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.

RACHEL:

Closure. That was what I was here for when I decided to show up at the house which once felt like a home. Deep down I knew it was wrong timing but I still turned up nevertheless.

I stood at the entrance for such a long time while contemplating on whether or not to get in. In my hand was the small velvet box which contained the sapphire pendant that Austin's mother had given me then to welcome me into the family... A family I had no place in again.

Eventually, I stepped into the house, the eerie silence hitting me. My heels clicked softly against the polished marble floor as I began to find my way to the study where I intended to drop the small box with me.

Memories of the moments I once shared here with Austin slowly built its way into my head and I found myself longing for his presence. I was longing for what we once shared and I missed every moment of that.

I shook off the nostalgia that had hit me right when I reached the study. Immediately, I placed the small box on the wooden desk, turning around to leave as soon as I was done.

"You are back."

I knew that voice too well, so much that I stiffened when it hit my ears.

I turned around to see Austin standing by the doorway to the study. He was leaning by the doorframe with an exhausted expression. As exhausted as it was, it still looked unreadable.

As much as I would want to know what was going on with him due to his disheveled appearance, I had to act like I was indifferent and that was what I showed in my expression.

"I only came to return this," I said, gesturing toward the box on the desk which his gaze dropped to.

A flicker of recognition hit his face before his jaw suddenly tightened. "You don't have to," he said.

"I do," I responded immediately.

"You really don't, Rachel."

"It was given to me as a member of your family. I would soon desist from being a member again so why bother keep it?"

I was sure I made a good argument there because the silence between us stretched for a long time after I said that. We both simply stood in our positions with our gazes not leaving each other.

Austin eventually let out a sigh and stepped closer to me. "I know I hurt you, Rachel. I am not denying the fact that I did. But you're making this bigger than it needs to be," he let out the most ridiculous thing I must have heard him say in such a long time.

Bigger than it needs to be? The audacity from this man.

I couldn't help but let out a bitter laugh. "You let your mistress slap me in public. You defended her while she humiliated me. You've always chosen her over me, your wife. And you think I'm actually making this bigger than it needs to be?" I asked, my voice loud as I did.

"I was only trying to make things right."

"Make things right?" I repeated. "At the expense of my dignity?"

"We were in a place with dignified personalities. You didn't expect I let the situation longer on. It would have cost me a lot and I cannot afford that," he explained but it sounded like bullshit to me. And what he continued to say didn't even make sense to me, "I even wanted to fix things between us. Look, I got you something."

My brows were raised. "Something?"

Right at this moment, getting something from him was the least expected action. Not after I just returned the most important item I had with me which was given to me as a gift years back.

He walked over to the side desk and picked up a velvet box which was similar to the one I returned. He opened it to reveal a stunning diamond bracelet.

I blinked, looking from his face to the diamond bracelet which he held in his hands. "You really think jewelry is going to fix this problem between us? Is that how materialistic you think I am?" I asked in between disbelief and rage.

"I was only trying to—"

"Austin? Where are you? Are you ready?" That question cut him off. It drifted from the hallway and it was a familiar one. Chloe, no doubt.

Just in time, Chloe came into the study well dressed in a silk gown that clung to get curves, accentuating her figure. She noticed me and the smirk on her face was instant.

"Oh... You got her the same one?" Those were the first words she uttered and I had to look at the bracelet on her wrist and then back at the one Austin was holding.

I shook my head. Nothing was different with this man.

"And you really thought jewelry could fix this," I said in a rather shaky voice.

RACHEL:

I really didn't want to celebrate my birthday this year. Each year, I always got to play the role of Austin's wife as he invited the most elite guests from all over the city to grace the occasion while dressing me up in something that would always turn heads.

Probably why I didn't want the crowd or anything else for that matter if it hadn't been for Daniel's insistence to make it as grand as possible.

The penthouse used was that of his apartment and right now it was filled with music and laughter as guests drank and danced under the soft glow of chandeliers.

I tried my best to enjoy myself. To at least forget about everything and reel in the moment. But a part of me ached. I was waiting for someone that would not show up and I didn't know why.

I guess I was just not used to doing this without having him around. Maybe I missed him because tell me why my heart stupidly skipped a beat when he walked in.

The moment the doors swung open, I noticed something different about Austin. It wasn't the fact that he was with Chloe as usual, it was the way he was rather wobbly as his arm draped over her shoulders.

He was drunk. No one needed to tell me. And his presence actually caught the attention of people.

"Do you want me to kick them out?" Daniel's voice was right in my ear as he asked that question.

I forced myself to remain composed as I took in the sight before me. "No," I responded, swallowing hard as I did so. I had a glass of champagne in my hand which I took a sip from as I fixated my gaze on the two people looking a bit like a mess.

"Rachel—"

"I said no!" I snapped but not in a way that would scare Daniel off.

Kicking them out would mean that they got to me. I wasn't going to give them that satisfaction.

With my champagne glass still in my hand, I plastered a smile and walked slowly toward them.

"Austin," I called his name in the coolest way possible. "I didn't expect you to come."

I watched as struggled to focus on me. How much exactly did he have to drink?

"It's your birthday," he said.

"You do remember something about me?" I asked, rather surprised that he did.

Chloe, letting out a soft laugh, responded on his behalf: "Of course he does. He just needed a little encouragement to show up."

"Is this the encouragement?"

"What do you mean?"

I ignored her and locked eyes with Austin. "You're drunk," I pointed out.

"Maybe," he said, shrugging as a lazy smirk tugged at his lips.

I wanted to express my disappointment but that would mean I was revealing an emotion so I sucked it up.

"Enjoy the party. But don't do anything stupid," I said lightly and then turned to leave.

"Wait!" Chloe's voice rang out, halting me on my tracks.

I took my time before glancing back at them. "What?"

"I think he's had a not too much. Can you help take him upstairs so he could rest?"

I knew what she wanted to do. The widened smirk on her face said it all. Even on my birthday, she didn't want me to have a time to myself. Perhaps she thought me the weak woman who would take anything thrown at her.

I wasn't.

Still, I smiled sweetly and said, "Of course."

I stepped forward, grabbed Austin's wrist and then led him toward the stairs to find an empty room. I didn't miss the look that Daniel had on his face when I passed by his side.

"You shouldn't have come," I said plainly to Austin as soon I closed the door behind us to an empty room I found.

"I didn't plan to."

I watched as he rubbed his temple as if to soothe off a throb.

"Then why did you? Are you planning to make things even worse?"

"No, no," he muttered after a long silence.

Something in my chest tightened. I hated that he still made me feel this way. Hated that he made me feel like there was still something when there was none.

It was a good thing I knew better than to dwell on that.

"Get some rest. I'll have Daniel send you home," I declared, straightening up my posture as I turned to leave.

"Do you love him?"

I froze when his voice stopped me. That was sudden and definitely unexpected.

Slowly, I turned back. "What?"

"Daniel," he said, barely above a whisper. "Do you love him?"

I sensed the raw feeling attached to that question. How he wanted to know something. But I wasn't buying into that.

"It doesn't matter." Those were the only words that mattered.