Cut Me Free

While cleaning the house, I noticed my box of new razor blades had been opened. Without hesitation, I had my lawyer draft a divorce agreement and send it to my wife, Rachel Jackman. She called me right away. "Are you kicking up a fuss again? What is it this time?" I fought to keep my emotions under control and said, "One of the razor blades in the drawer is missing." Chapter 1 "Do whatever you want!" Rachel Jackman snapped, anger and impatience clear in her voice. "Just don't regret it and come crying back to beg me!" The call was abruptly cut off the next second. Would I regret it? Never. The only thing I regretted was being so foolish back then. I hated that I had let myself, once a decisive force in the business world, put up with years of humiliation. - I was packing my things when Charlie Stewart walked in. He was Rachel's current assistant, and he was also the man she had once loved most. "Zander, I'm sorry. I went to your house that day to deliver some documents to Ms. Jackman," he said. "She noticed the stubble on my chin and borrowed one of your razor blades for me. "I never thought it would make you misunderstand. Please don't divorce her. Otherwise, I'll never clear my name." I listened to his half-hearted apology, and my lips curled up into a mocking smile. "If I don't divorce her, how would I make room for you?" I asked. Charlie's tone turned anxious. "Zander, how could you say that? I never wanted to come between you and Ms. Jackman. I–" I cut him off. "You never wanted to, or you can't?" Back then, the Jackmans chose a husband for Rachel from the sons of Belmont's elite families. Charlie, the Stewarts' illegitimate son, was the first one they ruled out. Seven years later, the Stewart family had long gone bankrupt. When Charlie came back from overseas, the only way he could get close to Rachel was as her assistant. Charlie sounded even more anxious. "If you don't believe me, then I'll just quit. That should be enough, right?" "Do whatever you want!" I threw Rachel's words back at him, then turned away and ignored him. In the two years since Charlie joined the company, I had asked Rachel for a divorce as many times as he had threatened to quit. Now that Rachel and I were really getting a divorce, he was still using the same trick to win sympathy. Rachel had long grown tired of my jealousy, yet she still fell for every one of his innocent acts. "Zander, I'm begging you. Please don't leave. Don't divorce Ms. Jackman." He looked ready to cry as he grabbed my arm and shook it, acting like the heartbroken hero of some melodrama. "Zander, hit me if it will make you feel better." As he spoke, he grabbed my hand and pulled it toward his face. I frowned at his pathetic act and silently counted down. "Ten, nine, eight…" Before I reached seven, Rachel rushed over. "Stop!" She shouted angrily at me, "Zander, you've gone too far! Charlie was our classmate. How could you hit him?" Just like every other time, Rachel showed up at the perfect moment and blamed me without asking what had happened. I shook my head and smiled bitterly. She had perfected her act of rushing to Charlie's defense. I set my luggage down and slowly got to my feet. I turned to Rachel first and said, "If you can't see what's right in front of you, maybe you should get your eyes checked. "Hit him? I wouldn't want to dirty my hands." "You…" My words left her speechless. Then I turned to Charlie. "If I remember right, I never heard a knock, and I never got up to open the door." I looked him straight in the eye. "So tell me. How did you get in?" His face turned pale, and he almost lost his balance. A slender arm caught him around the waist. Chapter 2 Rachel steadied Charlie with concern. Then she turned to me and explained, "Charlie's my assistant now. I gave him access to the house so he could handle work matters more easily." "What? Are you going to make a fuss over such a small matter?" She looked at me with open contempt. "Zander Jepsen, your jealousy is suffocating!" Her words left me stunned. She actually said I was the one who made her feel suffocated? Wasn't Charlie the real problem? He had forced his way into our marriage over the past two years, all with her permission and encouragement. He showed up everywhere, and he had no sense of boundaries. It started with him coming over to deliver documents. Then he began eating at our house and staying overnight like he belonged here. He wore my clothes without asking and even used my razor without permission. And those were only the little things. There were countless moments like this. Somehow, a marriage between two people had turned into one involving three. And I was the one who didn't belong. I let out a long sigh and looked at Rachel. "If this marriage has made us both so miserable, then let's sign the divorce papers." She frowned and pushed the divorce agreement aside. She said, "That's enough. Stop making a scene. "Apologize to Charlie, and we'll put this behind us. After this, we can all still be friends." Hearing the word "friend" from Rachel