Stuck

Hinata's POV

"Annulment, huh!? Don't make me laugh out loud, Hinata."

Zeke was smirking while uttering those words menacingly. His eyes turned cold, deadly even. But I could not feel any tremor. I was waiting for that rush of fear that normally enveloped my body whenever he looked at me this way, but it didn't come. As if my heart already had enough pain that it could no longer accommodate any additional emotion. 

I was still crying while holding his face. How did we end up this way? When all I wanted was to love him with everything that I have and everything that I am. I just wanted to be at his side so I could freely express the depth of my feelings for him. Maybe I was asking too much. Or maybe, I was loving him wrong all this time. 

"This is what you want, right? You don't love me. You won't love me no matter what I do, so I'm letting you go. I am very sorry that I dragged you into this marriage, Zeke. I am sorry for loving you the way I did."

I never knew that letting someone go could be this painful. I had lost my dog, Koby, when I was in my teens, but it was not this heartbreaking. Maybe because when he got that chronic disease and he was on his deathbed, I knew that he was fighting with me. I was not alone in that battle. When he passed away, I found peace knowing that he would be on that rainbow bridge, where he could run free and be my guiding star above. This time, it was different. 'Cause I was the one fighting this battle alone.

He gently held my hand while also holding my gaze. I noticed that there was blood in his right hand, probably because he forced the removal of the dextrose, but he didn't flinch. His jaw tightened, and the irises in his eyes darkened. 

"Don't you think it's too late for that, Hinata? We are already stuck with each other, the moment I was forced to marry you. You can't back out now just because you felt that way. I can't be miserable alone. I'll drag you with me even if it means dragging you to hell." 

He gradually tightened his grip on my hand, and I winced. It hurt. I tried to escape from his grasp, but he intertwined our hands together. I could see the fire burning in his eyes, but I stood my ground. 

"Drag me to hell all you want, Zeke, but I refuse to be miserable with you," I fiercely countered. 

"Why? What are you gonna do then, my precious Yna? Are you going to take this to court and taint my name to shame? Tsk. I know you can't do that 'cause you are always this pure innocent soul who doesn't hurt other people."

He was saying those words sarcastically, mocking me. The pain I was feeling earlier was replaced by irritation. This man was such a pro at evoking different emotions in me and spreading them out in the open. I put those emotions in check, though, 'cause I realized that it won't do me good. I tried using a different approach. 

"Zeke, please let me go. Can't you see? I am removing myself from the equation, and once I am out of your life, you can do whatever you wanna do. You can date whoever you wanna date. You can be free. You can have all the house for yourself and most importantly, you can have your life back," I reasoned out in a soft voice. 

I even forced excitement into my voice so it would be convincing in his ears. However, he just laughed at me, like he found it amusing. 

"I know what you're doing, Yna. Hahaha. Try harder 'cause it won't work on me."

I pursed my lips and narrowed my eyes at him. 

"You are the most selfish jerk I've ever known in my whole life, Zeke Anderson Smith!"

"Tsk. I know, but brace yourself, Mrs. Hinata Marie Smith, 'cause I don't let go of what's mine. You will be stuck with this selfish jerk, forever."