3.

Justin moved faster than I'd expected.

Or maybe it was just that he wanted the divorce done even more than I did.

The agreement arrived with a single line attached.

"Once this is settled, don't forget what you promised me."

I printed it out, then sent the digital copy to Stuart.

I'd give him seven days to pack up and move out, and I wouldn't come near him in the meantime.

The message had barely gone through when my phone started buzzing like mad.

I knew it was Stuart.

His name flashed on the screen, over and over.

The call would time out and cut off, and a second later a new one would come in.

Stuart was scared.

That much I could feel.

A full thirty calls later, I finally picked up, taking my time.

"What is it?"

"Shouldn't I be the one asking you that? I thought the divorce was just something you said in the heat of the moment, and now you send me an agreement that says I walk away with nothing? Have you lost your mind?"

I quietly held the phone away from my ear.

Even without seeing his face, I knew exactly how hysterical he was right now.

"Is there a problem?"

"Stuart, you've had it easy for too long and forgotten a few things. The place you live, the car you drive, which one of those didn't I pay for? What gives you any right to take them?"

After all these years together, only yesterday did I get the chance to sit down and go through the household accounts.

And only then did I finally realize that ninety-nine percent of everything this household spent had come out of my bank card.

Stuart's own money had barely been touched.

Every time in the past when I'd asked him to cover part of something, he'd say:

Isn't what's yours mine anyway? Why keep such careful tabs?

I'd taken it as some sweet little thing between a married couple, and, blinded by how much I loved him, I gave in and paid every single time.

Stuart's breathing grew heavier.

He knew he was in the wrong, and his tone softened.

"Syl, let's meet up, sit down and talk it through, okay?"

"After all these years together, can you really bring yourself to do this?"

Something in me twisted, hard.

Right.

All those years of giving.

I'd kept Stuart at the center of everything.

Growing up without parents, I'd craved love more than most.

His attention, his care, I'd held onto with both hands, and even when it meant swallowing my own hurt, I wouldn't let him go.

I'd lost myself a long time ago.

Which was exactly why, now, cutting my losses in time was the only right choice for me.

Rotten flesh only grows back new once you cut it out.

"Stuart, there's nothing left for us to talk about. If there's no problem with the agreement, sign it."

"I won't sign! And I sure as hell am not walking away with nothing!"

"Then I'll have to let my attorney, Justin Farley, talk to you instead."

With that, I hung up.

The moment I'd answered the call, I already knew Stuart would never agree.

Justin had given me a second option well ahead of time.

File for divorce.

He would handle it all on my behalf.

Thinking of that, I lowered my head and messaged him.

"Get the filing paperwork ready. The demand letter can go out to him tomorrow."

"Done."

A single short word came back.

These past two days, Justin and I hadn't talked about anything except handling the divorce.

At one point I'd almost forgotten that the condition for having him take my case was that I marry him.

While my mind was still wandering, the phone buzzed again.

"Tomorrow I'll take you to pick out a ring."

My mind went blank.

"I'm not even divorced yet. Isn't this too fast?"

His reply came quickly.

"No. This is a day I've waited a long time for."

4.

The next day, true to his word, Justin took me to pick out a diamond ring.

Ten carats.

If I hadn't put my foot down, he would have bought me something the size of a pigeon's egg.

"Are you sure it isn't too small?"

I looked up at the handsome face in front of me.

Unlike Stuart's soft, gentle features, Justin's looks carried a sharp edge to them, a beauty that didn't ask permission.

It was that beauty that made someone like Stuart, by comparison, look bland and forgettable.

My heart gave a hard jolt, and I dropped my eyes in a fluster, a strange thought surfacing:

Justin was hundreds of times better looking than Stuart. So why had I ever fallen for a man like him in the first place?

"This one is enough."

Justin nodded.

"As long as you like it."

Five small words, and my eyes quietly went hot.

Ever since Lily entered my life with Stuart, he had never said that to me again.

Instead, Lily became the one who heard it.

One offhand remark from her, and Stuart would buy her anything she wanted.

Using what he called our joint marital fund.

My fist clenched tight.

As my thoughts drifted, a warm strength suddenly closed around my hand.

"It'll all be over soon."

I steadied myself and followed Justin out of the jeweler's without a word.

Just like he said. It would all pass.

It would all be over soon.

Three days after Justin sent the attorney's letter, the court set a hearing date.

I got ready early that morning and went with Justin to the courthouse steps.

To my surprise, Stuart had arrived even earlier than I had.

Lily trailed behind him, unable to keep the smile off her face no matter how she tried.

The look on her face was worlds apart from Stuart's haggard, worn-out state.

I meant to walk past them and go straight in, but Stuart blocked my way.

His eyes were shot through with red.

"Syl, can we talk? Just one minute."

Off to the side, Lily's smile froze as she heard it.

Her nails dug hard into her own palm.

Watching it, all I felt was how ridiculous it was.

"Even if we're really getting divorced, at least give me a chance to explain. Can you do that?"

Stuart's expression was so earnest that for a moment it dragged me back to how we were when we first got together.

And my heart still moved.

"Fine. One minute."

Seeing me agree, Stuart let out a breath of relief.

I followed him to a corner off to the side.

The moment we stopped, his hand shot out and clamped down hard around my wrist.

"Lily— I can't hold it together anymore. Without you, there's no way I can handle those projects at the factory. My boss says if I can't turn in a decent project proposal, he's going to fire me!"

Inside, I laughed coldly.

A man like Stuart. I really couldn't give him a single opening.

I wrenched my hand out of his grip.

"So? What does that have to do with me?"

I said it flatly.

The look on Stuart's face froze.

Clearly he hadn't expected me to turn this cold.

After all, the old me had given him anything he asked for.

Stuart had the looks and the smooth, high-EQ talk, but his head was empty.

All those years, every proposal that pleased his superiors, I was the one who dug through the material late into the night and wrote it out, piece by piece.

You could say the position Stuart held today was one I, Sylvia Sinclair, had pushed him into.

I'd been certain that once he lost me, the pressure would come down on him.

I just hadn't expected the day to come this fast.

"Syl, we were husband and wife. Are you really going to stand by and watch me go under? Does it make you happy to see me fired?"

"What exactly did I do wrong that you have to take revenge on me like this!"

Stuart's voice rose, worked up.

I said nothing and looked down at my watch.

The second hand quickly swept a full circle.

"That's your minute. Don't ever contact me privately again."

With that, I turned to leave.

Stuart suddenly dropped to his knees, clinging to my hand and refusing to let go.

"Syl, I lost my mind, I let greed cloud my judgment. There's nothing between me and Lily, I only ever treated her like a little sister. Forgive me, please?"

Seeing that I wasn't moved, something resolute flashed through his eyes, and right there he raised his hand and started slapping himself like a madman.

Again. And again.

The crisp sound rang out around us.

To my own surprise, I looked at Stuart's swollen, reddening cheeks and felt not a single ripple inside, only that the whole thing was absurd.

A full fifty times.

Several red welts stood out across his face.

Seeing no reaction from me, he let his hand fall, deflated.

"Syl, is there really no chance at all?"

I couldn't stand to look at that face any longer.

From the very beginning, he was the one who did wrong.

"Stuart, since you insist on tearing through that last thin sheet of paper, then I'll give you what you want."