RACHEL:

"How are you holding up?" Daniel asked after picking up on the first ring.

It has been a day since I left Austin's office. And right now, I needed a distraction. I needed comfort from the hollow ache in my chest lest it gets worse.

"Fine," I hesitated.

"You don't need to lie to me, Rachel. I know you're not fine," Daniel said, his tone soft.

I signed, sinking into the couch. "I just didn't expect him to sign the papers without a second thought. He didn't even read anything in it. Is that how much he doesn't want to be with me any more?"

There was a long pause before Daniel responded. "You knew he was going to act all insensitive."

"Yes. But it doesn't mean it hurt any less," I had to say.

"What can I do to get your mind off all of that for now?"

"Just talk to me."

And that was what we did. The conversation completely shifted from the divorce to work and then to very random conversations. I found myself laughing for the first time in weeks and for a fleeting moment, I let myself believe I could move on.

Reality wasn't that kind though. Because tell my later in the evening, my phone buzzed with a notification from an Instagram post which tagged my name. And when I clicked it, it had to be Chloe tagging me.

Yes, Chloe. The same Chloe that Austin has been spending time with.

Although I was initially skeptical about viewing the content of what she tagged me to, I eventually did only to see her leaning into Austin, a smugness plastered on her face accompanied with a sly smirk.

The caption to the post read 'Mine now'. How creative.

This was what I got for stupidly following her in return after she followed me some weeks back. I could have just ignored it but now I was letting myself suffer. And the comment section didn't help matters.

"Pathetic," I muttered, tossing my phone away from me. I didn't want to keep looking at it.

I needed to erase Austin completely from my life I wanted to be free of him. I couldn't jeep a trace of him around me if I wanted to close this chapter of my life.

So I ventured to looking for his things. Anything that belonged to him needed to be discarded as fast as possible. This was for my healing.

"Ma'am, are you alright?"

I was startled by that and I had to quickly turn around to see Miriam, my housekeeper, standing at the entrance of my bedroom with a concerned expression. I didn't even hear her come in.

"Oh yes, I am," I said, forcing a smile. I was certain my words hadn't been entirely convincing. "Do you have something to tell me?"

She didn't push even though concern was still etched on her face. "I just came her to tell you that dinner was ready," she said.

"Thank you. I'll be down in a bit."

She nodded and walked out of the room. I exhaled slowly immediately she did. It was a hard job trying to stay calm at this point.

I continued with what I was doing and before I knew it, I had a pile of Austin's things waiting in the hallway and ready to be discarded. Only then did I head down to get dinner.

__________

"A private auction in Paris..." I read out the most important part of the invitation I received from Austin earlier this morning.

The universe wasn't done testing me, was it? When I thought to find a way to clear this man's existence from my life, I had to receive this from him.

I would have ignored it if the organizer of the auction hadn't caught my attention — the very powerful Mr. Langley, a man I had admired for years. He only hosted private auctions for the elite and I had always dreamed of attending one.

This would be a way to get in touch with him and get him to collaborate with my plans to strength Daniel's company. Even though Austin's invitation wasn't out of kindness, I needed to use it to my advantage.

"You can't be serious," Daniel said when I called him to tell him. "You know it's a setup."

"I know," I admitted. "But it's a chance to meet Langley. Think of the opportunities we could get from this."

"It's not about the opportunities, Rachel. There's Austin you need to worry about."

"I don't care about Austin," I hissed.

"What are you going to do when you meet him there?"

"I know he plans to humiliate me. And it doesn't change the fact that I still want to go. Look, I need to do this for our best interest."

"While ignoring your personal interest. Great move there." I didn't miss the sarcasm in his voice when he said that.

"I'll be fine, Daniel. Trust me."

Although I said that with conviction, I didn't believe it. Still, I was willingly stepping into an inevitable storm.

RACHEL:

The moment I stepped off the plane in Paris, I felt the weight of my decision. The city, although with its timeless beauty and intoxicating charm, was another battlefield, one which I had brought myself into out of my own will.

Austin's driver was waiting for me at the airport. I wanted to decline the ride at first but it would seem like I was holding grudges so I accepted it, sliding into the back seat of the car with a bit of composure.

That composure faltered when I arrived at the hotel I was to stay in. Right there, I saw Austin and Chloe together in front of the same hotel. Chloe leaned toward him, her fingers brushing over his arm as they spoke.

As soon as the both saw me, their expressions switched to something different. I was indifferent and would be in order to not give them the satisfaction of a reaction.

"You're staying here?" he asked. There was disdain in his tone, making it seem like the idea of me existing in the same space as him was an inconvenience.

I remained unbothered as I responded: "It's a free country."

Chloe let out a mocking laugh which actually infuriated me. "Of course, darling. It's definitely a free country, isn't it?" she said.

I was going to say something that would have most likely damaged by indifference until someone stepped in.

"Sorry, I'm late," the person said and I turned to the side to see that it was Daniel.

The surprise that filled up my expression was actually swift. But I didn't let it linger for long as relief flushed my system. He had such an impeccable timing in his perfectly tailored suit and I was grateful for it.

"Shall we?" he asked, offering me his arm which I took immediately.

My gaze landed on Austin whose expression darkened. Clearly, he wasn't enjoying the scene.

As soon as we were a distance away from them, I couldn't help but ask Daniel: "How come you're here? You never mentioned you were coming to Paris."

He smiled. "I couldn't let you do this alone. As much as you think this is for you alone, I'll have to remind you that it's for both of us."

I guess he was right.

