Chapter 3

Liam didn't return all night.

At four in the morning, my phone vibrated.

I opened Ins and saw a new post from Chloe.

In the photo, she was sitting on a lounge chair on the hotel terrace, her knee bandaged, holding a champagne flute.

Liam stood behind her, leaning slightly close to her shoulder, a radiant smile on his face.

"So lucky to have your company in a foreign land."

I turned off my phone and booked the earliest flight back to New York.

As I boarded, a video from an unknown number popped up.

In the video, a man and a woman were tangled on a bed, kissing passionately, utterly lost in each other.

Though their faces were somewhat blurred, I instantly recognized the man.

I pressed my lips together and powered off my phone.

When the plane landed, I turned on my phone, and immediately a dozen missed calls and messages flooded in, all from Liam.

I was about to turn it off again when his call came through.

"Avery!" His voice was laced with obvious anger. "Where are you? Why did you suddenly come back?"

"Suddenly?" My tone was calm. "I thought I made myself perfectly clear."

"Just because I went to take care of Chloe last night, you just abandoned me and left?"

His voice suddenly rose, sharp and accusing.

"Do you have any idea how worried I was, alone in that hotel?"

I laughed sardonically.

"I saw you and Chloe were having a grand old time. You even posted on Ins. Did you really have time to worry about me?"

A momentary silence on the other end, then his voice came back, with a hint of guilt.

"She posted?"

"The photo's really well taken, from every angle, and the mood? Flawless," I said coldly.

"Avery, do you have to be so passive-aggressive?"

"Chloe fell and got hurt last night. I just went to help her with her injury!"

"As her boss and her friend, I have an obligation to take care of her."

My patience evaporated. I scoffed, "Liam, don't take me for a fool."

"You're being completely irrational!"

"Chloe and I have nothing going on. You're just overthinking things, always jumping to the most disgusting conclusions!"

"You know exactly what's going on, Liam. Just wait for my divorce settlement."

"Avery!" A trace of panic finally entered his voice. "Are you really going to divorce me over a few trivial matters?"

"Maybe it's a 'small matter' to you, Liam, but for me, it's my absolute breaking point. My non-negotiable."

I could hear his ragged breathing on the other end. He seemed about to say something else.

But I didn't give him the chance. I hung up.

The next day, as if to deliberately provoke me, Liam frequently posted on Ins.

Sometimes it was photos of him and Chloe at a restaurant, sometimes it was him showing off gifts he'd received, with a caption that dripped with ambiguous affection.

"Thanks for the surprise, someone special. All the hard work and stress are worth it."

I swiped past it, my face emotionless, and sent him the divorce agreement with the assets clearly divided.

Liam's call came almost immediately.

"Avery, what the hell is this? You actually think I can't live without you, don't you? You'll regret this!"

I didn't bother to reply. I just hung up and blocked his number.

Seven days later, on a stormy night, I was hanging out at my best friend's place.

A video from an unknown number popped up again.

In the video, Chloe was wearing my silk slip, holding a glass of red wine, looking up at the large wedding photo of Liam and me.

A sneering laugh played on her lips. On the bed, the rumpled sheets were strewn with underwear I'd bought for Liam.

A cold, blinding fury ripped through me.

Liam and I weren't even divorced yet, and she'd brazenly moved into my home, acting like she owned the place.

This was beyond insulting!