Chapter 3

My words set Brianna off.

She grabbed the pillow beside me and shoved it down onto my face, her expression twisted with murderous rage.

Cold dread gripped me. The woman I had spoiled for two years was suffocating me with her own hands—all for another man.

No matter how hard I flailed, I couldn't push her off. My vision faded into black.

I thought suffocation took my life.

Instead, Brianna panicked, afraid I might somehow survive, and set the entire bedroom on fire.

In my mind, the phantom heat still scorched my skin. My hands clawed at my neck, trying to shake off the memory of that suffocating smoke.

The burning sensation jerked me awake. It was just a nightmare.

I let out a long breath. Night had already fallen outside.

Sitting on the couch, I replayed the horrors of my past life. I swore to myself that I would never let Brianna step foot in my world again.

Easier said than done.

Before the thought even settled, the front door swung open. Brianna stormed in, glaring at me with raw hatred.

"Ethan! If you were in love with someone else, why didn't you just say so? Why did you have to humiliate me at our wedding? Do you have any idea what my family is saying about me on SnapChat right now?"

I scoffed. Of course I knew.

Her shallow relatives only respected money. Now that her rich ticket was gone, they weren't going to comfort her. They were going to tear her apart.

Behind my back, Brianna had flaunted designer bags, mocking her aunt for carrying cheap knockoffs.

When cousins came over to visit, she turned her nose up at their homemade farm goods, calling them trash.

Now that I dumped her, every single relative she had ever stepped on was kicking her while she was down.

They laughed at her, calling her trailer trash trying to play a high-society princess.

Scarlett had sent me screen recordings of their family group chat right after I walked out of the venue.

Brianna had always been this rotten. She just wore an innocent mask around me to get what she wanted.

"Ethan, you need to post an apology in my family group chat right now," Brianna demanded. "Otherwise, I'm dumping you for real. You'll die completely alone!"

Alone?

Yeah, right.

If my parents hadn't passed away, leaving me all alone in the world, I never would have clung to her fake warmth in the first place.

I set my phone on the table, feeling nothing but disgust.

"Take your shit and get out. Before I call the police and report you and Tyler for attempted murder."

Before I fell asleep this afternoon, I had my private investigator dig into Brianna and Tyler's history.

I used to think they hooked up after Tyler joined my firm.

I was wrong.

They had been dating since college. They were still together two years ago when I first met her.

Reading those files tore my heart open.

Tyler didn't ruin our marriage. I had been their target from the very beginning.

The hit-and-run driver who struck me outside that nightclub two years ago was Tyler. There were no cameras on that street, so the police never caught him.

The entire thing was a setup. Tyler hit me, and Brianna swooped in to play the guardian angel, making me fall head over heels for her.

Tears pricked my eyes as I realized my sincere love had been nothing but a sick punchline.

"Ethan, have you lost your mind?" Brianna screeched. "You believe strangers over me? It's Scarlett feeding you these lies, isn't it? I knew you two had something going on!"