Lyle was like a wounded beast, breathing heavily as he stared at me with bloodshot eyes. His cold rage was so terrifying that I retreated in fear. As I stepped backward, he took a step forward. I retreated step by step until I was finally up against the wall. I had nowhere else to escape.
“What are you up to now, Lyle?” I roared.
His eyes were fixated on me. Suddenly, he stretched out his hand and seized me by the throat. “I heard from Crystal that you’re married to Christopher. Is that true?” he asked coldly.
“Hey… Let go of me…ugh…” The grip on my throat tightened and I could hardly breathe, and my vision blurred. Why is he going crazy again? I tried to pry his fingers from my throat, but he wasn’t going to let me go. Instead, he tightened the chokehold on my throat.
“Tell me, are you married to Christopher? Why would you do that, Yvonne?”
“Let go…” I grabbed his arm and clawed at the hand that was on my throat. His grip was so tight that tears pooled in my eyes. As I struggled to breathe, I felt a surge of anger in me. All of a sudden, I lifted my leg and kneed him in between his legs.
Lyle let out a howl and released his grip on me. He was bent over, grimacing in pain, and his hands were on his crotch.
I took the opportunity to keep a distance between us by taking two steps back as I stared at him cautiously. It took him a while to straighten up before he glared at me and roared, “Yvonne, are you really together with Christopher? Why would you want to be with him? Have you forgotten about who you are? Must you wait till he dumps you before you come to terms with it?”
My face turned grim as I stared at him coldly. I fumbled with my hands behind my back until my hands came in contact with the door. When I realized I could push open the door, I calmed down and said, “It’s none of your business who I’m with, Lyle. Are you accusing me of being unfaithful? Am I not allowed to be with other men even though we’re divorced? That’s utter nonsense.”
“What the hell do you know? I don’t care about the things you’ve done to me, and yet you hurt me over and over again. A crush on me for eight years? That’s just bullshit. It must have been you that caused Grandma to refuse her consent to my marriage with Crystal. How can you be so cruel, Yvonne?” Out of anger, he grabbed my hand, almost breaking my wrist.
“Let go of me, b*stard!” I couldn’t wrap my head around his words. What did he mean by the things I’ve done to him? What had I done to hurt him throughout our married life?
Suddenly, he rushed towards me and gripped my lower jaw to kiss me. I clamped my lips shut to prevent him from pushing his tongue down my throat, but he kept forcing his mouth on me like a mad dog. I couldn’t take it anymore and slapped him across the face. Hard.
Lyle was taken aback as he stared at me blankly for a moment.
I rubbed my mouth in disgust and spat on the floor. But I still couldn’t rub off the revulsion in me after I wiped my mouth on my sleeve. Just as I predicted, Grandma did not consent to their marriage. She was always seething in anger whenever Crystal’s name came up. Of course, she wouldn’t give them their blessing.
“Aren’t I the one who gets hurt every time?” I stared at him, exhausted. I always felt helpless when I had to deal with his stubbornness and irrationality. He lacked basic empathy, and I was always enslaved in his dictatorship.
“Why are you still pestering me? We’re divorced now. Didn’t you say you want to marry Crystal? Grandma dislikes Crystal, and you’ve known this all along. Instead of throwing a tantrum at your ex-wife, you should think of how to make Grandma give you her consent. Can we just put an end between us, Lyle? Don’t make me hate you. I’ve tried very hard to preserve the good memory of you saving me from drowning when we were young.”
