Betrayed by My Trash Husband, Surrender Myself to the Devil-Chapter 40: To Take Her out of Your Life

Ray POV

My eyes drifted toward the ring on Miles’ finger. Miles subconsciously played with the ring, as if it were a treasured item. So I decided to play with him a little bit.

"If you hate Claudia’s guts, then why are you still wearing a wedding ring?" 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

"Huh? W-what are you talking about, brother? Of course I can’t wait to divorce her! But I need her to sign all the documents I’ve prepared to transfer her share of the house and everything else to me. So when the divorce is finalized, she will be left with nothing except the clothes she’s wearing!"

"Take it off, then."

"W-what?!"

"I said..." I paused for a moment, staring at him solemnly. I’ve heard from others that being stared at by me made them feel uncomfortable, and I guess that comment held some truth, because Miles looked nervous. "... Take that ring off and give it to me."

Miles’ face gradually lost its color. He stared at me as if he were seeing a ghost. He opened his mouth and stammered, "W-w-what?"

"Didn’t I make myself clear? If you want that ten million dollars, then give that ring to me," I repeated. "That’s a simple request, Miles."

Miles circled his finger around his wedding ring, looking down at it as if it were a prized treasure.

I knew exactly why he hesitated, though. Miles and Claudia’s wedding rings were cheap, but they were paid for using the combined income of Claudia’s salary as a General Practitioner and Miles’ salary from the first client he had when he first started his business.

That ring must have held strong sentimental value for both of them, because I also saw Claudia still wearing the wedding ring when I met her again at the pizza restaurant. Though I guessed she kept it hidden somewhere after she signed the pet contract.

In a way, their relationship might be destroyed, but both Miles and Claudia were still clinging to their wedding rings to reminisce about the time when they were still in love.

And I hated it.

I hated that Claudia still remembered any good times with this pathetic stepbrother of mine, and I hated that Miles still felt that he had the right to keep that wedding ring after destroying his own marriage.

Just as I held a grudge against both of them, I wanted their marriage to be destroyed until there was no way to fix it anymore. I wanted Claudia to feel utterly helpless, because that way she would finally understand that I am the only one who stayed by her side.

After all, she chose to be with Miles because she thought he was a gentle and understanding man. The man who would make her happy.

But she didn’t know him like I did, because I grew up under the tyranny of my ignorant father, cruel stepmother, and opportunistic stepbrother.

Claudia thought that Miles was in love with her? Hah. All I needed was to give him all the money he needed to "succeed," and it didn’t take long for him to shed all of his pretense and show Claudia his true nature as an opportunistic scumbag.

"Is that really necessary, brother?" Miles asked. He kept playing with that wedding ring and said, "I mean, I’ll toss this ring down the drain once I divorce her, but technically, we’re not divorced—at least not yet."

"Why are you still clinging to that wedding ring when it’s your plan with Clarissa to frame Claudia as a child killer?" I scoffed. "You can be a hypocrite sometimes, Miles."

"But—"

"I’m not sure if I can lend you that ten million if you’re this weak-willed. Since you’ve decided to destroy her life with your own hands, then you should commit to it, you spineless numbskull!"

My voice must have been quite loud and shocking, because Miles’ face paled even more on top of the fear in his eyes.

My heartbeat began to race as I became impatient. I really wanted that wedding ring in my hand, because the more I saw it, the angrier I became.

There hadn’t been many instances of my heart beating faster than normal, and ninety percent of them came from Claudia and everything that involved her—such as this one.

In fact, there was a split second of doubt in my heart. I became a little anxious, worried that this wimpy bastard wouldn’t take that ring off and that I would have to snap his hand just to snatch that goddamn ring.

"D-don’t say that, brother. I really need the money," Miles sighed defeatedly before he took off his wedding ring.

He placed it on the table and slid it to my side.

Before he lifted his hand from the ring, he asked, "Why do you want this, brother? This ring is so cheap. You can buy a truck full of the same rings if you want."

"No good reason. I just think that ring is annoying to look at," I replied calmly, yet my body wasn’t as calm as I expected, because the moment Miles lifted his hand, I snatched that ring and pocketed it like a greedy goblin.

I got up after getting what I wanted.

"Your money will be transferred later by my secretary. If you have nothing else to do, then you can leave now."

"W-wait, brother, I want to ask you something."

"Make it quick. I have another meeting soon," I said while glancing at the door. My feet tapped the floor impatiently, the urge to secure the wedding ring in my pocket was so strong that I almost uncharacteristically dashed out of the meeting room.

"I’ll be interviewed by the police today. What do you think I should say?" he asked. "I-I don’t want them to suspect me of colluding with Clarissa to kill our daughters and frame Claudia for it."

"... "

I calmed down slightly upon hearing that question. Naturally, I could help him by giving him real advice, like a lawyer.

I could tell him to show his anger toward Claudia for what she had "done," so it would look convincing.

Or I could tell him to grieve over his daughter’s condition even though he couldn’t care less about it in real life.

But why should I help him?