"Look at what you've done. If you hadn't thrown that tantrum, Rebecca never would have sprained her ankle."

"Go home by yourself. I'm taking her to the hospital."

"You'd better pray her foot is fine."

With that, Mick scooped Rebecca into his arms and walked away without a backward glance.

I stood there alone, watching until they disappeared from sight.

I stared down the empty street, my nose stinging, tears threatening to fall.

It's too late at night. It's not safe for a girl to be out alone.

That was what he'd said about her. But what about me? Was I safe?

When I got home, my gaze landed on the suitcase.

Then I'll leave tonight. Mick wouldn't be coming back anyway.

Before I left, I went to the study, printed out a divorce agreement, signed my name, and placed it on the coffee table in the living room.

Goodbye, Mick.

My sister lived abroad year-round. I had no other place to stay in the country, so all I could do was check into a hotel and wait for her to come get me.

Too much had happened today. Sleep was the furthest thing from my mind.

I pulled out my phone and opened a short-video app, only to notice an unread message in my inbox.

I tapped it. An account I didn't recognize had shared a video with me.

In the video, Mick sat beside a hospital bed, gently cradling a foot and blowing softly on it.

The toenails were painted a delicate pink. Unmistakably a woman's foot.

I scrolled to the comments.

"Only Rebecca could make our Mr. Graves this worried, huh?"

"What happened to Rebecca? A night like this should be worth a fortune, but that looks like a hospital?"

"Bro, you clearly don't get it. Looks like things got a little too intense tonight—had to take it all the way to the ER, lol."

…

After reading those comments, there was nothing left for me to misunderstand.

Rebecca and Mick's relationship had been an open secret for a long time.

I was the only one who hadn't known.

I watched the man in the video, brow furrowed, blowing gently on that foot, and my heart sank. Then it sank further.

On our wedding day, when he'd come to take me to the ceremony, Mick had kissed the top of my foot and made me a solemn vow, word by word.

"The kiss on the foot means that every road in this life, I will walk beside you."

"Madeline, I, Mick Graves, swear I will never betray you."

"In this life. In every life."

Three years ago, he had done that for me and carried me into our home as his bride.

Three years later, he was doing it for Rebecca. And I had already left that home.

A bitter smile tugged at the corner of my lips. I typed Congratulations in the comment section, then locked my phone.

I stayed in that hotel for two full days.

Early on the morning of the third day, I was jolted awake by heavy pounding on the door.

I opened it. Standing in the hallway was Mick.

The moment he saw it was me, his face went dark. He shoved past me into the room, eyes scanning every corner as if searching for something.

"I checked the location on your phone. You've been at a hotel these past few days, haven't you?"

"Where is he? Where's the guy you're screwing?"

"I have to hand it to you, Madeline. The second I walk out the door, you run off to get a room with someone else. I really underestimated you."

Mick and I had shared the same phone account for years. I'd completely forgotten he could track my location.

His words hit me like a slap, and I snapped.

"Mick, don't be so disgusting! Just because you're garbage doesn't mean the rest of the world is dirty too!"

"Get out! Get the hell out of here!"

He searched the room thoroughly. Only after he'd confirmed there wasn't a single trace of another man did his tone soften.

"Enough already. You hit me, fine. But it's been two days. Why are you still holding a grudge?"

"Are you mad because I didn't come home that night? What was I supposed to do? Rebecca's my employee. You think I could just leave her alone at the hospital?"

"Besides, she sprained her ankle because of you. She's not even mad at you, so can you just drop it?"

I slapped him across the face as hard as I could.

"She's mad at me? What right does she have to be mad at me? Get out. Now."

"Her ankle is my fault? Did I push her?"

"Mick, if you think the last ten years between us meant anything at all, you'll get out of my sight right now."

The slap caught him completely off guard. He was about to fire back, but then he looked up and saw my face, and the fight drained out of him.

"Maddie, that was wrong of me. I shouldn't have said that. Don't be angry."

"I'm going, I'm going. Don't make yourself sick over this. If you want to stay at the hotel, stay. Just call me when you've calmed down."

"Take care of yourself. Make sure you eat..."

I shoved him out the door and slammed it shut, cutting off whatever he hadn't finished saying.

