Chapter 3

3.

I didn’t go home. I didn’t have the strength. I hailed a cab on the street.

“The nearest hotel, please.”

The driver glanced at me in the rearview mirror. “Ma’am, you look really pale. Do you need to go to a hospital?”

“No, thanks,” I said, closing my eyes. “I just came from hell.”

In the hotel room, I lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling. My phone buzzed countless times with calls and texts from Liam. I didn’t look at a single one before turning on Do Not Disturb.

The next morning, I woke up to an email from my lawyer. Liam had already signed the official divorce papers, property settlement included. All it needed was my digital signature.

He certainly worked fast. I scoffed, signing my name.

Five years of this mess, over just like that.

I booked a flight to Seattle for three days later. Elias had an architectural design firm there and told me a senior partner position was mine whenever I wanted it.

Leave Los Angeles. Leave Liam. Start over. It sounded perfect.

But just as I was checking out, Liam appeared in the hotel lobby. He looked even worse than before, with a dark stubble shadowing his jaw. His eyes lit up when he saw me.

“Chloe!”

I stared at him, my face a blank mask. “The papers are signed. My lawyer is handling the house transfer. There’s nothing left for us to talk about.”

“Let me explain―” He started towards me, but I held up a hand to stop him.

“Explain what?” My voice was as cold as a Seattle winter. “Explain how you abandoned me at the altar again? Or how you blackmailed me with the house I fought for in our prenup, all to save that psycho?”

“I gave you thirty-three chances, Liam. I'm done.”

Liam’s mouth opened, but no words came out.

Just then, his phone rang. The screen flashed “Ava.”

I looked at the name and laughed. “You should get that. Don’t keep your precious girl waiting.”

Liam didn’t answer. He let the sharp ringtone fill the silence before finally hitting ignore.

I walked around him, pulling my suitcase.

“Chloe, please,” he said from behind me, his voice laced with desperation. “Ava’s doctor said she needs an ‘emotional support system’ to help her recover. I was thinking… I want her to move into our house for a while.”

I stopped, slowly turning around. I felt like I had just heard the funniest joke of the century.

“So?”

“So… can you just not go back for a while? Just a few weeks, until she’s stable―”

“Are you fucking kidding me?!” I cut him off, shaking with a fresh wave of fury. “You want me to move out of my own house to make room for your unhinged ex-girlfriend?”

“It’s not making room, it’s just temporary―”

“Get out,” I said, enunciating every word. “Liam Callahan, get the hell away from me. Don't ever show up in front of me again, or I swear to God, my next call will be to file a restraining order.”

I turned and walked away, and I didn’t look back.

I could hear Liam’s anguished cry behind me. “Chlo…e…”

I didn’t care anymore.

Back at our former home, it only took an hour to pack. Five years of my life, all fitting into two suitcases.

Before I left, I tossed my engagement ring on the coffee table. As for the keys, I had already called a locksmith to change all the locks to a new smart system.

Goodbye, asshole.