Chapter 4

"Okay," Finn says, before I feel him walking away.

At the mall, we grab a coffee first. And while Dahlia chats away, mercilessly dumping all the office gossip on me, I feel the warmth of someone's gaze on my skin.

It isn't subtle. Not obvious either. I could be wrong, for all I know.

But the way the back of my neck prickles—exactly the way it did when I met... him—I can't help but turn my head in that direction.

"Is there someone I know?" I ask, cutting off her rambling.

Dahlia pauses, probably checking.

"Well, there's definitely someone," she says, and I hear her shift. "But not anyone I know. Want me to go ask?"

I shake my head. "No. No need."

It can't be him. He hasn't been in the country for the last five years.

I must be mistaken.

I have to be.

 ******

"Oh, this one's good. Really good," reads Dahlia, possibly from the text sent by Hunter after she showed him the picture of the fifth dress I tried on.

"He likes it," she mumbles, before I sense her presence right next to me. "I like it too. Pink really suits you, you know. It gives you this sweet and soft vibe."

Sweet and soft.

Is that what everyone thinks? That I'm weak? Delicate? A damsel who can't survive without her knight?

I scoff.

"What?" She probably senses something. "You don't like it? Want to try something else?"

How does it matter? It's all going to be over soon. "Just pick whatever he likes. I'm tired."

"Uh... okay."

Once we get into the car, Dahlia blurts out, "Is everything okay, Ivy? You seem a little too... lost. Did you and Hunter fight?"

Fight. The last time we fought was a day before our wedding. I wanted to back out—wanted him to think it through, to think again. Just because I liked him, I wasn't going to watch him be filled with regret later on. I had no right to bind him in a marriage where I couldn't even give him a family.

It was one of the reasons his family had opposed our marriage so strongly. They knew I was barren. That after the accident, my body was messed up. Even having intercourse was hard for me. It was way too painful. Some days I could endure it, gripping the sheets and forcing myself to breathe through it, but there were also days when it almost became unbearable.

But Hunter... he didn't back out even an inch. I still remember the way his voice trembled as he stood in front of me, close enough that I could feel the warmth of him, begging me to give him a chance. To trust him. To believe him when he said that he was mine in this life. That he was going to love me despite everything that was wrong with me. That I was worth it. That the day he would regret having me in his life would be the day his life would end.

Turns out, he did end up regretting it.

But I cannot even say I don't blame him.

Because I do. Because I gave him at least a hundred chances to think about what he was doing, to understand what he was getting into, to truly grasp the kind of responsibility he was taking on. I remember standing there each time, my hands clenched, my voice shaking as I told him he could still walk away, that it wasn't too late to change his mind.

But every time I gave him that chance, he got on his knees in front of me, his hands wrapping tightly around mine, his voice raw and desperate as he begged me to trust him. To give him a chance. To let him prove how truly and deeply he was in love with me. He would hold on as if letting go meant losing me forever, promising again and again that no matter what happened in the future, his love would never change.

"No," I smile, not able to understand why he would do this to me—why he would betray me like that. "We never fight."

"Well, that's good then," Dahlia says, and I feel her head drop onto my shoulder. "For a second, I was so worried. I thought you were mad at him."

"Why? Did he do something worth getting mad over?"

My question makes her body go stiff. I can feel it immediately—the warmth of her hand on my thigh turning tense, her fingers pressing a little too hard, then going still. Her breathing changes too, a small hitch followed by a slow, careful inhale, like she's choosing her next words.

"Of course not." She pulls her hand away completely, and I hear the faint rustle of fabric as she shifts in her seat. "Hunter loves you so much. How could he dare do anything to upset you? Did you forget how he stood outside your home for three days and three nights just so you would say yes to him? A man like that—so devoted and dedicated—is hard to find. Not everyone is as lucky as you, you know."

I almost laugh at her words.

Lucky me indeed.

When we reach home, Dahlia helps me inside.

"You're back!"

It takes me a second too long to realize that Hunter's home. I feel him walking closer, his scent suddenly all around me.

"How was your day?" He slides his arm around my waist, and I instantly fight the urge to throw up. "Did you have fun?"

"Well, of course she did," Dahlia answers for me, even though I didn't feel any of it. "Don't you know? Spending her husband's money is every wife's ultimate dream. What could be more fun than that?"

"Is that true, babe?" he whispers softly near my ear, his voice warm with affection. "Do you like spending your husband's money that much? Because if it makes you happy, I'd give you everything I have without a second thought. Even if I ended up with nothing, it would still be worth it, knowing it all went into making you smile."

Such sweet words from such a cruel heart.

I never imagined a day would come when he would be the one to break my heart the way he did. But life has a strange sense of humour, don't you think?

"Babe?" Hunter says, his fingers wrapping gently around my wrist. "You okay? Why so silent?"

I force myself to smile. "I'm just tired. I'm gonna head to my room. See you guys later."

I ignore him when he tries to offer help and slowly make my way toward the spare bedroom I use on days when I don't feel like climbing the stairs.

Once the door shuts behind me, I let out a long, deep breath.

Carefully, I move forward. Until my knees hit the edge of the mattress, and I sink down onto it.

I pull out my phone and call the only person who never stopped believing in me.

"Hello, Grandpa?" I say, and for the first time, I feel a single tear roll down my face. "Hunter's cheating on me."

The silence on the other end is deafening.

But I know he’s there.

Grandpa Hagan has always been there for me. Even when my parents abandoned and shunned me, calling me useless, pathetic, a burden, he was the only one—aside from Hunter and Finn—who believed in me. He always supported me. Always looked out for me.

Though he was also the one who opposed my marriage to Hunter.

I don’t know why he stood so firmly against him, never accepting him, but I do know that when I chose Hunter despite his warnings, I hurt him deeply.

“I’m sorry, Grandpa,” I sob, unable to hold back. “I regret it. Just like you said.”

I hear him sigh. “Now you do, don’t you?”

I cry harder at the sound of his voice—the one that has always felt like home. “I’m sorry. I should never have trusted him. I should have listened to you.”

I can almost see him shaking his head, glancing up at the ceiling of his sparse office, lips pressed thin.

“I always knew that boy was trouble. He seemed decent enough when you lost your sight saving him, but I’ve seen more of life than you can imagine. Someone like him can’t carry that kind of responsibility. He was devoted to you then, I’ll give him that, but that’s youth, Ivy—passionate but fleeting. Not everyone is like that, but Hunter is different. With him, it was about the debt he owed you, not the love he claimed. He saw you as an obligation, not a choice.”

His words hit like a punch. He’s right, and I hate it. “I know that now.”

“So, what do you want to do?” he asks. “Catch him in the act, or leave without a word? Tell me. You have my support.”

Honestly, that’s all I needed to hear.

“For now, just arrange a lawyer. I want to end this marriage as soon as possible.”