Burn Our Memories To The Ground

On the night of our seventh anniversary, I didnt get a candlelit dinner. I got a call from the precinct.

A couple had filed a criminal complaint against my company, claiming our flagship organic line had hospitalized their child with severe food poisoning. When I walked into the station, the world tilted on its axis. Standing there was DorianLydias "one who got away," the man who had haunted the periphery of our marriage for years.

And standing right beside him, her hand resting protectively on his arm, was my wife, Lydia.

She didnt flinch. She didnt even have the grace to look guilty. She looked at me with a terrifying, flat calm and said, "We have a three-year-old son together. Thats the reality of the situation."

A jagged, hysterical laugh escaped my throat. We had reconciled four years ago, and for every second of those four years, she had kept this lifethis childa secret. The math was the cruelest part. The boy was three. She had betrayed me the moment she stepped back into our home.

Lydias best friend actually had the audacity to pull me aside later to "soften the blow." She told me I should be grateful that Lydia at least had the "decency" to hide the affair from me for so long.

I reached into my bag and pulled out a tattered folder. Inside was the divorce agreement from four years agothe one I had ripped up in a moment of weakness. Looking at it now, I felt like a fool who had mistaken a predators blink for a lovers wink.

"If thats how it is," I whispered, the words tasting like ash, "then shes free to go live the life shes already built with him."

Four years ago, I thought we had found our turning point. Wed been married for three years then, a volatile cycle of pain. She had sent me to the police station ten times because Id gotten into fights with Dorianher "soulmate." And every time I came home, our arguments were so explosive she ended up in the ER eleven times from the sheer stress and physical toll of our mutual destruction.

Then came the business trip to Dubai.

The explosion happened at noon. I remember the roar, the heat, and the ceiling coming down. She threw herself over me, shielding me from the shrapnel that shredded her back. I used every ounce of my strength to hold up a collapsing support beam so she wouldn't be crushed.

We ended up in adjacent hospital beds, our hands stretched across the narrow aisle, gripping each other like lifelines.

"No more fighting," she had sobbed, her face pale against the white pillows. "Ill send him away, Cade. I promise. Lets just be us. Lets have a real life, okay?"

Looking at our shared scars, my heart broke for her. With trembling hands, I tore up the divorce papers Id prepared. "One last try," I had whispered.

That day, Dorian was erased. He was fired, blocked, and scrubbed from her life. To prove her devotion, she even had my name tattooed over her heart, swearing she would never make me regret staying.

Now, I realized those vows were just lines in a script she had long since stopped following.

Dorian eventually stormed out of the station, clutching his son and fuming. My legal team had dismantled his "evidence" within minutes. Facing my knowledge of food safety regulations and liability law, he looked like a panicked amateur. He was livid because he couldn't play the victim.

As we entered our house, I strode ahead. Lydia followed, her heels clicking sharply on the marble.

"Could you not have been a little more empathetic?" she snapped, her brow furrowed. "Bullying a father and his sick childis that who you are now?"

"Bullying?" I spun around so fast she stumbled back. "My companys formulas are pristine, Lydia. He clearly fed that kid something he shouldn't have and tried to frame me for a payout. Youre telling me you couldn't see through that? Who is bullying whom?"

Lydia sighed, a sound of weary disappointment.

"You know exactly how clean my manufacturing process is," I stepped closer, my voice dropping to a dangerous hiss. "And yet, you helped them file the report. Youre exactly who youve always been, aren't you?"

"Cade," she said softly, shaking her head. "Sometimes you truly lack basic human empathy."

I froze.

"The boy is three," she continued. "Dorian is a first-time father. When a child is that sick, you don't think straight. Instead of being understanding, you attacked a single father for a minor mistake. You..." She looked me up and down, a mocking curl hitting her lip. "Oh, right. I forgot. Youre a man who will never be a father. I guess I shouldn't expect you to understand what it feels like to care about a child."

The world went white. The next thing I knew, the sound of a sharp crack echoed through the foyer. My hand was stinging. I had slapped her.

"Lydia! Don't you dare act like you don't know why I'll never be a father!"

She flinched, her eyes dropping to the floor. The guilt finally flickered in her expression, but I wouldn't let her hide.

"College," I barked. "You got drunk and picked a fight with the wrong people. They came at you with a broken bottle. I stepped in front of it. That bottle severed my vas deferens. I had to get a vasectomy because the damage was irreparable! I gave up my future for yours!"

A bitter laugh choked me. "If I had known back then that you were fighting over Dorian that night, I would have let them move me out of the way. I would have never saved you."

"I... Im sorry," she stammered, looking small. "I shouldn't have said that."

"Youve said a lot of the wrong things over the last seven years." I stared at her, feeling a coldness settle in my bones. "The truth is, you never cared. Not about me, and certainly not about this marriage. If you did, those words wouldn't have been so easy to spit out. Tell me, do you ever say 'the wrong thing' to Dorian?"

Silence.

"That's what I thought," I whispered.

"Cade"

"Stop lying, Lydia. You didn't value our 'last chance.' You just got better at hiding the truth."

