Chapter 3

"Guess."

I didn't tell her I'd seen an empty jewelry box in the storage compartment of her car.

She'd deliberately hidden the bracelet before going to see him.

Just so I wouldn't see it.

Chloe's face grew even paler.

"So what? It's just a regular bracelet, a gift from an old classmate. Do you have to be like this?"

I took a step closer to her.

"Chloe, you wore clothes I bought you, drove the car I bought you, to go see your ex-lover."

"He buys you a bracelet, and you happily accept it. What about me? Do you even remember my birthday last month?"

I stared hard at her, my mind replaying the day I’d excitedly booked a restaurant and returned home with the necklace you’d had your eye on for so long.

I called you, and you said you weren't feeling well, you'd been lying in bed all day.

"I believed you then. I canceled all my plans and came home to take care of you."

"But when I got home from work, there was a takeout receipt in the trash."

I spoke slowly, each word deliberate, my voice trembling.

"Chloe, you weren't unwell. You were just too lazy to celebrate my birthday."

Chloe's eyes welled up.

"Alex, I didn't forget..."

"Yes, you did." I cut her off. "Because you don't love me at all. You just married me to find a safe place to heal your heart after Jake broke it. I was just some kind of landlord, providing you with a roof over your head and food on the table."

The living room was terrifyingly silent.

Chloe's tears started to fall.

"No... Alex, it's not what you think..."

She tried to reach for my hand.

I pulled away.

"Don't touch me."

She froze.

It was the first time I'd spoken to her so harshly.

She started crying even harder.

"Jake and I really have nothing going on, we're just friends from the past..."

"The past?" I scoffed. "The moment he came back, you threw everything else out the window."

Chloe's phone suddenly rang.

She fumbled in her bag, pulling it out. The screen lit up with the name "Jake."

She didn't dare answer, nor did she dare hang up.

I looked at her.

"Go on, answer it. Why aren't you answering? Your old friend must be worried about you."

Chloe bit her lip until it was white.

Finally, she pressed the answer button and put it on speakerphone.

Jake's voice, laced with laughter, came through the phone.

"Chloe, are you home? If your husband dares to bully you, just tell me. I'm not someone to be trifled with."