Chapter 2

I was so furious I almost laughed. Even now, Melanie and Hayden were still trying to take advantage of me.

Melanie went quiet for a few seconds before saying, "Alex might not go along with it. And since we're married, I might not be able to hide the loan from him. What do we do if he finds out?"

Hayden was silent for a long moment before finally answering, "Then we might as well go all the way."

Before Melanie could ask what he meant, he hung up. She stayed in the study and didn't come out.

15 minutes later, the doorbell rang.

It was Hayden.

He stood on the doorstep, looking down at me with a slight smile. "Alex, I need to talk to you."

Before I could answer, he walked right past me into the living room. He stopped in the middle of the room and looked the place over, as if he were already picturing himself living there.

At the sound of his voice, Melanie hurried out of the study.

Her voice was tense. "What are you doing here this late?"

She kept shooting Hayden looks, but he ignored her and turned to me.

"Alex, I'll be honest with you. Melanie and I have been together for four years."

"Hayden, are you crazy?" Melanie shouted.

Then she quickly turned to me. "Honey, don't listen to him. He's making it up."

"I'm not making anything up!" Hayden yelled.

"Melanie, there's no point hiding it anymore. Alex, Melanie only married you because I went abroad to study. Her mom was in the hospital at the time, and you were running around the hospital taking care of everything.

"Her mom thought you were dependable, so she told Melanie she should marry you. If Melanie hadn't wanted to put her mom's mind at ease, she never would've married you. You were just there to take my place after I left. You get it now?"

Seven years ago, Melanie's mom had been diagnosed with uterine fibroids and needed a total hysterectomy.

I worked during the day and stayed by her bedside at night for 12 straight days.

The day she was discharged, she took my hand and said, "Alex, you're a good man. I know Melanie will be in good hands with you."

Melanie stood beside her with her head down, saying nothing. I thought she was shy.

It turned out she just didn't want to marry me.

I gave a bitter smile.

I'd thought I couldn't be hurt by anything involving the two of them anymore. When Hayden told me they'd been together for years, I hadn't felt any more hurt than I already did.

But those words still hit me like a bucket of ice water.

I'd always assumed Melanie started cheating after we got married, and that she'd accepted my proposal because she loved me.

Only now did I realize that seven years ago, I'd been nothing more than her backup plan.

I asked Melanie one last question. "Is what he said true?"

Her lips moved, but she said nothing. Her gaze shifted between Hayden and me as if she were weighing her options before making a final decision.

"Then let's get divorced."

I looked calm, but I was already doing the math in my head.

She was planning to start applying for online loans tomorrow. If she applied through three or four platforms at once, she could borrow at least 300,000 dollars, if not 400,000.

If I finalized the divorce before she took out those loans, none of that debt would be my responsibility.

"No!"

Tears spilled down Melanie's cheeks.

I froze, and Hayden did too.

Melanie cried, "I don't want a divorce! Alex, I know how good you've been to me all these years. You make me warm milk every day, rub my shoulders, and no matter how late I get home from work, you always make me something to eat.

"I-I don't want to lose you. How about this? You can have the marriage, and he can have my love. We can keep living the way we always have. I'll just go see him once in a while—"

"That's enough," I cut her off, my stomach churning.

I fought down the nausea and turned to Hayden. "She may have no shame, but surely you do. She and I are still legally married, so what exactly are you doing showing up here?

"Are you her neighbor? Her friend? Or the other man? You were shouting like you had every right to, but you couldn't even get her to make things official with you. You really think she loves you?"