第3章

After signing my severance agreement, I went home.

Liam wasn't there.

Ever since the night he'd come clean, he'd been spending less and less time at home, as if he was afraid to face me.

On the rare occasions he did come back, he left early and returned late. I knew he was there only by the sound of his breathing in the dark.

That made it easier for me to pack up and leave.

Clothes, toiletries, a few odds and ends.

None of it even filled a single suitcase, and I couldn't think of anything else to add.

In three years of marriage, I'd rarely bought anything for myself.

Besides basic living expenses, my biggest spending had been on gifts for Liam.

I'd always pitied him for being cast aside by his family. When it came to saving for a house, I cut back only on myself and did everything I could to make his life a little better.

But it still wasn't enough for him. He'd rather take Noah's name than give up the chance to become CEO of Brooks Group.

I forced myself to understand his obsession with the family fortune, but I didn't want to stand by him anymore.

The suitcase never did get full. I dragged it to the couch and sat there, staring blankly at the apartment.

It was small, just one bedroom and a living room, but every corner held traces of the life Liam and I had built together.

The cream-colored wallpaper was a shade we'd spent ages picking out.

The tablecloth was a pattern I'd chosen especially because he liked it.

The throw pillow on the couch was one we had sewn together. His stitches had been so crooked that I had added a few of my own.

I didn't realize I was crying until my collar was soaked through.

I was still going to leave this "home" we'd built together.

When the tears finally ran dry, I reached for my phone to call Liam and talk about the divorce.

But his call came through first.

"Babe, don't look at anything online right now. I'll handle it. Just stay home for the next few days and don't go to work. Do what I'm asking, okay?"

He hung up before I could respond. While I was still confused, a news alert popped up on my screen.

POPULAR INFLUENCER'S RELATIONSHIP ROCKED BY AFFAIR: POWER COUPLE IN CRISIS!

My hands shaking, I tapped the link.

Chloe had somehow gotten evidence that Liam and I were living together and had gone on a livestream, crying about being cheated on.

Because she regularly posted couple videos with Liam and had a modest following, the story exploded online. Every trending topic was about them.

My personal information was dug up, and countless people were attacking me with the most vicious words imaginable.

[Homewreckers and their whole families should drop dead!]

[How shameless can you be? You knew he had a fiancee and still went after him.]

[Look at yourself. As if someone like you could compete with Chloe for a man.]

Harassing calls and hate messages flooded my phone faster than I could block or delete them.

After pulling out my SIM card with trembling hands, I finally got a moment of quiet.

I'd never known words could hit that hard. The flood of abuse buried my phone like a blizzard.

But I was Liam's legal wife! I was the one who'd been by his side all along! Why was I the one being attacked? I refused to accept it.

I opened my laptop, uploaded our three-year story and our marriage certificate to my social media account, and tried to set the record straight.

But less than thirty seconds after the post went up, my account was suspended.

Seconds later, Liam called.

"Iris, didn't I tell you to stay out of it? Can you stop being so selfish? Did you even think about what would happen to me if you posted all that?"

Something in his words hit me wrong immediately.

"You shut down my account?"

He admitted it outright.

"I just didn't want you doing something reckless."

I couldn't hold back. My voice rose.

"So I'm just supposed to sit here and take it?!"

Liam didn't seem to care.

"A few mean comments never killed anyone. Just tough it out. I'll talk to Chloe."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

"Liam, do you have any idea how terrifying it is to be harassed online like this?"

But he still didn't think he'd done anything wrong. Instead, he turned it back on me.

"It's just a few nasty comments. Stop making such a big deal out of it. You deal with rude clients at work all the time, don't you? Once this blows over, everything will be fine."

I bit down on my lip so hard I tasted blood.

The abuse hadn't made me cry. The harassing calls hadn't made me cry.

But now, I couldn't stop the tears.

"Liam, I want a divorce."