FROM DEATH TO DOMINATION

HE ONCE LOVED HIS WIFE.

Slade had never in his entire life tried to fight against his stepmother.

He had so much respect for her, despite her despising him with every drop of blood in her body.

Rita would always blame Slade for her son's wrongdoing and would stop at nothing to taint his image in front of Mr. Ryan, Slade's father, so he would also consider him worthless.

Everyone in Capital M City knew Slade to be a worthless piece of trash who didn't deserve Rita's love and attention.

Whereas, she would waste no time in abusing and hitting him, once they were out of public sight.

For the first time, Slade defended himself.

He didn't let his stepmother hit him for the very first time, and the reaction from Rita was priceless.

Slade could spend millions of dollars to watch her shocked expression over and over again.

"You!" she yelled, her eyes blazing with anger.

She didn't care if passersby were looking; all she wanted at that moment was to beat the hell out of him.

He had disrespected her in public, and she would rather die than take such an insult from a motherless bastard like him.

" My face has already lost it color due to your numerous slaps, Mother. Isn't it high time you let me be?"

Slade took a step back and leaned closer to Rita, who was still shocked.

It seemed as if she had just seen a ghost.

She was even paler than a sick person.

" You motherless bastard!" she yelled, causing onlookers, nurses, doctors, and even patients to begin whispering among themselves.

" Calm down, Mother. I bet you wouldn't want to be in the headline of tomorrow's news, would you?"

That was when it dawned on Rita that most patients were already taking pictures and videos of the scene, and she swallowed hard.

" See? You should have kept your anger at bay. Now, you will be in the next news headlines. It isn't a bad idea after all." Slade gritted his teeth while grinning.

Rita could swear that she felt a chill run down her spine for the very first time.

Slade looked downright terrifying, and she was doubting if he was the same person who had swept and mopped his in-laws house before coming to the hospital.

He was completely changed.

He was no longer a fool and a wimp, but a threat to her and her sons.

" Let go of me, bastard!" Rita struggled as she tried dragging her wrist from Slade's hold.

He let her go, still grinning like a maniac.

Others might still see him as a fool and wimp, as he was named, but Rita noticed a big change in his demeanor.

His aura screamed danger, and the coldness emitting from him was a thing she had never experienced before.

" Let's meet at the mansion, motherless bastard!" Rita hissed in annoyance as she walked past Slade, glaring daggers at him.

If looks could kill, Slade would probably be six feet under the ground.

Caleb, who stood some meters away, wasn't amused.

He was glaring daggers at Slade and wished he could tear him apart.

Once Rita was gone, Slade inhaled and exhaled slowly.

The weight of everything that had been happening dawned on him and while he was still thinking, his phone rang.

It was a call from his mother-in-law, Quincy, Sophia's mother.

He paused, pressing his lips into a thin line before picking up the ringing call.

" Bastard! What took you so long to answer the call!" Quincy's loud voice almost made Slade's eardrums bleed.

" Mother, what is it?" he asked, his frustration barely contained.

He could also remember vividly well how his mother-in-law mistreated him, all because he was nothing less than a surgeon who was paid little, despite his father owning the hospital.

" What took you so long to answer the damn call? Were you testing my patience?" Quincy yelled loudly, her voice cracking in the process.

" I was busy with a surgery, and I had no time to take calls." Slade replied flatly.

If it were in his past life, he would have cowered at the voice of his mother-in-law and begun to panic, fearing what she might do to him.

" Leave whatever you're doing and come home! Who will wash the dishes and the clothes if not you?"

Slade sighed and rubbed his temples to keep himself from yelling at the old hag on the other end of the call.

It was taking the last of his strength not to hang up on her.

" I told you I'm busy with a surgery. My schedule is packed today. You can tell the butler and the maids to do the dishes and wash the clothes." Slade said, while Quincy scoffed.

She couldn't believe her ears.

He dared talk back at her and even reject her request?

" I said cancel the goddamn schedule and return home!" she yelled. " Tomorrow is Grandma's birthday, and we need you to run errands for us."

Errands? Him?

Slade almost snickered at Quincy's words, as he found them ridiculous.

" I'm busy, Mother." he replied.

With that said, he hung up, even before she could say another word.

" Was that my mother?" Sophia asked from behind, while Slade slowly turned to face her.

Oh, only heavens could measure how much he once loved the woman in front of him.

He loved her with his heart and every fiber of his being.

He made sure to give her the life she deserved.

He spent most of his salary on her monthly allowances, her jewelry, makeup, and expensive fashion bags, but yet, she went ahead to cheat on him with his step-brother– planning his death in the process.

But after Slade was reborn, he finally realized that a person like her didn't deserve him.

He had no idea that she was having an affair with his brother, but now that he did, all the love he once had for her was replaced with disgust.

" Yes." he replied nonchalantly and turned to leave.

" Tomorrow is Grandma's birthday party; make sure you prepare a gift for her and go home early to run errands." Sophia said, and Slade jerked to a stop.

He turned around, his eyebrows raised.

" Do I look like a slave to your family or what? I'm sure the Collins family has over thirty maids and four butlers, so why should I run errands?"

Sophia was speechless at Slade's rude remarks.

He had never spoken back at her and always obeyed every one of her words.

What changed?

" What?" She squinted her eyes in total disbelief.

" You heard me. I have a surgery to attend. You can see yourself out of the hospital."

With that being said, Slade walked out on Sophia, his wife, the woman he once gave his heart to.