Chapter 3

I walked home alone.

My phone kept buzzing with photos and videos from the party. Ethan, Ava, and all their friends were having the time of their lives.

Everyone was raising a glass to the happy newlyweds.

I put the phone down and started packing.

That was when it hit me. After living with Ethan for three years, I'd barely left a trace of myself in this house.

He said Ava was timid, afraid of the dark and terrified of thunder.

The moment storm clouds appeared, she'd show up at our door, too scared to spend the night alone.

Little by little, she took over a guest room, filled the bathroom with her toiletries, and even had a closet made for herself.

Before long, half my vanity belonged to her too.

Ethan just laughed and teased her fondly.

"You're always buying useless things. Will you ever use all this stuff?"

But she was spending his money, wasn't she?

Funny. In all our years together, Ethan had never even added me to one of his credit cards.

My chest tightened, but I forced myself to breathe.

You can't force someone to love you. It's better to let go.

Then something occurred to me, so I made a call.

"Hello, about that car I ordered earlier. I don't want it anymore."

The person on the other end sounded puzzled.

"Ms. Harris? But didn't you already give the car to someone else?"

I thought I'd heard it wrong.

He meant the imported car Ethan had bought me as a wedding gift—the one I'd spent an entire month picking out.

I gave it away? Since when?

But the manager continued.

"Ms. Harris, you transferred ownership of the car last month. It was collected yesterday."

I froze.

The manager sent me a photo of the contract.

There it was. My signature.

How is that possible?

Wait.

I remembered one night last month. I'd been buried in work when Ethan brought me dinner and casually placed a stack of papers in front of me.

"Baby, I need you to sign these."

I hadn't even bothered to read them. I'd flipped straight to the signature pages and signed my name.

I had trusted Ethan completely.

And he'd used that trust to trick me.

I rushed back to the club and shoved the door open.

Inside, Ava was sitting on Ethan's lap, wrapped around him.

The others saw me and exchanged looks.

Ethan jumped and immediately shoved Ava off him.

Then he got up and stepped in front of her.

His face darkened as he stared at me warily.

Like I was the dangerous one.

I didn't waste time arguing. I held up my phone.

"Ethan, what is this supposed to be?"

He glanced at it and laughed.

"Baby, are we really going to fight over something this small?

"Ava wanted a dream wedding, so of course she needed her Cinderella carriage.

"You have good taste, and she fell in love with your car the moment she saw it. A new import would take too long, so I let her have yours.

"When you and I get married, I'll buy you a better, more expensive car."

The excuses and promises rolled easily off his tongue. He even smiled at me like he was comforting a spoiled child.

In his eyes, I was always the problem.

I was jealous. I was throwing a tantrum. I was fighting Ava for his attention.

It never crossed his mind that he treated us differently.

He never understood that every time he protected Ava, he hurt me instead.

I bit my lip until I tasted blood.

I remembered lying in his arms, scrolling through car after car on my phone. I'd spent a whole month choosing the perfect one.

He told me, "Buy it! My bride deserves the best car in the world for her wedding!"

And then he'd handed it to Ava like it meant nothing.

This is absurd.

How did we end up like this?

I had known about Ava from the start, but Ethan used to know where to draw the line.

He looked after her—he brought her an umbrella when it rained, called her during storms, and took her to the doctor when she was sick. But he had taken care of me too. When I had cramps, he'd hold me all night, rubbing my stomach with his warm hands.

Back then, I'd never doubted his love.

But little by little, the love that had once been mine became Ava's.

The harder I tried to hold on, the faster it ran through my fingers like sand.

I laughed at myself.

Fine. She could have the damn car.

"Ethan, I'm not here to fight.

"If Ava wants the car, she can keep it.

"But I paid 120,000 for it. Give me my money back. Now."