Chapter 2

Adrian blocked my path at the entrance to the funeral home. "Taylor, did you follow me here?"

"You really think the world revolves around you, don't you? If I were going to stalk someone, I'd stalk Kyle."

Claire's gaze shifted to Kyle, and she gave him a long once-over.

She'd always had a thing for younger men. Adrian must've been what happened when she got desperate enough to stop being picky.

"Taylor, who's this?" she asked.

"Why do you care?"

She bit her lip. "I'm just worried you might be getting played. You're so much older than he is."

I laughed. "He's only six years younger than me, and that's a big age gap? You're 11 years younger than Adrian. So what does that make dating him, charity work?"

People nearby were already starting to look our way.

Claire's eyes immediately reddened.

Adrian was a sucker for that routine. He stepped in front of her and shielded her behind him. "Taylor, stop picking on her."

My stomach turned.

We'd been married for five years, and even when I had surgery, Adrian had never been this worried about me.

But Claire's eyes had barely reddened, and suddenly he acted like everyone was picking on her.

I pulled out my phone. "Adrian, let's get a divorce."

He froze.

Claire's eyes lit up.

"Are you done making a scene?" Adrian snapped.

"I'm not making a scene."

"You saw me with Claire, so now you're threatening divorce just to make me give in?"

Adrian lowered his voice. "She's pregnant. The baby is mine."

I looked at Claire's stomach. It was still flat. The whole thing felt absurd.

"How far along is she?"

"Six weeks."

I pulled up the calculator on my phone. "Six weeks ago, you said you had to go out of town for a client. That was our wedding anniversary."

Adrian hesitated. "I'll explain later."

"Don't bother. The house is mine. I owned it before we got married, and I own the floral studio outright. Your company shares and the savings we've accumulated during the marriage will be divided according to the law.

"And the house, car, and bags you bought Claire? I'll make sure I get them all back."

Claire panicked. "Mr. Zeller chose to give me those things!"

I looked at her. "He paid for them with money that belonged to both of us. Sweetheart, if you're going to help yourself to someone else's husband, at least learn the law first. You might think you're getting a free meal, only to end up stuck with the bill."

Adrian snatched the phone out of my hand. "You've been checking my account?"

"It's a joint account. Why wouldn't I?"

"Taylor, do you really have to make this so ugly?"

I snatched his phone and slammed it onto the ground. The screen cracked with a sharp snap.

"This is ugly."

"You!"

I pulled a hundred-dollar bill from my purse and slapped it against his chest. "There. That's for the phone. If it's not enough, ask Claire to chip in."

Then I slipped my arm through Kyle's again. "Let's go."

Adrian shouted after me, "Don't regret this!"

I didn't look back. "My biggest regret is not getting my eyes checked before I married you."

Once we were in the car, I let out a long breath.

Kyle didn't start the car right away.

"You didn't cry," he said.

"Didn't I tell you? My pride won't let me."

"No one's around now."

"You are."

He pulled a box of tissues from the glove compartment. "I just think you look pretty ugly trying so hard to hold it in."

I swatted at him, and he laughed as he dodged me.

The tension in the car eased, and that was when the tears finally came. I turned toward the window and wiped at my face, but the tears just kept coming.

"Adrian wasn't always like this. When he was trying to win me over, he came by the flower shop after work every day to help me carry flowers.

"He knew I hated the cold, so he'd turn on the electric blanket for me ahead of time. And when my mom died, he was the one who stayed by my side."

I clenched my jaw. "He used to be good to me. That's why I don't understand how he turned into someone like this."

Kyle didn't try to comfort me, and he didn't give me some speech about how all men were trash. He simply pulled over and waited quietly until I finished crying.

Five minutes later, I pulled the last tissue from the box. "We're out of tissues."

"There's more in the trunk."

"Why do you keep so many tissues in your car?"

"My dad's funeral."

I froze. "I'm sorry."

"It's fine."

He paused before adding, "Besides, your crying was more convincing than mine."

I burst out laughing and nearly blew a snot bubble.

Kyle looked at me, amused too.

"Taylor."

"Hmm?"

"Crying isn't embarrassing. Wasting your tears on a man who isn't worth them is."

I wiped my face. "Got it."

"Where to now?"

"The mall."

"You're still buying clothes?"

"Of course."

I pulled out a mirror and touched up my lipstick.

"I'm done crying. Time to go make some money."