I looked at her chest, at the spot where my name was tattooed. I sneered. "You just said what you needed to say to keep your safety net while you kept him in the basement of your life."

"I moved him underground for us!" she suddenly shouted, her frustration boiling over. "In the last four years, did you ever see a shadow of them? No! I kept my lives separate so you wouldn't be hurt!"

I stared at her, horrified. "Lydia... listen to yourself."

"Enough, Cade." She crossed her arms. "If you hadn't been so petty and litigious today, you would never have found out. We could have gone on like this forever. We were happy. You're the one destroying our peace."

When you reach the peak of fury, you don't scream. You laugh.

The report against my company should have been handled by the legal department. I only stepped in because the complainant's number looked familiar. I had checked it. I had followed the trail. And it led straight back to her.

Lydia sighed again, reaching out as if to touch my arm. "Lets just pretend this didn't happen. Don't throw away everything weve rebuilt over a misunderstanding."

I laughed again, louder this time, and slammed a new set of divorce papers onto the console table. "If you actually valued 'us,' he wouldn't exist in your world."

"What is this?" Her breath hitched as she saw the header. Petition for Dissolution of Marriage. "Take it back."

She reached for the papers to tear them, but I pinned them down with my palm. "Four years ago was the last chance, Lydia. I meant it."

"Cade..."

"Three days," I said, my voice dead. "Give me your answer in three days."

I walked out without looking back. I left her standing there, her fingers trembling as they brushed the edge of the document.

I waited two days. She didn't call. She didn't text.

On the third day, I went back to the house to end it. But as I reached the door, I heard the sound of clinking glasses and laughter from inside.

"Lydia, todays the deadline for the papers," a womans voiceone of her friendssaid. "Whats the plan?"

"The plan?" Lydias voice was cold, sharp. "Hes being dramatic. Hes the one who owes me an apology for this little stunt."

I froze, my hand tightening on the doorknob.

"Weve been married for seven years," Lydia continued. "I know I overstepped by bringing Dorian around, but Cade is obsessed with me. Weve been more 'in love' these last four years than most couples are in a lifetime. Hes used to me; hes never actually threatened divorce before. Hes just trying to scare me."

She must have waved the papers in the air. "He hasn't even considered how much this 'performance' is damaging our relationship."

I felt my heart hammering against my ribs, fueled by pure, unadulterated rage.

One of her friends glanced toward the door. She saw the shadow but chose not to say anything. Instead, she asked, "But what if hes serious this time?"

Lydia laughed. "Weve literally bled for each other, Sarah. People who save each others lives don't just walk away. Were bonded in a way you couldn't understand."

"Then why did you have a baby with Dorian? I thought you were actually going straight this time."

I heard the clink of a toast. "A bond that deep doesn't need to be fragile," Lydia said. "We saved each other's lives. He belongs to me, and I belong to him. He isn't going anywhere."

I took a deep breath, my chest aching. I didn't open the door. I turned around and walked away. It was time to stop playing games and start the litigation.

As my team prepared the filings, a message from Lydia finally came through on the third day:

[Instead of wasting time throwing a tantrum, you should focus on paying Dorian for the damages to his reputation.]

Attached was a court summons. Dorian was suing my company for food safety violations. He wasn't giving up. But I knew he didn't have the brains to do this alone.

I called Lydia immediately. "Youre the one who filed this for him, aren't you?"

Lydia let out a soft, melodic hum. She didn't need to say yes.

"And if I refuse to settle?"

"Honey," she said, her voice dropping into a patronizing purr, "you should think carefully. My firms top litigation team is handling this. Don't be stubborn. Just sign the check and let it go."

I gripped the phone until my knuckles turned white. "This company was founded by my grandfather. Its been a household name for a century. You want me to admit to a lie and destroy the Thorne family legacy just to give your lover a payday?"

Lydia sighed. "Why must you make things so difficult for them?"

"They are the ones making things difficult for me!" I shouted. "Dorian poisoned his own kid with something else just to get to me!"

Silence. When she spoke again, her voice was ice. "Fine. Have it your way. Good luck, Cade."

The line went dead.

My lead counsel, Parker, looked at me with worry. "Sir, Lydias firm just sent over the formal notice. Her team has never lost a case of this scale. Were in trouble."

I straightened my tie. "Prepare the files. Im handling the defense myself."

Parkers eyes widened.

On the day of the hearing, when I stepped up as both the defendant and the lead counsel, Lydias jaw practically hit the floor. She had forgottenor perhaps never cared enough to knowthat I held a law degree from the best school in the country. I had just chosen to run the business instead of practicing.

My phone buzzed. A text from her. I ignored it.

I tore her legal team apart. By the time I was finished, Lydias "invincible" lawyers looked like first-year interns. The judge dismissed Dorians claim with prejudice.

As the courtroom cleared, Dorian was red-faced with fury. I glanced at Lydia. Her expression was unreadable, but as I walked toward the exit, she caught me at the door.

