Chapter 2

“I know.”

The moment I returned to the house Ruby and I shared, I did not waste a second. I started packing.

I did not have much. I had a few sets of clothes I wore often, some professional books, and the belongings my father had left me.

I was placing a locked walnut jewelry box into my suitcase when the door swung open.

Hayden stood there with his arms crossed, leaning lazily against the frame. He wore Ruby’s bathrobe, the collar hanging wide open to reveal his toned chest.

He acted like he owned the place.

“Jeff, packing this late at night?” His eyes dropped to my suitcase, the contempt in them completely clear.

“Ruby asked me to check on you,” he said with a smirk. “She was worried you might do something impulsive.”

I ignored him and zipped up my suitcase.

He walked in anyway and picked up a handcrafted brass fidget spinner from my desk.

I had made it in a metalworking class back in college. It was also the first gift I ever gave Ruby.

She had loved it back then. She used to keep it by her bedside.

“This thing is ugly.” He toyed with it, rubbing it between his fingers as if it meant nothing.

Clack.

A sharp sound.

The spinner hit the floor, dented with an ugly mark.

“Oh, my bad. Slipped.” He spread his hands, yet there was no apology in his eyes. Only the thrill of provocation.

In my previous life, I would have rushed him and fought like hell.

However, now, I only glanced at the spinner on the floor. Then I looked up and smiled at him.

“It is fine. I was going to throw it out anyway.”

Hayden’s smile froze.

I walked past him, grabbed my suitcase, and headed for the door.

As I passed him, I paused, leaned close to his ear, and spoke in a voice only he could hear.

“Hayden, how long do you think it took me to get used to that cheap cologne smell on her?”

His face turned ghostly pale.

I did not look back. I pulled my suitcase behind me and walked out of the home I had lived in for five years without a second glance.

The door shut behind me.

A second later, something inside smashed violently against the floor.

I settled into the apartment where Yara had helped me find.

Early the next morning, my phone started ringing.

It was my mother‑in‑law, Natasha Porter.

The second I picked up, her voice came crashing through the line.

“Jeff! What the hell were you doing last night?

“Do you have any idea? You made the entire Wheeler family a joke!

“Ruby’s birthday party was completely ruined because of you.

“Do you have no shame at all?”

I held the phone away from my ear and waited for her to finish.

“Are you done?” I asked.

There was a pause on the other end. She clearly had not expected that.

“What kind of attitude is that? I am telling you, go apologize to Ruby right now! Hayden is a good kid. Stop targeting him all the time!”

“Mom, we are getting a divorce.”

“What nonsense are you talking about? Divorce? I do not agree!” Natasha’s voice sharpened like a blade.

“That is between me and Ruby.”

“Jeff, wake up and face reality. What do you think you are capable of?

“Without Ruby, you are nothing. A complete failure.”

I hung up.

Silence at last.

Not long after, a notification popped up on my phone.

A bank alert.

All the credit cards under my name had been frozen.

Then Ruby’s message came through.

[Jeff, enjoy what it feels like to have no money. When you finally come to your senses and admit you were wrong, come beg me.]

The message ended with an icy, arrogant period.

After deleting it, I opened a secondhand luxury marketplace app. One by one, I listed the watches I had once been reluctant to wear and the suits I had barely touched.

I had bought all of them with my own money before the marriage. They would become the starting funds for my new life.

That afternoon, I received a call from an unknown number. The caller said they were from the organizers of the Brighton Charity Auction.

“Mr. Baker, hello. We have received notice from Ms. Wheeler to cancel your VIP seat for this auction.

“Additionally, the designer tea set she submitted, First Light, is to be cataloged under Mr. Gibson at her request.”

I held the phone in silence for a few seconds.

In my previous life, it was that very tea set that made Hayden famous overnight under the title of genius designer.