Chapter 3

On the way to the County Court, Abigail held tight to my hand, clearly afraid I'd jump out of the car.

"Brett, just one month. I promise."

I said nothing, only pulling my hand gently free of hers.

She grabbed it again, more forcefully.

"Dwayne and I won't go public. No wedding, nothing. No one outside will ever know. You're still the Balmer family's son-in-law who married into money."

I said nothing, quietly working out how to blow this whole thing wide open.

If it became public enough, how could she still force my hand?

I slipped my phone into my pocket and quietly sent off a message.

There was a name in my contacts: Jamie Reynolds.

Jamie was a reporter. Three years ago, he'd broken a scandal about Abigail and nearly gotten crushed by the Balmer family's retaliation for it.

I'd been the one to smooth things over for him. He resented Abigail for it, and he owed me a favor.

We finally reached the County Court.

Just as we were getting out of the car, a group of reporters swarmed us.

"Ms. Balmer, are you here to file for divorce? You and Dwayne made your relationship public yesterday. Is this about giving him his rightful place?"

"Mr. Ridley, do you have any comment on your wife's infidelity during your marriage? You've put up with it for so long. Why break now?"

Abigail froze, clearly not expecting to be ambushed like this.

For a moment, she had no idea how to respond.

I looped my arm through hers and smiled, the picture of composure.

"You've all got the wrong idea. We're not here to divorce. Today's our tenth wedding anniversary. We just came by for old times' sake..."

Abigail's arm went rigid under mine.

A few seconds later, she caught on, and a faint, easy smile spread across her face.

"That's right."

The reporters, thrown off, pressed on.

"And Dwayne?"

"Dwayne's a new talent Abigail's company just signed."

I forced a smile.

"The announcement was just to hype up his new show. Isn't that right, Abigail?"

Abigail gritted her teeth and nodded.

"Right."

I used the moment to pull her back toward the car, ready to leave.

That's when a scream cut through the air.

"Someone's about to jump!"

On the rooftop of the office building across from the County Court stood a figure in white, swaying dangerously in the wind.

It was Dwayne.

My heart sank.

This wasn't going to be easy to walk back.

Sure enough, Abigail couldn't hold back a shout.

"Dwayne, don't do anything stupid!"

Dwayne stared down at her, tears streaming, his voice breaking.

"Abigail, I can't live without you..."

Abigail clutched at her hair, frantic.

"Get down! I'll divorce him! I'll do it right now!"

She turned back to me, her eyes urgent.

"Brett, go inside. We're getting divorced."

The reporters' cameras swung around, all trained on my ashen face.