I thought I'd get at least a couple of days of peace.

But that evening, when I stepped out of the hotel to grab dinner, Mick and Rebecca were standing right in front of me.

The moment she saw me, Rebecca grabbed my hand.

"Madeline, please stop being angry at Mick. Go home with him."

"I already told him off. My sprained ankle was my own fault for being careless. How could he blame you for that?"

"Please don't be upset anymore. If you keep being angry, I really won't know what to do with myself."

Her words sounded like an apology, but every sentence was designed to broadcast how close she and Mick really were.

When I didn't respond, irritation crept across Mick's face.

"Are you really going to keep this up? The second Rebecca heard you hadn't come home, she rushed over to apologize. Why are you still acting so above it all?"

"She's the one who came home late that night. She's the one who sprained her ankle. And somehow you're the one who's upset."

"Even if you're still angry, we've both apologized now. That should be enough."

I didn't look at Rebecca. My gaze was fixed on Mick's face.

"Have you been home at all these past three days?"

He froze. A flicker of panic crossed his expression before he cleared his throat and raised his voice.

"Rebecca was discharged the next day and went home. Where else would I be?"

"If I hadn't gone home, how would I know you haven't been there for days?"

"Madeline, can you stop being so paranoid? I'm exhausted every single day. Do I really need to deal with your irrational moods on top of everything else?"

Listening to him, all I wanted to do was laugh.

Even now, he was still lying.

The divorce papers were sitting on the coffee table in the living room. If he'd gone home, there was no way he could have missed them.

Which meant Mick hadn't set foot in that house in three days.

The realization sharpened my gaze, and that was when I noticed it: a red mark on Rebecca's neck. A hickey, unmistakable, just above her collar.

But before I could say a word, a group of women came barreling straight toward us. They looked like they meant business.

They pointed in our direction, voices loud enough to carry down the block.

"That's her! She's the shameless homewrecker!"

"She seduced our Maddie's husband! Get her! Get her!"

"Don't let her run! Women like her who destroy families need to be taught a lesson!"

They closed in fast. The one in front grabbed a fistful of Rebecca's hair and yanked her to the ground in one swift motion.

The instant Rebecca hit the pavement, the rest of them swarmed in, fists and feet flying.

"Homewrecker! That's what you get for seducing someone else's husband!"

"You think you can steal our Maddie's man? We'll beat you senseless!"

"A shameless tramp like you, throwing yourself at married men—you're not fit to lick Maddie's shoes!"

Rebecca clutched her head, rolling on the ground, trying to dodge the fists raining down from the women.

"Mr. Graves! Mr. Graves, help me!"

"Maddie, how could you do this to me? There's nothing between me and Mr. Graves!"

"I came here to apologize to you! How could you do this?"

Mick tried to push through, but the women were ferocious. He couldn't get past them.

Hearing Rebecca's screams, Mick whipped around in a fury and jabbed a finger at me.

"Madeline! I really underestimated you!"

"You hired people to beat her up? There's nothing between her and me—how could you stoop this low?"

"You're out of your mind! You're a lunatic! A psycho!"

I was just as stunned by the whole scene. I rushed forward and grabbed Mick's arm.

"It wasn't me. I swear it wasn't me. I didn't do this."

"I don't even know those women. How could I have sent them to attack someone?"

"It really wasn't me, Mick. You know me—if I'd done it, I'd own up to it."

But Mick was beyond reason. He wrenched his arm free with brutal force.

"You don't know them? You have the nerve to say you don't know them?"

"They're screaming about beating up a homewrecker—every word out of their mouths is about defending you—and you're going to stand there and say you don't know them?"

"Madeline, you make me sick!"

The force of his shove sent me stumbling backward. I lost my footing and hit the ground.

We'd been standing right at the curb. Before I could get up, a car came barreling toward me, completely out of control.

My head slammed against the concrete steps at the edge of the road.

Something warm spread beneath my skull, pooling and seeping outward.

The sudden accident scattered the women. They bolted in every direction.

Through blurred vision, I watched Mick scoop Rebecca into his arms, his face twisted with panic.

I gathered every last ounce of strength and stretched my hand toward him.

"Mick... help me..."