Falling at Her Feet

The day I was discharged from the hospital after the car accident, Zachary Quinn brought something up out of nowhere."I found a great massage parlor recently. We should try it together sometime. I go there now and then when I need to unwind."I froze. Of all the things he could've said, I never expected him to mention that place. The place that I loathed with every fiber of my being.Zachary didn't seem to notice anything. Instead, he casually held my hand. "I know you have a thing against massage parlors, but you can't just assume they're all the same."Not everyone's like your dad, you know. You have to trust me. I only love you. Besides, holding onto stuff like that isn't good for you."But forgetting wasn't an option.Not when I could still hear my mother's ragged screams echoing in my head. Not when I could still see my father, red-faced and furious, shouting obscenities.Not when I could still picture the woman tangled up in the sheets, hiding as she was too ashamed to sh

I lay in bed, tossing and turning.This wasn't the first time I'd caught Zachary lying to me. But when did I first realize something was off? It was the day I woke up in the hospital after my car accident.Thinking back about it, I found it almost laughable. When I opened my eyes, there wasn't a single familiar face beside me.It wasn't until I asked the nurse to call Zachary that he finally showed up breathless, with hair a mess, and with a container of seafood chowder in his hand. One of his shirt buttons was fastened wrong as if he'd dressed in a hurry and hadn't even noticed.The Zachary I knew was never sloppy. His hair was always perfectly styled, and his clothes were always pressed and immaculate. It was rare to see him so unkempt. He told me he'd gone out to buy breakfast, estimating when I'd wake up so he could be there.But he forgot that by 11:00 am, breakfast hours were long over. And he also forgot that I was allergic to seafood.The truth was obvious. He was des

Ethan was silent for a few minutes before I heard his weary voice through the receiver."Sienna… I owe you an apology. But Zachary used the money I owed him for the house to threaten me. I didn't have a choice."Money. That was all it took for him to become Zachary's best accomplice.All those nights where Zachary didn't come back, the ones I thought he had spent drinking with Ethan—he had actually been with a woman.Zachary was never the type to share about his life. Yet, for some reason, he had casually brought up that massage parlor.Guilt. He felt guilty.But more than that, he wanted to see how I would react. That was why, when I told him I had no interest in going, he sighed in relief. He thought that as long as I hated that place, I would never set foot inside.That way, I would never find out what he was doing. But secrets could never stay buried forever."I shouldn't have helped him. And I shouldn't have lied to you. Zachary was so scared I'd tell you that he even dele

Zachary pulled his hand back, and his voice softened. "She works at the massage parlor next door. We just know each other and decided to grab a coffee."Monday, a massage parlor, and casually stepping out for coffee with an employee.Not even a half-decent lie, huh? He couldn't be bothered to make it sound convincing.Tiffany's pitiful cries filled the air. "Ms. Parker, please don't get the wrong idea! We really just… ran into each other. Please, just let Mr. Quinn take me to the hospital first. My stomach really hurts. Please, I'm begging you."Cold sweat dripped down her forehead, and her voice grew weaker with each cry. By the time she finished, she was barely holding herself up. The commotion had already drawn a crowd.Zachary hated being caught in an embarrassing situation. The more eyes on us, the darker his expression became. "Sienna, she really is in pain," he said.I waved a hand dismissively, confused. "And what does that have to do with me? You brought her here, an

I pulled out my phone and showed Zachary the screenshots I'd taken from the videos, along with Tiffany's Facebook page.I was even kind enough to spare him some dignity—I didn't shove the explicit videos of Tiffany with other men in his face and let them play on a loop.His face paled as he grabbed my phone, frantically trying to delete everything.I let out a dry laugh. "You don't actually think I don't have backups, do you? I've got as many copies as you'd like."The divorce papers are in the drawer. Take them out and sign them. This is what's best for everyone."He stared at me, jaw clenched, before forcing a smirk. "Sienna, look at you. You've really learned a thing or two, huh?"With a cold chuckle, Zachary yanked the drawer open. The divorce papers lay there, untouched, as if they'd been waiting for him all along. I had them drawn up the day I found out he was cheating.He flipped through them lazily, pausing for an extra second at the asset division before scrawling his n