He Chased His Ex, I Axed the Vows

Maya Spencer had heard a million excuses in her life, but this one took the damn cake.

"When she had that asthma attack, she didn’t call a doctor. She called you. Are you her prescription or something?"

"…"

"Every time she calls, she practically throws herself at your feet. You’re more convenient than a late-night pizza delivery."

"…" He couldn’t get a word in edgewise against her fiery temper and sharp tongue.

"Out of every person on the planet, she couldn’t find anyone else to call?"

Finally, he fumbled out an explanation: "Her phone died. She borrowed a stranger’s, and she only remembered my number…"

The second the words left his mouth, he knew keeping his mouth shut would’ve been the smarter move.

"Ha!" All Maya could manage was a cold, bitter laugh. Calling him an idiot would be doing him a favor. He didn’t even bother hiding his cheating. Or maybe he just didn’t care enough to hide it anymore. Did he actually expect her to buy such a pathetic lie? The real shock wasn’t how crafty Elina Guzman was—it was how willing he was to be played for a fool.

Maya smiled wryly. "I’m done talking. I already told everyone at the party we’re getting divorced. Tomorrow we’ll meet at the courthouse, sign the papers, and whoever you want to fuck is none of my goddamned business."

"What?" A blue vein throbbed visibly at Rayan Spencer’s temple. "Are you throwing some out-of-control tantrum right now?"

"Aren’t you throwing your dick around out of control?"

Just when the tension between them was about to snap, Gustavo Walker’s call popped up on her phone again, blaring nonstop even when she tried to ignore it.

She couldn’t stand it anymore, so she answered.

The second she hit accept, Gustavo’s screaming rant exploded through the speaker—loud enough for Rayan to hear every word even without turning on the speakerphone.

"Maya, if you dare divorce him, I’ll tell the whole world your real mother’s a raving lunatic! I’ll make sure both of you suffer for this!"

Maya’s mind went white with buzzing static, white-hot rage surging through her like a tidal wave of molten heat.

"You’re the fucking insane one!" she screamed hysterically.

The second the words left her lips, blackness swallowed her whole, and she collapsed, unconscious.

——

The next morning, at the hospital.

Before Maya even opened her eyes, she heard Rayan Spencer’s voice, muffled as he talked quietly across the room.

"It’s just a misunderstanding, Grandma. Maya was just messing with me… She got a little overemotional, got everyone worried for no reason… Yeah, yeah, I’ll talk her down, don’t you worry about it…"

He hung up, then dialed another number, his tone shifting completely into something sharp, stressed, and urgent. "Tell the PR team to monitor all trending topics for the next few days. If any divorce rumor pops up, bury it. Shut anything bad down, no matter what it costs."

Maya slowly opened her eyes, head spinning as she stared up at the sterile white ceiling, only letting her lids lift halfway.

Rayan stood by the window, still wearing the same white shirt and black slacks he’d had on yesterday. The broad shoulders, narrow waist, long legs made a perfect, jaw-dropping silhouette. But what always caught Maya’s eye was his neck.

Slender, elegant—even his back view was breathtaking.

After he hung up, Rayan stared at the floor, hands braced on his hips, tapping his toe restlessly against the ground—a dead giveaway he was fighting to keep his cool.

For a second, Maya wondered if announcing their divorce publicly last night had been too impulsive.

"Rayan," a soft voice cut through the quiet of the room, "You left your jacket at my place last night, and it’s freezing this morning, so I brought it over for you."

Of course it was Elina Guzman.

Maya felt a sharp jab of annoyance—no wonder he was only in his shirt. He’d left his jacket over at his little mistress’s place.

Rayan signaled for her to keep her voice down, then stepped to the door. "Why’d you come all the way here? It’s just a jacket, I could’ve had my assistant pick it up."

"I felt so dizzy last night I couldn’t sleep. My mom said I should come to the hospital for a check-up, so I figured I’d drop it off on my way—no trouble at all." She peeked past him into the room, voice dropping to a sympathetic whisper. "How’s Maya doing?"

"Concussion."

"That serious?" Her surprise was as fake as a three-dollar bill. The only thing she regretted was not going harder when she’d messed with Maya the night before.

Mindful of Maya needing rest, Rayan lowered his voice even more. "It’s mild. The doctor said just a few days of rest and she’ll be fine."

"Oh, thank goodness it’s nothing serious. Did you eat breakfast yet, Rayan?"

"I’m waiting for Maya to wake up."

"I figured you’d skip it. My mom made me a sandwich, but I don’t have any appetite, I feel so nauseous. You want it?"

Listening to them chattering away right at her hospital room door, Maya sat bolt upright in bed—straight out of a damn horror movie resurrection.

The sudden movement sent a wave of dizziness crashing over her, and her stomach rolled instantly.

"Maya’s awake!" Elina was through the door in a heartbeat, no hesitation as she glided over. "Maya, are you feeling any better?"

Maya pressed a hand to her chest, looking like she was two seconds from losing her entire stomach contents.

Elina moved in to steady her, leaning in to whisper just loud enough for Maya to hear: "You’re quite the little actress, aren’t you?"

Maya wasn’t even surprised.

But this wasn’t an act. She was genuinely dizzy. The acid from her stomach was already creeping up her throat.

Rayan noticed how pale she’d gone. "Should I call a doctor?"

"No need," Elina said confidently. "I felt the exact same way last night. Trust me, Maya—just sip some warm water, it’ll help."

The implication hung thick in the air: You can’t fool me.

Elina quickly grabbed the thermos off the bedside table, poured warm water, and held it right up to Maya’s lips.

"Temperature’s perfect, just take a little sip," she insisted, pressing the rim right against Maya’s mouth.

Maya could’ve kept it down if she wanted to—but why would she? She took one tiny sip, and immediately projectile vomited all over Elina.

Elina shrieked, too shocked to shove Maya away. She wanted to curse Maya out so bad, but she couldn’t do that in front of Rayan. She couldn’t even let a single disgusted flicker cross her face. "Maya, are you… okay?"

After emptying her stomach, Maya actually felt a lot better—head clear, eyes sharp. She looked at the vomit covering Elina’s pretty white dress, and offered an innocent apology: "Sorry, I couldn’t hold it. You’re just… so disgusting."

Elina: "…"

Rayan: "…"

Maya wrapped a hand around Elina’s waist, pretending to support her while actually keeping her trapped right where she was.

The half-digested mess was as revolting as it gets, the stench thick enough to choke a horse. The more Maya breathed it in, the more her stomach rolled, and the more she gagged—turns out, the whole thing was way more satisfying than she’d expected.

You make my life hell? I’ll make you wish you never showed your face here.

Elina was frozen solid, her entire chest and stomach soaked, the rancid stench flooding her senses and making her own stomach churn.

A passing nurse heard the commotion and hurried in, froze for a beat when she saw the mess, then turned a reproachful glare on Elina. "Were you giving her water? Didn’t we tell you yesterday the patient can’t eat or drink anything yet? This is totally irresponsible."

Elina looked helplessly over at Rayan.

Rayan: "…"

The whole scene left Rayan stunned, and honestly? Completely helpless.

Eventually, he had to call an orderly to clean up the mess, and texted his assistant to rush over a clean set of women’s clothes for Elina.

Maya lay back on the bed, content as can be, color already creeping back into her cheeks.

Elina was in the bathroom scrubbing the vomit off, the sound of her retching echoing down the hall every few seconds.

Rayan sighed, exasperated. "Was that really necessary?"

Maya lay on the bed, putting on her best innocent, wronged expression. "She forced the water on me. Why didn’t you stop her?"

Rayan: "…"

Wait… this is my fault now?