______________

The auction was indeed a grand affair. The hall was adorned with magnificent golden chandeliers and velvet drapes and was as exactly as I had imagined it to be.

The elegance, the sophistication, the power... It was perfect.

Daniel followed me to grace the occasion and I had to do my best to focus on the event. I wasn't going to get consumed by thoughts of Austin and Chloe's presence. Especially not this night.

I didn't miss the signs of them planning to torment me. From Chloe making pointed comments whenever I was within hearing, to Austin standing too close to her as if she was everything to him.

Austin took things a bit too far when he body on an exquisite diamond necklace. It was a necklace I recognized immediately because it was a piece I had once admired.

Was this his way of getting back at me? I guess it is. When the hammer fell and the anchor called out that it was 'sold', I almost lost it all. Austin just had to capitalize on my hurt by turning to Chloe and fastening the necklace around her neck.

"Do you want to leave?" Daniel whispered into my ear while I watched with a glass of champagne on my lips.

"I'm fine," I said even as the knot in my stomach tightened.

I wasn't going to run from this. I was going to face it head on. I knew why I came here and that was going to be my main focus.

During a break, Chloe just had to walk to me and corner me close to the balcony.

"I really don't know why you're here, Rachel. But if you don't get it, Austin is mine now. So stop making a fool of yourself and just leave," she said, swirling the champagne in her glass as she smiled in a way that disturbed me.

I looked at the necklace fastened around her neck and then back to her face. "Who's making the fool of herself if not you who's so bothered about someone that just came to enjoy the night? Desperation really suits you, Chloe."

My words got to her. And I saw it from the flash in her eyes. What I didn't expect was for her to raise her hand and slap me.

The sound echoed and gasps instantly filled the air. I could feel my cheek burning but I didn't give her the satisfaction of a reaction.

I held back the will to hit her back. And that was when Austin suddenly stepped forward, placing himself between us.

"That's enough, Rachel!" he barked coldly, making it seem like I had provoked the attack.

I was no longer able to hide my expression. My breath caught as I realized how much I had lost this man.

How pathetic.

RACHEL:

Chloe's slap burned on my cheek but it was nothing compared to the sting of Austin's words.

"That's enough, Rachel!" He had barked. And it wasn't to Chloe but to me.

Me.

I was frozen on the spot as my heart hammered against my chest. Hearing Chloe whimpering like she had been wronged while she stood behind Austin only made me irritated. That irritation was mostly clouded by the pain I was feeling from Austin's action.

The worst part about it all was that he didn't push her away. Even as she gripped his arm possessively, he didn't turn her away. He instead patted her hand as if to console her.

"Austin?" My voice couldn't let me speak as coherent as I should but I managed to. "Are you really going to do this?"

His jaw tightened as his demeanour became even colder than it was before. "Am I going to do what? Watch as you pick on Chloe?"

Pick on Chloe? What is he talking about?

"She just slapped me and the only thing you can say is that I'm picking on her?" I asked, mostly surprised than hurt.

"If you hadn't provoked her, she wouldn't have done that. I would suggest that you leave it, Rachel. Walk away now," he said.

I wanted to scream. I wanted to lash out at him and demanded answers but what was the point? What answers do I want to get from a man who had chosen his side and it wasn't me?

I was still contemplating what to say next. My thoughts were mixing up with the murmurs from the crowd around as they focused on the center of attention which was us. How much I hated it.

Daniel suddenly appeared by my side, his presence bringing forth a sort of comfort I needed at that moment.

"Let's go," he murmured into my ear and placed a firm hand on my back.

I didn't protest as he began to guide me out of the hall. My body was numb as we did so and I had to force myself not to look back at Austin and his lover.

I didn't need to because one thing was certain — Austin wouldn't come after me.

_____________

The flight back to New York was awfully quiet. Daniel insisted on going back with me and so I had him sitting beside me on the plane.

I could hear his fingers drumming against the armrest occasionally. I knew he was waiting for me to speak but I didn't. I couldn't bring myself to as my thoughts were tangled. It was the same way I hardly said a word to him last night as well as he drove me to the hotel which I stayed in.

My head kept replaying every moment at the auction over and over again, mostly focusing on the one scene that had ruined my mood. How Austin had been so quick to defend Chloe even though I was still his wife.

How did we end up here? How did the man who once chased me relentlessly suddenly decided not to have any affection for me? Is that how the whole love thing works?

Nothing could make the hurt I felt any less. I couldn't even take the thought off my head and neither could I get answers to my questions.

I was going to head straight for a taxi when we landed until Daniel held me back by the arm. He turned me around to face him and I noticed the hint of hesitation on his expression.

"Stay with me tonight," he said, finally breaking the silence between the two of us.

My brows were instantly raised. "What? Why?"

His expression was unreadable. "It's just for tonight. I don't want you to be alone and it's going to eat me up so bad if I let you be all by yourself," he said, concern lacing in his tone.

I wasn't sure whether to say no or accept his offer as tempting as it was. I don't need to be taken care of but there was a part of me that actually wanted that treatment. A part that was exhausted and was barely holding itself together.

"Just for tonight," I said, reiterating his last statement as I agreed to his words.

As soon as I took a step forward to leave with him, my phone buzzed with a notification. I wanted to ignore it but then I found myself glancing at the screen of my phone.

It was a post from Chloe with Alexander sitting beside her. 'Finally some peace' was the caption and I felt a bile rising in my throat. It didn't shock me to see that Austin already liked the post.

I sighed, putting my phone back into my bag. I guess I was just practice to him.