Chapter 2

Thea's POV

During those days, everything had felt sweet. I had spent countless hours imagining what our life would be like after we got married. I would be the best wife I could be, stand by his side through everything, and give him a house full of beautiful children.

But on our wedding day, I noticed that Ryland was completely out of it. His eyes kept drifting to one person in the crowd of guests.

I knew her. She was a classmate from our university, in the same department as Ryland. Her name was Payton Ames.

After the ceremony, I found Ryland in the lounge, drunk, still murmuring Payton's name.

"Ryland, do you have feelings for someone else?"

"Yeah, I do. So what? I still married you, didn't I?"

He shoved me away, his voice dripping with anger and resentment. I hit the ground and scraped my knee open, but I didn't even feel the pain… because the pain in my chest was so much worse.

I truly had no idea he had feelings for someone else. I had never seen any sign of him dating another woman. Yes, I loved Ryland, but I had never forced him to marry me. And the other night, I had just passed out from drinking. Nothing had even happened.

"Ryland, I really didn't know you liked someone. If you don't want to be with me, we can get a divorce right now."

"Thea, how are you this good at playing innocent? You just married me, and now you're talking about divorce? You got what you wanted and you're still putting on the act. You make me sick."

He stood up after that, slammed the door, and left. That was the moment I realized just how deep his hatred for me really ran. And it never faded, not even a little, not until the day I died three years later.

The sound of my phone ringing snapped me out of the memory.

The second I picked up, Mom's voice came through, already irritated. "Thea, why aren't you here yet? Some woman just showed up, and Ryland left with her."

"Mom, she's the one Ryland likes. He'd rather be with her right now."

"Oh, Thea. Never mind, we'll talk later. His mother got so upset she's not feeling well. We're taking her to the hospital."

Mom sighed and hung up.

She and Mrs. Wood probably both thought I should have been the one by Ryland's side tonight, that it was the perfect chance to bring us closer. Instead, I had handed that opportunity to someone else, and they were disappointed.

But I felt lighter than I had in a long time.

In this life, I hadn't shown up to whisk Ryland away, which meant there would be no night spent alone together, no scandal, no forced narrative. This time, Payton was the one who left with him, and if anything happened between them, it would be because they actually wanted each other.

By the time I got to the hospital, Mrs. Wood was already on an IV drip. She took my hand and tried to explain. "Thea, Ryland is just being foolish. Please don't be upset with him. Once he's back, his father and I will set him straight."

"Mrs. Wood, I'm not upset. She's the one Ryland cares about. He's happier with her."

"But Ryland's the one you love. We all hoped the two of you would—"

"Mrs. Wood, you can't force something that isn't meant to be. Let's just let things happen naturally."

After hearing that, both sets of parents exchanged looks, clearly regretful but resigned.

My parents and I stayed in the hospital room with Ryland's parents for a long time after that, keeping them company and trying to lift their spirits. They were so low that none of us felt right about leaving.

We didn't head out until Mrs. Wood's IV was finished, and by then, it was well past midnight.