Chapter 1

As usual, Ryan Miller slammed the guest room door hard.

I knew he did it on purpose. He was waiting for me to come crawling back and beg for forgiveness.

But I stayed right where I was on the couch. I didn't move. And for once, I didn't break down in tears or feel that familiar panic twisting in my chest. I just suddenly felt tired. So tired of this life.

I hadn't done anything wrong, yet I was expected to grovel and plead like a dog begging for scraps.

The villa's AC was cranked up high, but the ice cream cake sitting on the coffee table was already starting to melt. Just like my marriage to Ryan. No matter how hard I tried to hold us together, the cracks just kept growing.

I reached out, scooped a little melted ice cream onto my finger, and put it in my mouth. The sweetness did nothing to mask the bitterness inside me.

Ryan and I had been married for three years.

The first year on my birthday, he stayed at the office all night fixing a botched proposal that Katie Jones had messed up. The second year, he had to go out of town with her for a business trip on my actual birthday. And today, he left me standing alone in the pouring rain because of one phone call from her.

I was still staring into space when I heard the guest room door swing open.

My heart skipped a beat as I watched him walk toward me. He noticed the little smear of ice cream still on the corner of my mouth. Ryan let out a soft, resigned sigh, then grabbed a tissue and gently wiped it away.

"Babe, I'm sorry. I said some harsh things back there. I was upset.

"I know you get jealous easily. From now on, unless it's strictly work-related, I'll keep my distance from Katie."

All the hurt I'd been holding in came rushing to the surface. The tears just started streaming down my face. After three years, this was the first time he had ever come to me first.

But before I could even say a word, he kept going.

"Listen—when I took Katie to the hospital tonight, someone saw us and took a picture. They posted it in the company group chat. Now, half the office is calling her a homewrecker. She's already sick, and now she's getting dragged into our drama. So I need you to go into the group chat and clear things up for her."

Every bit of hope, every tear, every ounce of hurt I'd been carrying—it all turned into a joke in that moment.

Because of Katie, he had abandoned me over and over again. And now, for that same woman, he had finally lowered himself to apologize to me.

I looked at the face I had been in love with for eight whole years. And I just started laughing.

Ryan must have taken that as a yes.

"That's my girl. I knew you'd understand. I'll add you to the company group. Once you're in, just explain what happened and apologize to Katie publicly. That should—"

"Don't even think about it," I cut him off.

Ryan froze for a second. Then the softness vanished from his face, replaced by that all-too-familiar anger.

"Emily, there's nothing going on between me and Katie. Why do you always have to come after her? Do you have any idea how much damage a rumor like this does to a young woman's reputation? She was crying her eyes out on the phone with me just now."

I shot up from the couch and looked him straight in the eye.