Chapter 1

A fresh set of divorce papers with Maeve Sinclair's name signed on it was shoved at me.

It was that same game. She was starting it again at Dad's funeral, just after I'd lost my only family.

I looked at her, at the beautiful face.

For the past three years, every time she brought out those papers, I would play along by crying and questioning until she finally laughed, tore the papers to shreds, and coaxed me back.

She called it fun, a way to keep our marriage fresh, and I believed her.

But right now, Dad was lying in his casket.

Before he passed, he held my hand tight and fixed his eyes on the door. He was waiting for Maeve, his daughter-in-law, whom he'd always treated like his own flesh and blood, to show up for one last goodbye.

But she never came.

Standing before him, I gave him a farewell kiss before turning around to take the pen from Maeve.

Instead of crying or screaming, I signed my name, letter by letter, under her watchful eyes.

"Done."

Maeve froze.

The breakdown she expected never happened. Instead, I stood before her, looking eerily calm.

"Nolan Woodward, what are you playing at now?" she asked, frowning in annoyance.

The young man beside her, Zane Kirk, sensed the shift in the air. He tightened his grip on her arms and said, "Maeve, do you think he's just too mad?"

I ignored them, folded my copy of the signed agreement, and shoved it into my bag.

Then, I looked her straight in the eyes and said, word for word, "Maeve, the game's over."

…

The next day, I went to the courthouse, where I submitted the divorce petition along with the signed divorce papers.

The clerk looked over the papers, glanced at me, and processed everything with mechanical efficiency.

When I checked my phone, the screen was flooded with missed calls and texts from Maeve.

"Nolan, you've had your fun. Now come home!

"I tore up the divorce papers. Let's just pretend this never happened.

"How dare you hang up on me! You're getting bold, aren't you?"

The last text, sent 30 minutes ago, read. "If you don't come back right now, don't ever come back!"

I immediately blocked her.

I found a small apartment to rent. Once I was done cleaning it up, I started job hunting.

After we got married, Maeve had insisted I quit my job to be a stay-at-home husband and a supporting actor in her pointless role-playing games.

She said she loved me to her very core, which was why she wanted us to experience falling in love over and over again through different scenarios.

She claimed that the cold, heartless women she portrayed—ones who abandoned their husbands—weren't the real her. It was just acting.

Now, as I looked back, it was pathetic.

Maybe she had never been acting at all. Perhaps those cold, selfish, cruel masks had been her true self.

The court summons soon reached her. When she called me, I was in the middle of a job interview.

"Nolan! Are you out of your mind? How dare you take this to court!"

I calmly walked to the end of the hallway. "We signed the divorce papers, Maeve. This is just the legal process to get it done faster.

"Done faster? I'm telling you—you're not getting this divorce!"

"Maeve," I cut in. "My dad's dead."

There was a brief silence before her voice turned cold as she continued, "I know, but that was his fate. You can't take it out on me. Games are games, and reality is reality. Can't you tell the difference?"