BRUSHSTROKES OF REVENGE

The car’s taillights vanished into the morning haze, leaving only the echo of tires against asphalt. Layton Knight stood at the window, motionless, watching the street until it emptied of sound and movement. The penthouse behind him was silent—too silent.

Missy’s muffled sobs came from the sofa, but he barely heard them. His mind was still replaying Mindy’s voice, every word cutting deeper than the last.

I hate this house. I hate everything about it. I hate you.

The words looped endlessly, each repetition heavier than the one before.

He turned from the window. The penthouse looked immaculate, polished, lifeless. The breakfast tray still sat on the table, the soup bowl empty, the glass of water half‑drunk. She had eaten, taken her medicine, done everything she was supposed to do—because she always did.

”Layton?”

Missy’s voice broke through the fog.

He didn’t answer.

She rose from the sofa, her heels clicking softly on the marble. ”Layton, are you okay?”

He flinched when she touched his arm. The contact felt wrong, foreign. He stepped away.

”Go home, Missy.”

Her eyes widened. ”What?”

”Go home,” he repeated, quieter this time. ”Please.”

”But—”

”Just go.”

The hollowness in his voice startled even him. She hesitated, searching his face for something—anger, affection, anything—but found nothing. Finally, she turned and walked to the door.

He didn’t watch her leave. The door closed, and the silence returned, heavier than before.

He sat on the stairs where Mindy had sat earlier, elbows on his knees, hands tangled in his hair. He looked tired, exhausted, and utterly alone.

The study door opened behind him. Mike stepped out quietly. ”Sir,” he said after a pause, ”why didn’t you tell Miss Wilson the truth? You did everything to protect her.”

Layton looked up, eyes hollow. ”It wouldn’t change how I made her feel. Not everything I did was for her protection. Some of it was just my ignorance.”

Mike hesitated. ”But, sir, she’ll keep on hating you.”

Layton’s voice was flat. ”Maybe she should.”

He rubbed his face, then said softly, ”You can go now. I want to be left alone.”

Mike lingered, reluctant.

”Mike,” Layton added as the man turned to leave, ”change the password. Change it to our anniversary date.”

Mike nodded once and left.

The penthouse was empty again. The silence pressed against his chest.

Every night when he used to come home, Mindy left the kitchen lights on so it wouldn’t feel too dark. Every night she prepared food for him, even if he came home late from office parties. There was always soup waiting—light, warm, simple.

He had never appreciated her. It wasn’t that he didn’t see her efforts, her love, her affection. He saw everything. He just didn’t know how to love her back.

He had spent years learning how to fight, how to build, how to hide—but never how to love.

He closed his eyes, and the memory of their anniversary rose like smoke.

He had promised to come home early that night. She had sounded so happy on the phone, asking what he wanted for dinner. He’d said, ”Anything you make.”

Then Missy called.

”Let’s have dinner,” she’d said.

He was going to refuse until she added, ”Aaron’s here too.”

Aaron Knight. His cousin. Jeff Knight’s son.

The same uncle who had tried to kill him more than once.

The accident four years ago—the one that nearly crippled him—had been Jeff’s doing. The brakes on his car had failed on a mountain road in Greendale.

The investigation had called it mechanical failure. Layton had known better.

Jeff Knight wanted control of the Knight Corporation. Layton’s father’s death had left him as the heir, and Jeff had never forgiven that. Aaron was Jeff’s weapon—charming, clever, ruthless.

Aaron had visited him often after the accident, always through Missy. They had known each other for years, neighbors once, back when Emily was married to a university professor, before she became Emily Hawthorne.

Layton couldn’t say no to that dinner. Not without raising suspicion.

He couldn’t let Aaron believe he knew about the mole inside the company. Couldn’t let Jeff suspect he was gathering proof.

He had to play his part.

And to protect Mindy, he had to make them believe she meant nothing to him.

If Jeff or Aaron ever thought she mattered, she would become a target.

So he went to the restaurant. Smiled. Laughed. Ignored Mindy’s calls.

He had seen her name flash on the screen again and again. He had wanted to answer. But Aaron was watching.

If he had picked up, if he had shown even a flicker of affection, Aaron would have noticed.

And Jeff Knight didn’t leave loose ends alive.

The only person who knew the truth was Mike.

The same pattern had repeated at every public event.

He couldn’t take Mindy to any of them. He had to make sure his uncle believed she didn’t matter. That Missy was the only woman in his life.

Every gala, every charity dinner, every magazine feature was a performance. Missy on his arm, Mindy at home.

He had to make Jeff believe Missy was his weakness, his distraction.

He had to make Mindy invisible.

If they thought she was important, they would use her against him.

He had seen what Jeff did to people he considered leverage.

He couldn’t let that happen to her.

So he smiled beside Missy, toasted champagne, and pretended not to notice the empty seat at home.

He didn’t love Missy.

He owed her.

Years ago, on a high‑school trip to Cracros City, Jeff had arranged another ”accident.” A truck had come out of nowhere on a narrow mountain road. Layton’s car had gone over the edge.

He had woken in a hospital, bleeding out. Missy had been there. She had given her blood to save him.

That was the first time she had ever done something selfless.

He had been grateful.

That gratitude had turned into obligation.

