chapter 1: second chance at life(reincarnation)

A sharp pain stabbed through Verbena's head as she jolted awake, gasping for air like someone who had just escaped drowning. The room spun briefly, her vision blurred, but what hit her first wasn't the pain or confusion — it was the overpowering scent of roses mixed with blood.

Her slender fingers trembled as she pushed herself up from the luxurious bed covered in dark velvet sheets. This... this wasn't her room. Where were the old wooden walls of the run-down bakery she'd been running in her first life? Where was the cracked ceiling that leaked every time it rained?

Instead, towering above her was a canopy bed made of obsidian, draped in sheer black curtains embroidered with intricate silver flowers — verbena flowers to be precise.

"Oh no…" she whispered, clutching her head as memories flooded in — her death, her reincarnation, and her disastrous wedding to the most feared villain of the empire: Theodore Hellgrave.

"Second life… this is my second life… and I married him?!"

The door creaked open. In strode a man with raven-black hair cascading over his shoulders, his crimson eyes gleaming like a predator amused by its prey. His black coat, embroidered in silver and blood-red thread, hugged his broad shoulders like a king ready for war.

"Awake already, my dear wife?" His voice dripped with mockery, like honey poisoned with venom.

Verbena's soul nearly jumped out of her body. This was Theodore Hellgrave — the villain who murdered the royal family, burned down half the capital, and reportedly fed his ex-fiance to his wolves.

And she married him.

"Oh, no no no no no…" she mumbled, grabbing the bedsheet like a protective shield. "This can't be happening!"

But it was. This was her second chance at life, and somehow fate thought it would be funny to throw her into the role of the villain's wife, a character doomed to die in every route of the original story.

"I see you're… overwhelmed," Theodore said, his smirk widening as he leaned against the bedpost. "Don't worry, my sweet Verbena. You only need to do one thing to survive in this castle."

Verbena's heart pounded. "W-what thing?"

"Stay obedient."

He bent down, brushing his gloved fingers under her chin, lifting her face up to meet his crimson gaze.

"Because disobedient wives tend to vanish here."

She gulped hard, her mind racing. This man… he's the final boss, the villain no one survives, not even the heroine. And now she was his legally wedded wife.

But Verbena Phinx was no pushover. In her first life, she clawed her way out of poverty by sheer willpower. She ran a bakery despite being allergic to flour. She scammed loan sharks into giving her zero-interest loans. And she refused to die without trying every possible escape route first.

"Divorce," she blurted out.

Theodore's smirk froze. "What?"

"I mean—" Verbena forced a bright smile, her cheeks twitching. "I appreciate this… lovely… marriage, but I'm too weak for this. You're a grand duke, a villainous legend, and I'm just a humble, harmless flower. I'm sure there are much better wives out there for you."

Silence filled the room.

Then Theodore burst into low, chilling laughter. "Divorce? Oh, my dear Verbena."

He leaned closer until their noses almost touched. "The only way you'll leave this marriage is in a coffin."

Her fake smile shattered instantly.

"I need to live!" she shrieked internally. "I didn't come back to die again!"

But before she could argue further, Theodore straightened up, clapped his hands, and summoned a butler who appeared out of thin air.

"Prepare breakfast for my darling wife," Theodore said smoothly. "Make sure the knives are dull — I wouldn't want her attempting anything...dramatic."

Verbena stared after him as he sauntered out, his coat trailing behind like the wings of a death god.

The moment the door closed, she grabbed a pillow and screamed into it.

"I HAVE TO DIVORCE HIM!"

Even if it takes 100 tries, even if she had to fake her death, even if she had to frame him for treason, she would escape this villain husband and secure her peaceful second life!

But little did she know, this villain was no ordinary man.

And no matter how hard she tried…

Theodore Hellgrave had no intention of letting his wife go.

---

End of chapter 1

WARNING

This is the original version of the webnovel "villain husband, please sign the divorce papers" by the author "Hanagaki Ryuka". Please don't copyright or upload it in your name

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1O1cON4UEjsjFPMZxqNSY425-fdHW19779uAKscbDsy8/edit?usp=drivesdk