I Announced Our Divorce To Airport Reporters

During Annika James' sophomore year of college, Xavier Parker returned from Europe after locking down three billion-dollar projects in the financial district and taking over Parker Group. He'd become the youngest business mogul in London. He rolled up to her campus in a limited-edition Rolls Royce to pick her up, and Annika felt a little embarrassed as she slid into the car. She scolded him, "Xavier Parker, if you don't want people on campus spreading rumors that I'm dating some rich guy, maybe skip the flashy cars..."

Before she could finish, he pulled her close, wrapping her in his arms. With a fierce, unexpected intensity, Xavier kissed her, sending a rush of heat to her cheeks. In the front seat, Rayan Henry discreetly hit the button to raise the partition. The sealed backseat left only her and Xavier, their heated kiss charging the air between them.

Xavier kissed her like he'd been waiting forever.

It was their first kiss, and it left Annika's mind spinning, her thoughts scattered, her body weak and flooded with warmth.

Xavier murmured, "Annika, I've waited years for this kiss."

Annika looked at him, dazed, not realizing this was Xavier's confession.

For over a decade, they'd bickered and bantered, and she hadn't yet adjusted to this new, more mature Xavier—a man, not just the boy she'd always known.

After a beat, Annika quipped, "Wow, you really do have a lot of patience."

Xavier blinked, slightly caught off guard.

With a playful pinch, he said, "Annika, you're such a goof."

Annika laughed, tilting her head. "I might be a goof, but if you're into goofs, what does that make you?"

Xavier smirked. "Hmm, the biggest goof of them all."

In that million-dollar custom Rolls Royce, the two "goofs" exchanged knowing glances, their faces lit up with a happiness that was almost too much to contain.

In their first year together, Annika and Xavier kept their old dynamic, often squabbling—little tiffs every few days, bigger blowups here and there. But usually, Xavier was the first to cave and admit he was wrong. Annika never told anyone how Xavier could totally disarm her when he showed up with reddened eyes, teetering on the edge of tears. One look at him like that, and her anger just melted away.

During Thanksgiving, Xavier took Annika to the Parker family estate, only to find Lina Turner and her brother Bowen, along with their parents, already there. The two families had been knee-deep in talks about a marriage alliance between Xavier and Lina.

Annika confronted Xavier, who claimed he knew nothing and accused her of being unreasonable. Furious, Annika stormed out.

On the road, Bowen, driving out to find her, was killed in a car crash.

When Annika heard the news, she rushed to the hospital. There, Lina's mother slapped her twice, then forced her to kneel before Bowen's body.

Annika felt like a hollow shell, numb to the pain and humiliation, completely detached from reality.

She couldn't wrap her head around how things had spiraled so disastrously.

The Turner family demanded Annika pay with her life—until Xavier arrived, standing firm in front of her, declaring that Annika was now Mrs. Parker and anyone who laid a finger on her would face his wrath.

Eventually, Xavier and Annika married. He transferred two billion-dollar projects and five percent of Parker Group shares to the Turners to smooth things over and get them to back off Annika.

Yet, Annika was branded a sinner.

Haunted by Bowen's death, she couldn't find forgiveness—not from others, and not from herself.

On top of that, her married life became another source of pain.

Once so vibrant and full of fire, after just three years of marriage, Annika had become a recluse, too tormented to even step outside.

—

Xavier finished his shower and came over to Annika, who was sitting on the bed, scrolling through her phone. He noticed her slender fingers were bare.

"Where's your ring?" he asked, towel-drying his hair, water trickling down his chest to the towel wrapped around his waist.

Annika, not bothering to look up, kept chatting with Emma Sanchez on WhatsApp. "It's worth a million bucks. I'm afraid I'll chuck it in a fit of rage and then regret it."

Xavier arched an eyebrow. "Then just don't get pissed off."

"That's tough," Annika shot back. "This world is crawling with idiots."

Xavier watched her in silence for a moment, then glanced at her phone screen. Annika noticed and tilted the phone away, blocking his view.

But he caught a glimpse of Emma's avatar—a bold white "Get Rich" on a red background, impossible to miss.

"Complaining about me to your bestie again?"

Annika shut off her phone and burrowed under the duvet, staying quiet.

She replayed Emma's earlier advice in her head: "That Lina is a piece of work, always copying your every move just to one-up you. One day, let her choke on your fumes."

Crude, but not without a point, Emma's words pulled a smile from Annika, lightening her mood a little.

Then Xavier's warm arm snaked around her waist, pulling her close, his hand slipping under her nightdress.

Annika blocked him. "Xavier, what the hell are you doing!"

"Fulfilling my husbandly duties," he murmured against her neck. "Did you miss me this week?"

His warm breath against her skin stirred something deep, making her breathing hitch.

Xavier knew her body inside and out. Annika always remembered their first night together—beyond the initial discomfort, it was actually good. She'd asked how he was so skilled, wondering if it was really his first time.

Xavier had replied, "I've never been a butcher, but I've seen pigs run. I prepped for this moment for years. I didn't want you to have any regrets."

Annika scoffed. "Men are such basic creatures, always scheming for a little action."

He ground his teeth. "Annika, other women might want me, but I don't want them."

"Big deal, other men want me too, and I don't want them."

"…"

She used to match him word for word, never backing down.

But somewhere along the line, she stopped the bickering and arguing.

Maybe it was last year, when yet another fight erupted over how stupidly attentive he was to Lina. Xavier, with ice in his voice, had said, "If Bowen were alive, I wouldn't feel like I have to look after her; she's his sister, after all."

In that moment, Annika was left speechless.

She'd assumed that even if the whole world blamed her for Bowen's death, Xavier wouldn't.

She believed he understood her suffering, her pain, and wouldn't be the one to twist the knife.

But she was dead wrong.

The deeper her trust, the bigger the letdown.