When he inherited the company, he gave her a million dollars a month. A gesture of thanks. Nothing more.

Later, when he realized Aaron used her as a messenger, he kept the payments going. If he stopped, Aaron would ask questions.

He had to maintain the illusion that Missy mattered.

That she was the woman he cared about.

That Mindy was nothing.

It was the only way to keep Mindy safe.

He had always suspected Missy was working with Aaron and Jeff. But he never had proof.

She had saved his life once, and that debt clouded his judgment.

When Mindy showed him those photos and messages, he had realized Missy wasn’t what she seemed. But everything was buried too deep.

Mike had investigated for weeks and found nothing.

Aaron was careful. He always looked harmless, always smiling. But every time Jeff wanted to test Layton’s loyalty, Aaron contacted Missy first.

She was the bridge between them.

And Layton had to keep walking that bridge until he could burn it down.

The divorce had been calculated. Strategic. Cruel.

Jeff and Aaron had started asking questions about Mindy. Aaron had mentioned her name too casually at a business dinner, watching Layton’s reaction. Testing him.

Layton knew what that meant. They were looking for leverage. Looking for weaknesses.

He needed to prove Mindy meant nothing.

So he gave her divorce papers. Publicly sided with Missy during the plagiarism scandal. Made it clear: if it came down to choosing between his wife and Missy, he would choose Missy. Every time.

The message was clear: Mindy was disposable. Missy was irreplaceable.

He thought Mindy would refuse to sign. Thought she would fight, cry, beg him to reconsider. Then he could ”reluctantly” stay married while making it obvious he didn’t want to be.

The perfect illusion: a man trapped in a marriage he didn’t want, only staying out of obligation, while his heart belonged to someone else.

Aaron and Jeff would see a man who didn’t care about his wife. A man who would never protect her. A man who would throw her away the moment he could.

She wouldn’t be worth targeting.

But Mindy signed.

Without hesitation. Without tears. Without a single word.

She had called his bluff.

And he realized: the illusion had become reality. He had convinced everyone—including Mindy—that she meant nothing.

Mission accomplished.

Except now she was gone. Really gone.

And Aaron and Jeff believed exactly what he wanted them to believe.

But so did she.

He rubbed his temples, the ache behind his eyes sharp and constant.

He hadn’t even realized the password was still Missy’s birthday.

Missy had set it herself when they moved in. She’d said it would be lucky. He hadn’t cared.

It was just numbers to him.

But to Mindy, it had been a daily reminder that this place was never hers.

He had made her live in a house meant for another woman.

He had made her type another woman’s birthday every time she came home.

He hadn’t noticed.

He hadn’t thought to change it.

Because it didn’t matter to him.

But it mattered to her.

Everything mattered to her.

And he had destroyed all of it.

What was the point of keeping her safe if he broke her in the process?

Now she hated him.

She had changed.

She changed the day he asked for the divorce.

The light in her eyes went out. The softness in her voice disappeared.

She stopped waiting for him. Stopped cooking for him. Stopped leaving the lights on.

She became cold, distant, unreachable.

He told himself it was better this way. Safer.

If she didn’t love him, she would be safe.

But he had been wrong.

She wasn’t safe. She was just gone.

The girl who used to smile at him, who used to talk about their future, who stayed by his bedside when he was broken—she was gone.

And the woman who replaced her looked at him with hatred.

He deserved it.

He could tell her the truth now.

About Jeff. About Aaron. About the danger.

About why he had done everything.

But would it matter?

Would it change how he made her feel?

Would it erase two years of neglect?

Would it bring back the light in her eyes?

No.

Not everything had been for her protection. Some of it had been ignorance. Some of it had been cowardice.

He could have found another way. Could have told her the truth. Could have trusted her.

But he hadn’t.

He had chosen the easy way—the coward’s way.

Push her away. Make her hate him. Keep her safe through distance.

And he had lost her anyway.

Now Matthias King was in her life.

Matthias looked at her the way Layton should have.

He had driven like a madman to reach her. Protected her openly.

He didn’t hide behind lies.

Layton had watched him hold her hand, steady her, shield her.

And for the first time, Layton had understood what real protection looked like.

But he would never divorce her.

She couldn’t leave him. Not legally. Not permanently.

He would fix this.

He would take down Aaron and Jeff.

He would remove the threat.

Then he would tell her everything.

Then she would understand.

Maybe she would never forgive him. But at least she would know.

He sat in the empty penthouse, her words echoing in his head.

I hate you.

He whispered into the darkness, ”I know.”

His voice cracked. ”But I won’t let you go. Not until you’re safe. Not until they’re gone. Not until I can love you the way you deserve.”

Even if she never loved him back.

Even if she hated him forever.

He would keep her safe—from the shadows, like he always had.

Because that was the only way he knew how to love her.

Poorly. Silently. From a distance.

But he was learning.

Too late, but learning.

Love wasn’t just protection. It was presence. It was appreciation. It was showing up.

He had failed at all of that.

But he wouldn’t fail at keeping her alive.

Even if she never came back.

She would be alive.

And that would have to be enough.

He looked toward the door she had walked through, the space she had left behind, and whispered again, ”I’m sorry.”

The sound barely reached the walls.

But even if she could hear it, he knew it wouldn’t matter.

Sorry would never be enough.