Chapter 2

I signed my name at the bottom of the divorce agreement, taking my time with every letter, then sent it to my attorney.

She quickly confirmed what I needed to know. "The agreement is valid. Once the mandatory thirty-day waiting period is over, the divorce can be finalized.

"If your husband refuses to transfer the assets as agreed, you can take him to court.

"With this agreement in place, I'd estimate your chances of winning at around ninety percent."

I thanked her and had just ended the call when a loud commotion erupted outside.

The next second, the bedroom door flew open with a bang.

Ryan stood in the darkness, soaked to the skin, his expression black with fury.

"Shay Moore, why did you use my phone behind my back?"

I paused, then calmly looked up at him.

His eyes locked on mine.

"I haven't contacted Winnie in months!" he demanded. "I did exactly what you wanted. I cut her out of my life and came back to this marriage. So why can't you leave her alone?"

Ryan stalked toward me. Lightning flashed outside, making the look in his eyes even more intimidating.

"Do you have any idea what happened because of that call? Winnie came rushing out to find me and fell so badly she couldn't even get up!"

His accusation was so ridiculous that I laughed.

"She fell, and somehow that's my fault too? What, did I push her?"

Ryan's hands curled into fists.

He looked furious.

I rose to my feet and met his gaze, speaking each word slowly and clearly.

"Since we're talking about it, let me correct one thing.

"I didn't call her because I wanted to do anything to her.

"I called because I wanted to tell her that I'm divorcing you."

Ryan froze.

Thunder rumbled outside, and the room sank into pitch darkness.

Behind him, Winnie limped into view.

The moment she heard what I'd said, excitement flashed across her face.

She opened her mouth, clearly about to say something, but Ryan gave a scornful laugh before she could.

"Shay, you don't need to tell such childish lies.

"You think threatening me with divorce is going to make me back down? Everyone knows how you practically lost your mind trying to keep this marriage together.

"Do you really expect me to believe you now?"

Winnie stopped short.

Then she stepped up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist.

Her voice turned feather-soft as she tried to soothe him.

"That's enough, Ryan. Don't say anything else. You'll only hurt Ms. Moore.

"I'm fine, so don't blame her. I only fell because I wasn't watching where I was going."

Then her voice trembled.

"It's my fault. I missed you too much. The second I saw your call, I couldn't control myself anymore...

"I wanted to see you. I wanted to see you so badly."

Ryan finally turned around and pulled her hard into his embrace.

He held her with such care, such fierce tenderness, that I realized I'd never once been held that way by him in all our years together.

My gaze moved past their tangled figures to the mess outside the bedroom.

Ryan and Winnie were both drenched from the rain. They had been in such a hurry when they came inside that neither of them had even changed their shoes, trekking mud all over the floor.

More than a dozen overlapping footprints stained Ryan's favorite white rug.

Ryan was obsessive about cleanliness.

He couldn't stand so much as a speck of dust or a single stray hair anywhere in the house.

Once, after I'd injured my leg in an accident, I'd asked him to pick up my shoes for me. He had covered them with tissues before touching them, his face twisted with obvious disgust.

And that white rug was even more precious to him.

His late grandmother had made it by hand, and it was one of the few things she'd left him.

He never let me step on it with slippers.

Not even brand-new ones.

But now...

One muddy footprint after another covered the white fabric.

Looking at them, I suddenly thought of our marriage.

Once something had been stained this badly, no amount of scrubbing could make it clean again.

I laughed bitterly and looked away.

By then, Ryan had already lifted Winnie into his arms.

Without the slightest hesitation, he took her mud-covered foot in his hand and looked at me.

"Bring me the first-aid kit."

He paused, then continued before I could respond.

"If you hadn't called her, Winnie wouldn't have rushed out to find me, and she wouldn't have gotten hurt.

"So whatever you're upset about, keep it to yourself.

"Starting today, Winnie is staying here until she recovers."

He lowered his gaze, hiding the emotion in his eyes.

"Don't worry. This won't affect our marriage.

"Once her injury heals, I'll take her back to Jadebrook myself. After that, I won't contact her again."

Then he looked back at me.

"And please don't pull another stupid stunt like this. You're only making it more obvious how jealous you are."