brought back all the bad memories from the past. I couldn't contain my anger anymore. I yelled, "I'd rather be alone for the rest of my life than call someone who bullied me a friend!" There was no way I would ever apologize to him. Back then, I hid my family background so I could fit in with my classmates. I never expected that to make me Charlie's target. On my first day of school, my books and backpack were thrown into the filthy pond behind the hill. Someone even slashed my uniform pants with a knife. Later, my family pressured the school into making Charlie apologize publicly. They wanted him expelled too. But Rachel talked me out of it. "Zander, it's better to let go of a grudge than hold onto it. He knows he was wrong. Just let him go." Blinded by my love for Rachel, I swallowed my pride and made peace with Charlie. I even asked the school to let him stay. Looking back, her favoritism toward him had started back then. I was just too consumed by love to see it. Charlie looked even more upset, with tears forming in the corners of his eyes. "I'm sorry. I crossed a line. I shouldn't have assumed our past as classmates meant I could act like we were friends," Charlie said. "I forgot that I'm only a lowly employee at your company now. "It's my fault. I'll leave right away." Tears immediately welled up in Rachel's eyes. She pulled Charlie behind her and shouted at me, "Just because you're my husband doesn't mean you can throw your weight around!" Then she turned to Charlie. She gently patted his shoulder and comforted him. "Charlie, don't put yourself down. I've never seen you as just another employee." She looked at him with sympathy, her gaze intense. "You've always been special to me." Watching my wife confess her feelings to someone else, I didn't lose control like I used to. I only felt a wave of disgust. Given that Charlie graduated from a low-tier overseas university, he was never qualified to be the assistant to Rachel, who was Jackman Group's CEO. But Rachel insisted on keeping him despite everyone's objections. She gave him a salary no one else in the industry could match. More than that, she gave him special treatment that even pushed me, her husband, aside. He respectfully called her "Ms. Jackman" while casually using my first name. He said it was out of familiarity, but it was obvious he didn't think I deserved to be Rachel's husband. Chapter 3 It was bad enough that Charlie thought that, but I never expected Rachel to think the same way too. I found it laughable. I was the eldest son of the Jepsen family. When did I need to hide behind Rachel Jackman's reputation to throw my weight around? Once again, I regretted losing the proud version of myself for love. At the same time, the last bit of attachment I had to this marriage finally vanished. "Rachel, sign the divorce papers as soon as possible. Don't make me take this to court," I said coldly. Then, I picked up my suitcase and walked away without looking back. - When I walked through the front door, my parents were excitedly talking about the northern lights on the travel channel. The moment they saw me, they quickly turned off the TV. Traveling around the world had always been their dream. Unfortunately, I, their only son, was blinded by love. I was so focused on Rachel that I refused to come home and take over the company. I walked over, took the remote out of a drawer, and turned the TV back on. Then I booked two flight tickets to Fernor on my phone. Instead of smiling with surprise, my parents looked at me with concern. I knew I couldn't hide it, so I told them the truth. "Rachel and I are getting divorced." The spacious living room went silent. After a long while, they walked over and gently held my hands. "No matter what you decide, we'll support you. We only want you to be happy," My dad said. "Your mother and I will always be here for you." My eyes stung with tears as years of hurt and frustration finally overwhelmed me. They had never approved of my marriage to Rachel, but I kept pushing until they finally relented. I squeezed my dad's hand, then took my mom's. The three of us placed our hands together. I said with a smile, "Don't worry. I'm fine." But the two of them refused to believe me. They insisted I change my flight from the next day to a week later so they could spend more time with me. At their suggestion, I booked a family portrait session. It has always been our family's favorite tradition every year. After I married Rachel, I invited her many times to join us, but she always turned me down because she was too busy with work. - Early the next morning, my parents and I arrived at the photo studio. To my surprise, I saw a familiar face. It was Rachel, and Charlie was with her. Charlie's face lit up as he held Rachel's hand. "Rachel, thank you for canceling such an important meeting just to come take pictures with me." Smiling, Rachel tapped him on the nose. "Silly. You're the closest person to me. If I don't spoil you, who will?" Bitterness rose in my throat. So it wasn't that she didn't have