His First Love's Slow Poison

Staring at that line of text, I froze.My fingers trembled as I unlocked his phone.The messaging app showed no saved name for the number, no history—just that one line. Nothing else.My heart started racing. For a moment, I had no idea what to do.That's when Grayson came back into the room, fresh from his shower. He saw me staring at his phone and laughed softly, pulling me into his arms."What are you zoning out for? Did you forget my passcode? Let me unlock it for you.""I already got in." I turned the screen toward him. "What does this text mean?"Grayson glanced at it, his expression perfectly natural."Spam," he said, sounding almost annoyed, pinching my cheek. "Are you dense? You're going to stare at junk like this for ages?"He took the phone from me and blocked the number without hesitation, then set it down on the nightstand like it was nothing. I couldn't help but ask."Same as that other message last time?"He bent down to make the bed, answering offhandedly, "Y

Once I recognized Vanessa's handwriting, I realized most of what filled those two boxes had come from her.They saw each other every day, and yet they'd still chosen to write letters to each other.A boy's shy, tentative overtures; a girl's answers laced with a hint of insecurity—it was all there, plain as day, between the lines.Letters, postcards, scraps of paper, bookmarks, even candy wrappers—he'd kept every piece of her he could.I flipped to the class photo on the first page of the yearbook and found her.She'd been thin, so thin, barely a speck in the crowd.Her almond-shaped eyes drooped slightly at the corners, giving her a soft look.Our eyes looked alike.I sank down onto the floor, and the tears came without warning.Was I just another item in his collection of Vanessa Reed?At the end of her graduation message, she'd written: Some things will never change. I'll see you again.All those days and nights we'd spent together—had he been hoping for a reunion with Van

Grayson's whole body jolted, his eyes going wide."What did you say? Divorce?"Vanessa's crying cut off instantly, and she stared at me in shock.Our commotion had already drawn the attention of plenty of employees outside the office. Several people were craning their necks to look our way.I held his gaze, steady. "Yes. I want a divorce.""I won't agree to it." Panic flashed across Grayson's face.He grabbed my arm and started pulling me toward the door. "Let's go home and talk this through properly."I yanked my hand back. "Go ahead and comfort her. My lawyer will be in touch."Over by Vanessa, a few people who looked like managers had come over to her side. She shot Grayson a pleading look.Grayson sighed and let go of my hand."I'm not agreeing to a divorce, no matter what. Go cool off for now."With that, he turned and walked back toward her.A bitter feeling spread through my chest. I knew, without a doubt, that I'd made the right call.Once I got home, I packed a ba

In the days leading up to the divorce, work, prenatal checkups, and meetings with my lawyer kept my life moving forward in an orderly rhythm.I already had my hands full, and there was no room left to spare a thought for people and things that no longer mattered to me.One evening, my friend Sophie Langston called just to chat.Her voice was as bright and breezy as ever. "Hey, is Grayson switching careers or something?"I paused for a second, then quickly guessed where this was going."What do you mean?""He's been posting a ton of insurance stuff on his feed lately—coverage plans, wealth transfer, all analyzed like he really knows his stuff."Grayson wasn't the type to post much. In all the years I'd known him, the first thing I ever saw him post was our wedding announcement.Even on the rare occasion he posted something, he'd set it to disappear after three days.I pulled up his feed, and sure enough, it was exactly like Sophie said. In just the past two weeks, he'd put up o

My lawyer laid the reasoning out for Grayson plainly."I'm not canceling the policies." Grayson's expression hardened back into stubbornness, edged now with a kind of reckless defiance. "I earned that money. I get to decide what to do with it."That didn't surprise me at all.My lawyer turned to another page in the agreement."Mr. Redding, regarding your recent use of marital assets to purchase insurance, we've given it full consideration and drafted the corresponding clause."Grayson frowned and looked down to where the lawyer was pointing."You're required to pay my client, Denise Walton, twenty thousand dollars in cash, or provide equivalent assets in exchange."Given your current cash flow and the possibility of additional shared debts to be divided, fulfilling this compensation is very likely to leave you insolvent, in a state of net debt."The word debt clearly struck a nerve. Grayson grabbed the page, his eyes racing over it.When his gaze reached the bottom of the page