Chapter 2

Not long after Ron left, Alexandra got a video call from Lucian.

He was cooking in a white shirt, wisps of hair falling across his forehead. His gently curled lashes and slender build gave him a soft, almost delicate look.

"Lexi, are you divorced yet?"

She was several years older and had far more life experience, yet one look at him still made her blush and sent her heart racing.

No wonder the women at his college were crazy about him.

She cleared her throat. "We've signed the papers. In another month, Ron and I will be done for good."

A faint smile tugged at Lucian's lips. "Then don't let him touch you between now and then. I'll be checking."

Caught off guard by his boldness, Alexandra blushed and tried to look stern. "Watch your mouth. You're still a kid."

A possessive look flashed in Lucian's eyes, gone almost as quickly as it appeared. Then he put on a wounded expression.

"Lexi, I may be young, but there's nothing small about me."

Alexandra quickly changed the subject before Lucian could get any more suggestive. It took a little sweet-talking before he finally agreed to hang up.

Lucian was wonderful in every way, if only he weren't so clingy.

After the call, Alexandra went out and bought a tear-off calendar. She started counting down the days, tearing off a page each day.

Ron didn't come home once during the first ten days of October.

Not that Alexandra had to wonder where he was or who he was with. She knew exactly what he'd been up to.

His latest mistress, Melissa Lowry, was an intern at his company. Every day, she posted barely disguised boasts about their dates on social media.

They'd gone for coffee and dessert at fancy cafés, played golf, enjoyed the city lights from a hilltop villa, and soaked together in a hot spring.

What surprised Alexandra was how long Ron had kept Melissa around. He usually tired of his women within a month, yet Melissa had somehow managed to hold his interest for three.

Perhaps that explained her nerve. Ron's previous flings had at least been discreet, but Melissa had gone so far as to send Alexandra a friend request, apparently just to flaunt the affair in her face.

Alexandra had no interest in playing those games. She was divorcing Ron anyway. Why should she care?

With time on her hands, Alexandra had spent the past few days clearing out the house.

She'd carefully chosen Ron's razor, ironed and organized his suits every day, and even stayed up late to snag him a limited-edition Patek Philippe watch.

Now she'd packed up every gift she'd ever given him and thrown it away, regardless of its size or value.

Along with those things, she was letting go of all the pain she'd suffered in their marriage and all the love she'd once poured into it. She was ready to put the past behind her and start over.

Two days later, Ron finally came home.

He took one look around the noticeably emptier house and frowned. "Lexi, did you throw away my stuff?"

Alexandra flipped through her magazine. "Yeah. I bought them, so I can throw them out if I want. What's the problem? It's not like you're ever home to use any of it."

Ron figured she was still angry about the other day and was only saying those things to spite him. He sat beside her and made a halfhearted attempt to smooth things over.

"Didn't we agree we could both have our fun, as long as neither of us fell for anyone else? Why are you getting upset about it again?"

There he went again, brushing it all off as harmless fun.

No matter what he did, he always found a way to justify it. And as his wife, Alexandra was expected to endure all the pain he caused without so much as a complaint.

But she was done arguing over things that no longer mattered.

She snapped her magazine shut and got up to go upstairs.

"You're reading too much into it. I couldn't care less," she said flatly.

Ron assumed she was only pretending not to care. He got up and caught her hand.

She gave him an impatient look, but he pulled an invitation from his pocket and placed it in her palm anyway.

"Come on, don't be mad. I'll take you to an auction tomorrow. Bid on whatever you want. That'll cheer you up, won't it?"

Alexandra was about to turn him down when she noticed the logo of a prestigious auction house on the invitation.

She agreed.

She was divorcing him anyway. She might as well have a little fun spending his money.