She smiled, a strange, lingering look. "Mr. Thorne. Youre much more formidable than I remembered."

"Whats the matter, Lydia? Going to file an appeal for your boy toy?"

"No," she laughed. "If my husband is this brilliant, why would I fight him?"

She turned to leave, tossing a final remark over her shoulder. "Good luck with the business, Cade. I hope it keeps growing."

I frowned. What is she playing at?

That night, I stayed at the office. I personally audited the warehouse, checked the security feeds, and verified the fire safety protocols. I wanted to make sure there wasn't a single crack in the foundation.

Parker stayed late with me. "Thank god for you, sir. If theyd won, they would have drained our entire quarterly profit to pay that loser. Lydia actually tried to argue for a total asset seizure as compensation! Talk about biased. Whose wife is she, anyway?"

One of the junior associates whispered, "Yeah, shes clearly picked her side."

I stiffened, then forced a smile. "Its fine. Let's go home."

But as we walked out toward the parking lot, a deafening BOOM shook the ground. A wall of hot air slammed into my back.

I spun around. The warehousemy familys legacywas a pillar of fire reaching for the night sky.

"My parents! Their things!" I screamed, lunging toward the flames.

Parker and the others tackled me, pinning me to the pavement. "Sir! It's too dangerous! You can't go in!"

"Everything is in there! The original records, the family archiveseverything!"

"Cade, stop! It's gone!"

The sirens drowned out my screams. Fire trucks and police cruisers swarmed the area. I watched the orange glow consume the only things I had left of my mother and father. My strength vanished. I stopped fighting.

Then, I saw it.

A black Rolls Royce parked just outside the police line. A familiar face appeared behind the tinted glass. Lydia was there, a slim cigarette between her fingers, watching the carnage with terrifying detachment.

When she saw me look, she picked up the child in the backseat and blew me a playful kiss. In the drivers seat, Dorian was finally grinning.

Lydia stepped out of the car.

"You embarrassed Dorian in court," she said, her voice carrying over the crackle of the fire. "He needed a little compensation for his hurt feelings."

I couldn't breathe.

"The inventory is gone, but don't worryI'll give you the money to rebuild later. Don't blame him, Cade. This was my idea."

My throat tightened. That building wasn't just inventory. It was my history. I remembered being five years old, my father holding my hand as he walked me through those aisles, telling me the story of how our family built something from nothing.

Take care of it, Cade, they had told me.

"Mom... Dad... I'm sorry," I whispered.

The world began to spin. The blackness crept into the edges of my vision. Lydias smug expression was the last thing I saw before it shattered.

"Cade!"

I heard her voice, suddenly sharp with panic, right before I hit the ground.

When I woke up, I coughed up a spray of blood. I stared blankly at the doctor, then at Lydia, who was sitting by my bed.

The doctor sighed. "Acute cardiac and pulmonary distress, triggered by extreme emotional shock. You have old scarring on your heart, Mr. Thorne. Why weren't you taking care of yourself? One more night of stress like this and you could lose everything. Do you understand?"

I closed my eyes. The old scarring. Another gift from Lydia.

Back in college, when she was constantly getting into trouble with local thugs, I was always the one who stepped in. Id been stabbed and beaten more times than I could count. The scar on my heart was from a fruit knife meant for her.

I hadn't known then that she was only in those fights to protect Dorians interests.

Once the doctor left, Lydia grabbed my hand, her grip frantic. "Cade, Im so sorry. I didn't know... I..." Her voice broke. "Its my fault. I shouldn't have pushed you. I shouldn't have let them burn the warehouse..."

"Does it matter now?" I asked, staring at the ceiling.

Twelve years of my life, gone in an instant because she wanted to soothe her lovers ego.

She looked frantic. "Cade, Ill send him away. This time, I mean it. Hes gone."

Her phone buzzed. She glanced at it, and her face went pale. "I have to go. Ill be right back."

"Where?" I asked, my eyes burning. "To Dorian?"

She hesitated. "Its not him. The baby has a fever."

"And what about me?" I grabbed her wrist, my fingers digging into her skin. "You burn down my life and you're just going to walk out?"

She paused, then slowly, one by one, she pried my fingers off her. "Ill be back. I promise."

I watched her walk out. She had a home to go to. Dorian had a home.

I had nothing.

When Parker came to check on me, I was already dragging myself out of bed.

"Sir! I'll call the doctor!"

"No." I looked him dead in the eye. "Were leaving. Now."

I stood in front of the housethe "reconciliation" home I had bought for Lydia. I was wrapped in a heavy coat, holding a torch.

"Sir," Parker whispered. "Are you sure?"

I tossed the torch into the dry brush near the porch. "Positive."

I had carried her across this threshold once. I had thought we were building a sanctuary. Now, the memories were just poison. If I was leaving, I was leaving nothing behind.

"Do you want to say goodbye to her?"

"No." A private jet was waiting at the local airfield. I handed him a signed set of papers. "Just give her these."

As the plane climbed into the night sky, the fire below was still raging. I didn't look back. I was never coming back.