Chapter 1

1.

In the five years we have been married, Jaxon Sterling has stood me up ninety-nine times for the sake of his childhood sweetheart.

After this most recent disappointment, I discovered two plane tickets to France sitting on his office desk.

His voice was icy when he caught me looking at them.

"I was going to surprise you for our anniversary, but since you have already seen them, I will see you at the airport."

I packed my bags early and waited at the terminal from dawn until the middle of the night, but Jaxon never showed up.

Then, I saw the post his precious little friend, Gwenyth Moore, made on her Instagram.

"It is my birthday today! Even though someone did not have time to take me to France, I will forgive him since he spent the whole day with me at the amusement park instead~"

If this had been the old me, I would have called him immediately, crying and demanding answers.

But this time, I was simply done.

The airport was freezing at night, and a torrential downpour was screaming against the glass outside.

Gwenyth's post felt like a physical sting to my eyes; I gripped my phone tight, fighting the urge to shatter it against the floor.

This was the hundredth and first time Jaxon had broken his word to me.

I shivered involuntarily as the last flicker of hope in my heart finally went dark.

A week ago, Jaxon had abandoned me at a high-end gala because Gwenyth claimed she was locked out of her house.

He left me there to face the whispers and mockery of the elite crowd alone.

The venue was in the middle of nowhere, and I only made it home because my best friend drove an hour out of her way to pick me up.

I had been furious for days.

That was until I saw those tickets to France in his office.

He looked at me with such indifference when I found them.

"I wanted to surprise you, but now that the cat is out of the bag, just meet me at the gate."

I convinced myself it was his way of making things up to me.

Every time he ditched me for Gwenyth, he would buy me a luxury gift.

And like a fool, I always fell for it, letting him charm his way back into my heart.

But standing there in the empty terminal, all I felt was a bone-deep exhaustion.

The wind howled outside, and I couldn't stop myself from sneezing.

It was so late that I had to pay triple the fare on a ride-share app just to get a car at one in the morning.

When I finally got home and flipped on the lights, I jumped at the sight of Jaxon sitting silently in the living room.

He had his arms crossed over his chest, and the moment he saw me, he started barking questions.

"Do you have any idea what time it is? Where the hell have you been roaming around?"

I didn't want to say a word; I just dragged my suitcase toward the stairs.

Waiting at the airport all day had drained every ounce of energy I had left.

Jaxon grew angry at my silence and grabbed my wrist, jerking me back.

"I am talking to you!"

I looked down at his hand on my arm and felt a wave of defeat.

"Where do you think I was? Where does a person usually go when they are carrying a packed suitcase?"

Frustrated, I kicked the suitcase toward him.

Jaxon didn't even remember our plans; he just kicked the bag aside with a scowl.

"Oh, so you think you are grown enough to just run away without a word now? Do you even respect me as your husband, or are you too stupid to check in?"

I let out a cold, bitter laugh at his twisted logic.

"Mr. Sterling sure has a short memory. You already forgot you were supposed to be on a flight to France tonight?"

"But I guess you were too busy playing games at the carnival with your little soulmate to care about me."

A flicker of guilt crossed his face, but it was quickly replaced by irritation.

"You know how busy work has been, and Gwenyth grew up without parents. It was just a birthday, Shaylynn. Do you have to be so dramatic?"

I was so sick of that excuse.

Just because they grew up together and she was an orphan, Jaxon dropped everything the moment she snapped her fingers.

I was always the one left behind, ranked somewhere far below Gwenyth Moore.

And now, he had left me sitting in an airport for twenty-four hours without so much as a text.

It was beyond absurd.

Jaxon's grip was tight, and it took everything I had to pry his fingers off my skin.

"Fine," I said, my voice eerily calm. "I was wrong. I am sorry."

In the past, I would have fought him until sunrise.

But now, there was nothing left inside me―no fire, no anger, just a desire to go upstairs and sleep.

Jaxon blinked, looking stunned by my sudden compliance.

He studied my face for a long time, searching for a trap.

Finally, he let out a sigh of relief.

"I am glad you finally understand. Once I finish up tomorrow, I will take you to that mountain resort you liked."

He brushed past me and headed up the stairs.

I gave a non-committal hum and pulled out my phone to message a friend I hadn't seen in months.

I knew exactly what would happen tomorrow; Gwenyth would find some emergency to pull him away from the resort trip.

So, I decided to make my own plans with my friends while I prepared the divorce papers.

Once the ink was dry, he could spend every waking second with Gwenyth for all I cared.