On the other end of the line, Max went dead silent.

A few seconds passed before his voice came through again, rattled and unsteady.

"Madeline, what are you doing there? Who told you to go?"

"Why shouldn't I come?"

I shot back, my voice terrifyingly calm.

"Isn't this the house you told me was stalled in construction? I came to see for myself today. I wanted to know exactly what kind of 'stalled' we were talking about."

"And guess what I found?"

I paused, letting my gaze sweep over Abigail, then over the neighbors gathered around, and spoke slowly, enunciating every word:

"I found my home, decorated like a palace."

"I found my husband living here with his childhood sweetheart, playing house like a pair of lovebirds. And me? The legal wife? The neighbors thought I was the other woman."

"Max, don't you think you owe me an explanation?"

On the other end, Max's breathing grew ragged. He seemed to be scrambling to cover something up.

"Madeline, let me explain. It's not what you think. Abigail, she... she had nowhere to stay, so I just took her in."

I let out a cold laugh. "Max, do you really think I'm that stupid?"

Max went quiet for a long time. Then, all at once, he stopped pretending.

"Enough, Madeline!"

"Are you done?"

"Fine, I lied to you. So what?"

"You're the one who refused to give up your career. You insisted on keeping this long-distance thing going. I'm just a regular guy with regular needs."

"Madeline, don't flatter yourself."

"If it weren't for the fact that you had a government job, and my parents insisted I marry a girl with a stable position, do you honestly think I would've looked twice at you?"

I froze.

Max's family had once been distinguished intellectuals. Word was that one of his ancestors had placed third in the imperial civil service exams generations ago. Even now, with the family fortune long gone and barely any money to their name, they still carried themselves with an unbreakable sense of pride.

But that pride?

All it did was make people laugh.

It was my savings, over a hundred thousand dollars, that I'd handed over for him to invest, to start a small business. That was how the money started growing.

He hadn't even made it to the top yet.

But he already had the attitude of a man who had.

He even had the nerve to say "everyone in his circle" lived like this.

"Max, have you forgotten what you promised me?"

By the time Max arrived at Lakeview Manor, it was already dark.

He shooed the neighbors away and told Abigail to go downstairs. That left just the two of us in the room.

I pulled up the recording I'd kept pinned at the top of my phone. My eyes burned red as I tapped play and held it up in front of him.

His voice filled the room.

"I, Max Matthews, swear to God that I will marry no one but Madeline Henson in this lifetime. I will be faithful to her, without regret."

"If I ever break this vow, may lightning strike me down."

In the past, whenever he'd messed up or we'd had a fight, all I had to do was pull out this recording and he'd cave. He'd apologize in no time.

But now, the only thing in his eyes was disgust.

"That recording is ancient history. You're seriously digging that up? Don't you ever get tired of yourself?"

"Three years of long distance. What makes you think you can demand I stay faithful to you?"

"Compared to you, every girl out there is more fun and more lovable."

"Madeline, don't make me despise you even more. Don't push this to divorce."

I stared at the impatience in his eyes, and it felt like a thousand needles driving into my chest.

All these years I'd been with Max, my parents had adored him.

Good family background. Decent looks. Strong work ethic. A degree from a top university.

He'd checked every single box for their idea of the perfect son-in-law.

I'd always thought that if we worked hard together for a few years, we'd finally get to share a life.

I never expected that the only one working hard was me.

Max had checked out long ago, moving another woman into the home I'd paid for.

His heart hadn't been mine for a long time.

"You don't need to bring up divorce."

I took a deep breath and contacted a lawyer to draw up the papers.

"Max, I'm the one saying it first."

Max's back went rigid. He turned slowly, staring at me like I'd spoken a foreign language.

"Madeline, how far are you going to take this tantrum before you stop?"

"Quit making a scene. Men like me are a dying breed."

"You really think you'll find someone better after divorcing me?"

"Every guy out there is the same."

His voice dripped with absolute certainty.

He had one thing right.

Maybe the men out there were all the same, every last one of them.

But if I went through with this divorce, I had no intention of looking again.

Max still wasn't done. He leaned in closer, his mockery curling around me like smoke.

"Besides, who's going to want a divorced woman? Seriously, think about it."

"Fine. I'll admit I was in the wrong here."

"I'll tell Abigail to pack her things and move out. You can move in. Happy now?"

I said nothing. I just handed him the itemized statement I'd prepared.

"The $30,000 down payment on the house, plus the $20,000 in savings you told me to leave with you for safekeeping. Principal and interest. All of it."

"Unless you'd rather I stop worrying about your reputation and take this to court."

Max's eyes landed on the document. The corner of his mouth twitched.

"Madeline, are you serious right now?"

"We're husband and wife. We have a marriage certificate. You're really going to nickel-and-dime me like this?"

I didn't bother responding. I signed the divorce agreement, slid it across the table toward him.

"I'd suggest you sign this and pay up. Fast. The longer you wait, the worse it gets for you."

The color drained from Max's face as he watched me walk calmly out the door.

He muttered a curse under his breath and hurled a throw pillow at the couch.

What he didn't know was that the moment I stepped outside the building, I did one thing.

The hotel footage of Max and the young woman. The proof that my down payment had gone to a condemned property while he hid his childhood sweetheart in the home I'd funded. Every last detail.

I forwarded all of it to his company group chat and posted it across every platform I could find.

Within minutes, my phone was vibrating nonstop.