Love’s Second Act by Alvis Midden

Chapter 1 Mrs. Jeffords Is Pissed Off

“Let’s get a divorce…”

After a passionate roll in the hay, Natalie Walcott uttered those words with a voice that still carried a hint of extreme seduction. She lay weakly on the luxurious bed, which was now in a disheveled state.

Sweaty strands of hair were clinging to her beautiful, delicate face, while her eyes bore a vacant look as her entire demeanor exuded a profound sense of desolation.

Listening to the sounds of Calvin Jeffords getting dressed, she felt sick to the stomach at the reminder of Calvin dragging her into this situation the moment he came home reeking of alcohol.

She had loved this man for ten years, but now, there was not a trace of nostalgia left.

Calvin’s hands paused midway through getting dressed, and his sharp, icy gaze turned to her back, his narrowed eyes filled with gloom.

“Divorce?”

“Yes!” Natalie’s voice held a determined edge.

With that, she sat up from the bed and, relying on her memory, navigated her way to the bathroom.

Calvin stared at her coldly for a moment, but in the end, his concern still compelled him to step forward to assist her.

“Let me help you.” He reached out to support her.

Natalie swatted his hand away with a hard smack.

Summoning every ounce of strength, she rose from the bed, but the inertia caused her to fall forward, and her knees collided with the floor.

“Go away. I don’t need your help. How filthy.”

Just being under the same roof with this man filled Natalie with disgust.

Calvin’s face suddenly darkened, and his outstretched hand froze stiffly in mid-air. The chilly aura exuding from him only intensified.

“She actually finds me filthy?” he thought incredulously.

Meanwhile, using both hands to support herself on the floor, Natalie struggled to climb up to her feet, then continued to feel her way into the bathroom, where she turned on scalding hot water and began to rinse herself over and over again, her sun-k*ssed skin flushing bright red.

She genuinely wished she could peel off every inch of the skin he had touched.

After emerging from the bathroom, she cautiously extended her hands to find her path toward the walk-in closet. She had not been blind for long and had yet to grow accustomed to the pitch-black world that surrounded her. Her only guide was the faint memory of the space as she slowly moved forward.

Natalie relied on her instincts and picked up a piece of clothing to get dressed, then fumbled for their marriage certificate. “Let’s go. We’ll head to City Hall now.”

Calvin’s knuckles let out a crisp crack as he clenched his fist.

Unable to bear it any longer, he abruptly rose from his seat, strode toward her, and roughly seized her collar. “Natalie Walcott! How far are you going to take this? With your current condition, how do you plan to live if we divorce?”

She had nothing.

“A blind woman with no family or friends stands no chance of surviving in this vast city! Who the heck gave her the courage to make such a decision?” wondered Calvin.

Natalie remained abnormally calm in the face of Calvin’s wrath and reached out to move his hand, her vacant eyes resembling still water. She shook her head and uttered with determination, “As long as I’m not with you, everything will be fine.”

All of a sudden, she chuckled lightly and murmured, “It’s been ten years…”

“What?”

“I’ve known you for ten years. Seven years of being in a relationship and three years of marriage, yet all I get in return is my retina given away to save your other woman. Is the price I’m paying not enough?”

This was her marriage, a heartless ordeal so twisted that it was utterly heinous.

She had endured enough of this man’s heartlessness. Even death would feel less hopeless than facing such a husband. All she yearned for was to break free from this suffocating cage of despair as soon as possible.

In an instant, Calvin’s demeanor turned as cold as ice.

“You call that paying a price? Why did you sign the surgery consent form if you weren’t willing in the first place?”

“Did I even have a say in that?” Natalie smiled bitterly, not even bothering to ask if he had ever considered her his wife.

“This matter ends here. I’ll pretend you never said those words.”

Natalie’s smile widened, for his patronizing tone was utterly amusing.

“No, we must get a divorce today!”

“Natalie!” Calvin growled as he gritted his teeth in rage.

Eventually, a gust of wind brushed past her as he departed and said, “You don’t have any right to demand a divorce.”

With a bang, the door slammed shut behind him.

Outside, hurried footsteps echoed as though someone was making a hasty escape.

Natalie’s legs went weak as though she had been depleted of all her strength, and she collapsed to the ground, shedding the facade she had maintained all along once she was left alone.