Chapter 3

Without a moment's hesitation, Zoe flagged down a taxi and gave the driver Ian's license plate number and the direction he'd gone.

"Follow that car!"

They sped through the streets until Ian's car finally pulled up outside a bar called Mirage.

Zoe stared in disbelief. Ian didn't drink a drop of alcohol, and his self-discipline bordered on obsession. What on earth was he doing at a place like this?

She paid the fare, climbed out, and discreetly followed him.

She had barely reached the entrance when she spotted a young woman in a white dress being harassed by several drunken men nearby. The woman was pale with fear, backing away as they continued to crowd her.

What happened next was something Zoe would never forget.

Ian Grant, the same man who never lost his composure or stepped outside the bounds of propriety, suddenly charged forward and drove his foot straight into the ringleader's stomach.

Then came a punch, another kick, and more blows in rapid succession. Gone was his usual elegance and restraint. He fought with an almost savage brutality, his eyes blazing with a terrifying fury Zoe had never seen before.

Within moments, the men were howling in pain and scrambling to get away.

Ian made no attempt to chase them. Instead, he immediately turned to the woman, anxiously looking her over.

"Are you hurt? Did they do anything to you?"

But the woman jerked her head up and glared at him through reddened eyes.

"Ian Grant! I thought you were done with me! Why did you even bother coming?!"

Ian didn't answer. He simply reached for her and pulled her into a fierce, tight embrace.

Still angry, she struggled against him before lowering her head and sinking her teeth into his exposed neck.

Zoe saw him wince, his brows drawing together in pain, but his arms never loosened around her. Not even slightly.

And when he lowered his gaze to the woman in his arms, the look in his eyes was unlike anything Zoe had ever witnessed. There was anguish, sorrow, helplessness, and a depth of love so overwhelming it was almost painful to behold.

A chill swept through Zoe, rising from the soles of her feet until her entire body felt frozen.

In the space of fifteen minutes, she'd seen more emotion on Ian's face than she'd managed to coax out of him throughout their entire marriage. Anxiety, rage, fear, tenderness, heartbreak, love, and an unmistakable depth of devotion.

Every feeling she'd spent so long desperately trying to awaken in him had come pouring out effortlessly, all because of the woman in his arms.

The man she'd believed to be an unshakable, impenetrable mountain of ice had come completely undone for someone else.

So where did that leave her? What was she supposed to be to him?

Zoe had no idea how long she stood there amid the pounding music and shifting lights. It wasn't until Ian carefully escorted the woman away from the bar, shielding her protectively, that Zoe finally snapped out of her daze.

With trembling hands, she pulled out her phone and messaged her childhood friend, Megan Carter, who always seemed to know every secret in their social circle. Attached was the photo she'd managed to sneak in the midst of her shock.

[Find out who this woman is and what her relationship with Ian Grant is.]

By the time Zoe made it home, Megan had already sent over everything they'd uncovered.

Sitting on the couch, she read through the information word by word, feeling her heart sink deeper into an icy abyss with every line, until it seemed to shatter into a thousand pieces.

Yvonne Sullivan.

She'd attended the same university as Ian, two years behind him.

Back then, Yvonne had been the one to pursue him. It had taken considerable effort, but she'd eventually managed to melt the ice around his heart.

And once they got together, Ian had become a completely different person.

If Yvonne so much as mentioned craving custard tarts from a bakery on the north side of town, he'd skip an important meeting and drive across half the city to get them for her. For her birthday, he'd rent out an entire amusement park so she could have it all to herself. If she playfully begged him to carry her, he'd happily give her a piggyback ride down a long, tree-lined avenue.

Everyone around him used to say that being with Yvonne had finally brought Ian to life. For the first time, he seemed like a real, flesh-and-blood human being, full of energy and vitality.