Chapter 2

2

Cyrus froze.

I saw him run his hand through his hair, a habit he had whenever he was losing his patience.

A second later, his voice turned ice-cold.

"Fine, Lana. Let's see how long you last in this city without me paying your bills."

He slammed the door and walked out, acting as if this house had never been his home.

The silence in the room was suffocating. My heart felt just as heavy and dead as the air around me.

I finally lost my strength and collapsed onto the floor.

I used to think we would grow old together. Now, our life was nothing but a pile of trash.

Cyrus moved fast. By the time I took an Uber to the clinic, a divorce settlement was already in my inbox.

It came with a short, brutal note.

"I've been sick of you for a long time. Sign it and leave quietly if you want to keep any of your pride."

Meanwhile, I was about to lie down on a cold operating table to end the life of our unborn child.

"Ms. Sterling, we need your final decision now," the nurse said softly.

I turned off my phone screen and let the darkness take over.

The procedure felt like a blurry nightmare. When I woke up, my best friend, Tasha Miller, was holding the printed divorce papers.

Tasha was a high-powered attorney and had been my closest friend since our days at UChicago.

Looking at my pale state, she was fuming with rage.

"This agreement is a total joke. It's like he wrote it in a fit of rage."

"It's full of clauses that screw you over. After what he's put you through, you're telling me you just want to sign it?"

"Lana, have you lost your mind?"

The lingering pain from the procedure radiated through my body. I took a deep breath, trying to look indifferent.

"Wasting time fighting a man like him will only drain what little life I have left."

Tasha looked at me with deep pity. She knew how much I had sacrificed.

I remembered the last time I was in the hospital for a stomach issue. Tasha was the only one there.

Back then, my husband was in Maui with his little assistant.

They were posting photos in sexy beachwear, flaunting their happy life on my feed every hour.

I had been suffering alone in a hospital bed, feeling like a fly watching them through a window.

I realized then that I had been an outsider in my own marriage for a long time.

My pillow was soaked with tears, but they weren't tears of sadness anymore. They were tears of finality.

Tasha finally sighed, her shoulders dropping.

"I get it, Lana. I'll handle the paperwork exactly how you want."

"But you have to promise me one thing. You have to take care of yourself first."

I gave her a weak, forced smile and nodded.

I was truly grateful for her. She reminded me that even a friend cared more for me than my so-called husband ever did.

I swiped open my phone one last time.

Maya had just posted a new update on her social media.

"Small, dusty diamond rings are so last season. Cyrus just bought me a much bigger one! So happy!"

The ring in the photo sparkled with a light that felt like a needle in my eye.

I fought back the urge to throw up and left a single comment.

"I hope the two of you have a long life together. You truly deserve each other."