time. I just wasn't worth making time for. "Zander, what are you looking at?" My mom asked. "Nothing. I thought I saw someone I knew." I stepped in front of my mom so she couldn't see them. Then I led her away. Inside the studio, I had one arm over my dad's shoulder and linked arms with my mom. I smiled like a carefree child. With a loud click, the photographer pressed the shutter and captured the warm moment. At that moment, it felt as if I had been given a chance at a new life. I had also found what mattered most to me again. "Oh dear." My dad had just gone to the restroom when my mom suddenly clutched her stomach. Pain was written all over her face. "What's wrong? Is your stomach acting up again?" I asked. I helped my mom to the lounge next door and called both our family doctor and an ambulance. "I was wondering why you would be willing to divorce Rachel. So you've found yourself a rich woman." While we were waiting for help to arrive, Charlie suddenly showed up. He looked my mom up and down with a disdainful gaze, his tone full of contempt. "This old lady may have taken good care of herself, and she may have class, but she's still old. She'll never compare to Rachel." Chapter 4 "Seriously. You must really love money to kiss someone like her," Charlie said. From his words alone, my mom had already figured out who he was. She knew he was the third wheel who had come between Rachel and me. She struggled to her feet to defend me, but the movement made the pain flare up, and she fell back onto the couch. Seeing the pain in my mother's face, I rushed over and slapped him. A sharp crack filled the room. "Watch your mouth!" I shouted. "She's my mother!" Shocked flashed across Charlie's face before it turned into a sneer. "If you really had such an impressive background, how could I have bullied you that badly back then? All I had to do was apologize, and that was the end of it," he said. "Zander, just admit it. Without Rachel, you're nothing!" he added. Rachel never told him the truth about how she had helped him back then. She also kept my family background a secret. She had no idea that her attempt to protect her first love's pride would be the very reason for his own downfall. Charlie still had no idea what trouble he had gotten himself into. His shrewd eyes gleamed with smug satisfaction. "Good thing you knew your place and left, giving Rachel and me the chance to be together," he said. "You're only good enough to scrape by with this old hag." He laughed out loud. Suddenly, his expression turned terrified, and he screamed, "What are you doing? Let go of me!" "Charlie, you've got a death wish!" My eyes were bloodshot as I grabbed him by the back of the collar and dragged him out. A hand suddenly came between us and pulled Charlie away from me. "Zander, what the hell is wrong with you now? You seriously never change!" Rachel yelled. I could accept her taking Charlie's side before. But I didn't expect her to still choose him when my mother's life was at stake. "Do you even know what your precious lover did? He almost killed my mom!" I shouted at her, trembling with anger. Only then did she notice my unconscious mother on the couch. She looked farther into the room. The family doctor had already arrived and was giving her emergency treatment. My father sat slumped beside her, crying quietly as he held her hand. A trace of guilt flashed across Rachel's shocked expression. Seizing the opportunity, Charlie once again played the victim. "Ouch! Rachel, it hurts so much. Help me!" The hesitation in Rachel's eyes vanished instantly. As she comforted the shaken Charlie in her arms, she yelled at me. "Marika's still alive, isn't she? Did you really have to go this far with Charlie? Look how badly you've scared him!" I let out a cold, humorless laugh. That's right. My mother was only on the verge of death, while her precious lover was terrified out of his wits. That was the moment I finally snapped. "Rachel, open your damn eyes and see what going too far really looks like!" I lunged forward, grabbed Charlie by the hair, and slammed his head into the floor. "That's for running your mouth and being so vicious!" I screamed. "That's for crossing the line again and again. And that's for hurting my family!" Each impact echoed through the room, and a pool of bright red blood appeared on the gleaming white floor. Rachel rushed over to pull me away, but she couldn't move me at all. In the past, to make her feel how much I loved her, I was always a soft and devoted man in front of her. Despite my tall, sturdy build, I was always gentle and obedient around her petite, delicate frame. She only had to ask, and I would obey without hesitation. But today, I wasn't going to give in to her anymore. Rachel glared at me and demanded, "Let him go!" "In your dreams!" I shot back without backing down. When she couldn't pull me away, she yanked the metal hairpin from her hair and drove it into the back of my hand. The sharp tip sank deep into my flesh, and I winced in pain. But I gritted my teeth and refused to let go.