Chapter 1: Divorce Papers and Barrages

My pulse thundered in my ears as I slid the divorce papers across the glass table, hands clammy with sweat. Three years into this marriage of convenience—a contract on paper, nothing real—with the succubus CEO, I’d finally worked up the nerve to end it.

The day I asked for a divorce, she just nodded, cool as ice, like I’d asked her to pass the salt. But suddenly, a barrage of comments flashed above her head:

[Total yandere vibes! Those chains and custom toys in the basement are all for the male supporting character, yet she’s still pretending to be a lady.]

[Male supporting character, the second you finish signing, you’ll wake up next to the woman you hate most.]

[Here we go, folks—the basement arc is about to drop! This level of hate is just right—so satisfying. The succubus has a huge appetite, and the male supporting character totally deserves to die from exhaustion after all his misdeeds...]

[Sigh, you’re clueless, male supporting character. If you’d shown the second female lead even a hint of kindness over the years, this love-crazed maniac would’ve instantly knelt at your feet and become your loyal dog. Instead, it all twisted into hate...]

My hand trembled as I signed, staring at the woman across from me. Her poker face didn’t crack, but her eyes flicked to my hand, just for a second.

“Um, let’s not get divorced after all.”

1

“What?” Rachel Winters lifted her slender eyelids, her tone flat.

Her detached demeanor made me wonder if I’d imagined those comments.

A distant police siren wailed through the open window, faint and persistent—just another Tuesday in Chicago. Rachel didn't even flinch.

I took a deep breath, set down the pen halfway through my signature, and scrambled to explain.

“I just suddenly don’t want to get divorced. You know, ‘once a couple, always a couple’—we’ve been together for three years, I’m used to having you around. Honestly, I can’t leave you...”

By the end, Rachel’s confusion was obvious, and my own confidence faded, my voice trailing off.

She kept her gaze on me, her expression as flat as ever, but I could see a tiny twitch at the corner of her mouth—like she was holding something back.

My marriage to Rachel had been an accident.

Five years ago, ever since an underprivileged intern named Tessa Summers joined the company, my previously smooth life became a mess.

My childhood sweetheart, who once promised to care for me forever, changed her heart, broke off our engagement at a party in front of everyone, and left me utterly humiliated.

The party lights glared off the silver punch bowl, and I could still taste the bitterness of whiskey and shame. Her trembling hand let go of mine in front of all those old family friends. The humiliation settled in my chest like a bruise.

Even my doting parents, for the first time ever, sided with Tessa.

Driven mad with jealousy and desperate to prove I wasn’t unwanted, I married Rachel—the rumored cold and ruthless CEO everyone avoided.

The wedding was just city hall, no flowers, no family. Just the two of us and a bored clerk who barely looked up from her monitor as we signed the papers.

For three years after our marriage, I clashed with Tessa at every turn, but always lost.

If I wasn’t stopped by Rachel in advance, then some cruel twist of fate would always end up making me shoot myself in the foot.

My ego was like a landmine—I kept stepping on it, over and over. I used to think Rachel's cold warnings were sabotage, but maybe she was just tired of mopping up my messes.

Until recently, when my plot to frame Tessa was exposed, and I was completely ruined—friends cutting ties left and right.

It was like my social circle evaporated overnight. Invitations dried up. Even my group texts went quiet.

I knew Rachel hated my dirty tricks and favored Tessa. So instead of waiting for her to kick me while I was down, I figured I’d dump her first—at least I’d look cool.

I practiced my speech in the mirror, smirking like some noir antihero, but when the moment came, all that bravado fizzled away.

When I messaged her about the divorce, Rachel was in an important meeting. But she called back almost instantly.

“Reason,” she said, her voice cold through the phone.

I laughed bitterly. “Last time, you didn’t close the bathroom door, and I accidentally saw your tail. All slippery. It was really disgusting.”

My joke hung in the air, flat and cruel. I heard a faint exhale on the other end of the line, then nothing. I hated myself for saying it, but it was easier than admitting I was afraid.

So now, when I say I ‘can’t leave her,’ not even Rachel would believe it. Heck, even I don’t believe it...

“You’re sure you don’t want a divorce?” Instead of the cold laugh I expected, her deep voice snapped me back to reality.

She pushed her reading glasses up her nose, waiting.

“I don’t want to. Not for now.”

I watched Rachel’s face, but there was no trace of happiness.

“Suit yourself.” After a pause, she picked up the half-signed divorce agreement and fed it to the shredder.

She slid the papers in, and the shredder growled, chewing up my last shot at freedom. The sound made my skin crawl.

The barrage popped up again:

[What’s with the vicious male supporting character? Did he suddenly get smart?]

[Alex finally wised up and wants to cling to the second female lead? Too bad it’s a bit late—her hatred’s already taken root.]

[Who says it’s too late? This timing is perfect! Didn’t you see the second female lead’s lips twitch with delight when she shredded the divorce papers? And that shredder—so extra! How afraid is she that he’ll regret it?]

[Keep it up, male supporting character! Don’t stop now! The yandere succubus and the vicious male supporting character are a match made in hell. Get her, and you’ll never lose to Tessa again.]

I shifted in my seat, the smell of burned paper lingering in the air.