Chapter 1

Finding out that my husband spent the night at his "first love's" apartment after their high school reunion was the final straw for me.

The girl who got away, Clara, had posted a photo of him sleeping peacefully on her Instagram.

The caption read:

"Still the same restless sleeper after all these years..."

The comments below were flooded with their old friends congratulating them on finally getting back together.

I sneered and left a comment of my own: "You two really are a match made in heaven. Don't forget to invite me to the wedding. I'll gladly buy the champagne."

Looking at the comment I had just posted, I let out a long, shaky breath and lit a cigarette.

On the wall, our wedding photo seemed to glare back at me, mocking my stupidity.

Julian hadn't come home all night. I had tossed and turned in our bed, unable to sleep, my mind flooded with memories of our past.

The next evening, I came home from work and found Julian sitting on the sofa. His face was tense, dark with anger.

I hung my purse on the rack by the door and walked right past him without a word.

"Audrey!"

He slammed his hand on the coffee table and stood up, glaring at me with pure fury.

"What the hell was that comment you left last night?"

I let out a cold laugh. "What did it mean? Exactly what it said. You slept at another woman's apartment, Julian. What did you expect?"

He frowned, looking slightly caught off guard. "Can you stop dragging our friendship through the dirt with your sick imagination? Clara and I are just friends. Nothing happened last night!"

He sank back onto the sofa, running a hand through his hair, putting on his usual display of exhausted misery.

Every single fight ended like this. Whenever he ran out of excuses, he would play the victim. In the past, I fell for it every time. I would always run over to comfort him, apologizing for things I didn't do.

But this time, I just looked at him coldly. I didn't move an inch.

Seeing no reaction from me, he stopped his little act.

Over the years of our marriage, I had tolerated everything Julian threw at me. Maybe that was why he thought I had no backbone. He just kept pushing my boundaries, further and further.

But this time, the betrayal was staring me right in the face. No woman in her right mind could swallow this.

"Audrey, I slept on her couch last night. Clara was in her bedroom. Do you really have zero trust in me?

Come on, babe, stop making a scene. Delete that comment. You're making us both look bad in front of everyone."

Julian's words made me want to laugh out loud.

The camera angle Clara used made it painfully obvious that they were lying in the same bed. What was he still trying to lie about?

Besides, if it was such a big deal, Clara could have easily deleted the Instagram post. But she didn't. She wanted me to delete my comment.

Did she enjoy the congratulations from their friends too much to let it go?

"I'm not deleting it," I said, my voice eerily calm. I reached into my purse, pulled out the divorce papers, and placed them on the table.

"Sign this."

My tone was flat. I had been disappointed too many times. Now, my heart was just numb.

Julian’s eyes widened. He stared at the papers on the table in absolute disbelief.

"Audrey! Are you out of your mind?!"

Yes, maybe I was.

I had endured so much disrespect and pressure in this marriage, only to get a knife in my back in return.

Who wouldn't go crazy?

The fact that I could stand in the same room with him and calmly discuss divorce was already the ultimate mercy.

Honestly, I had realized a long time ago that Julian never truly had a place for me in his heart.

To him, Clara was his one and only.

This wasn't something that started recently. If I looked back, the warning signs had been there all along.