Chapter 2

I hated Nashville. The whole city felt like a monument to the man Liam had become-all glitter and noise, with a hollow core. It was loud, fake, and it promised a dream that always seemed to leave someone broken in its wake. My own reflection in the polished hotel window looked pale and foreign, a ghost from another life.

"We can start with a less aggressive chemotherapy regimen," Dr. Cole had told me back in the clinic. "But Ava, the best options, the clinical trials... they're expensive. And they're not here."

I had nodded, the numbers he quoted swimming in my head. Numbers I didn't have. My bank account was an extension of Liam's generosity, and that generosity had been shrinking for years.

Now, in Nashville, the evidence of Liam's success was everywhere. A billboard in the city center showed his star client, Scarlett, her smile wide and predatory. Liam stood beside her in the photo, his arm around her waist, looking more alive than I' d seen him in years. I felt a familiar pang of bitterness. He was annoyed by the comparison, the thought that I, his history, could ever measure up to her, his future.

That night, he was a different person. At an industry party, I watched him with Scarlett. He laughed, a deep, genuine sound I hadn't heard directed at me in forever. He leaned in, whispering in her ear, his hand possessively on the small of her back. This was the passionate, ambitious man I had fallen in love with, but his passion was no longer for me. It was for her, for the success she represented.

I went back to our empty hotel room. The anniversary of my parents' death was approaching. It was a day we always spent together, a pilgrimage back to our hometown to visit their graves. It was the one tradition we had left.

I called him.

"I need you to come home next weekend," I said, my voice flat.

"Ava, I can't. I have meetings."

"It's for Mom and Dad, Liam. We always go."

"We can go another time."

For the first time in a long time, a spark of defiance ignited in me. "No. I'm going. You can either be there, or you can tell my dead parents why you're too busy for them."

He was silent for a moment, irritated. Then I heard a noise on his end, a faint giggle. Scarlett. "Fine," he snapped, his voice tight with guilt. "I'll be there."

I hung up, my hand trembling. I walked to the bathroom and leaned over the sink, my reflection a stranger. I heard his voice, the way he said "baby" to her, and the sound shattered something inside me. I turned on the faucet, the rush of water drowning out the sob that escaped my throat.

In their own hotel room across town, Scarlett traced the line of Liam's jaw. "She's such a drag, Liam. When are you going to be done with her?"

"It's complicated, Scarlett."

"It's not," she purred, her fingers tangling in his hair. "You just have to choose." She wanted to replace me completely, to erase the nine years I had existed in his life.

Liam looked at her, at her vibrant, uncomplicated beauty. He thought of me, of my quiet sadness, my constant reminders of a past he wanted to outrun. I wasn't exciting anymore. I was a responsibility.

The drive back to Kentucky was tense. He was supposed to meet me at our house. An hour after he was due, my phone rang. It was an unknown number.

"Ma'am? Is this Ava? It's about your husband, Liam. There's been an accident."

The world tilted. A minor car crash, the voice said. He was being taken to the local hospital.

I drove, my hands gripping the steering wheel, my mind a blank panic. Despite everything, the thought of losing him was a physical pain.

I rushed into the emergency room, my eyes scanning the chaotic scene. And then I saw him. He was sitting on a gurney, a bandage on his forehead, looking more annoyed than hurt.

And Scarlett was there, her arms wrapped around him, whispering words of comfort.

I froze. The sight was a photograph of my worst fears, developed in harsh, fluorescent light. He hadn't even called me. He had called her.

I backed away slowly, unseen, and fled into the cold night.