated for a moment. "Captain, honestly, if you didn't remind me, I'd forget I was even a woman." I never liked dresses; I liked tactical gear. When I joined Major Crimes, long hair was a liability in a fight, so I chopped it off into a sharp bob. "Don't argue with me, Sarah. Dan's death wasn't your fault. Stop taking the blame for it." I stayed silent for a long time. This was the nightmare eating me alive over the past few days. "If I hadn't taken time off that day, he wouldn't have covered my shift. He wouldn't be dead. He died in my place." That day, I was supposed to be running an undercover newsstand. But Liam called me, demanding we meet immediately because his mistress, Chloe, was nearing her due date. He threatened that if I didn't show up, he would come to my stakeout location and make a scene. To avoid blowing my cover, I was forced to call in a favor. Dan took over the newsstand. Dan had been on the force a long time. He had put away a lot of guys. The syndicate recognized him. That night, they trapped him in an alley and exacted a horrific revenge. 6 A week later, we got a tip. The syndicate was making a run for the Canadian border in three days. The department issued a direct order: we had to intercept them before they crossed. After the tactical briefing, every officer was handed a single sheet of paper. It was a pre-operation protocol. A Last Will and Testament. After I signed it, I called my family. Then, my final call went to Liam. "I've thought about it. I agree to the divorce. Meet me at the courthouse lawyer's office in one hour." He sounded completely taken aback. "Are you serious?" "Yeah. I'm already in the car heading there. You should hurry." I had a longer drive from the precinct. He arrived before me, which perfectly suited his desperate urge to sever our ties. "Mrs. Hayes, here is the equity division agreement. Mr. Hayes instructed me to transfer ten percent of the company to you," his lawyer said. "No need. I just want $150,000. Right now. Transfer it directly to my bank account. It's the exact amount I got from selling my condo back then." Both the lawyer and Liam froze in shock. But they did exactly as I asked. Liam made a phone call, and a moment later, $150,000 appeared in my account. There was no line at the clerk's office today. We were called up almost immediately. "Are both parties dissolving this marriage voluntarily?" the clerk asked. "Yes." The heavy stamp slammed down. Our marriage was officially terminated. I had to hurry back to base. I grabbed my copy of the decree and turned to leave. "Sarah." Liam actually called out to me. "Yeah?" "You've lost a lot of weight." "If there's nothing else, I have to go." "Does your unit have a big operation coming up?" "Sorry. Classified." I hopped into a waiting cab and drove off. As the cab pulled away, I glanced back through the rear window. Liam was still standing on the courthouse steps, watching me leave.
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