Chapter 5

After a beat of stunned silence, Zachary’s roar shattered the quiet.

"What did you just say?!"

"I said, I want a divorce," I repeated, enunciating every single word.

"Fine! If you're so brave, come down to the community pool right now, and we'll go straight to the courthouse to sign the papers!"

"I'll be there. Don't back out!" I snapped and ended the call.

I looked up, meeting Ethan’s stunned gaze.

"What are you staring at? You're signing yours today too."

To make sure neither of them could run, we forced Ethan to come with us to Zachary’s pool.

And of course, Mia insisted on tagging along, looking smug, as if she was about to walk down the aisle the moment our signatures dried.

Since it was the off-season, the community pool was practically deserted.

We spotted Zachary standing near the deep end.

I pulled the prepared divorce papers from my bag and thrust them toward him.

He looked at the bold letters at the top of the page, but he didn't reach out to take them. Instead, he let out a cold laugh.

"What is this? Another one of your stupid little attention-seeking games?"

As he tilted his head, I caught a glimpse of a faint red mark on his collarbone.

I slowly looked at Mia. She noticed my gaze, arched an eyebrow, and offered me a victorious, mocking smirk.

An intense wave of nausea hit me. The taste of bile rose in my throat.

Forcing myself to stay upright, I said, "No. I am entirely serious."

Seeing the cold determination in my eyes, his smug expression finally cracked, replaced by irritation.

"Is this because of that phone call? Because I was busy coaching and snapped at you? Or is it because I didn't take you to the therapist, or because I didn't jump in to pull you out of the water?"

My chest tightened. So, he knew. He knew exactly how much those actions would hurt me, yet he chose to do them anyway.

"Yes. All of it. And so much more."

The thousands of moments where he chose to ignore me had built a wall between us that could never be broken down.

He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "It’s such a minor issue, Chloe. Do you really have to bring up divorce over every little thing? When are you going to grow up?"

I let out a soft laugh. Of course. A narcissist never believes they did anything wrong.

Before I could speak, Mia cut in, her voice dripping with fake concern.

"Is it possible that you found someone else, Chloe? Is that why you're in such a rush to leave Zachary?"

Abby snapped. "Shut your mouth, you disgusting liar!"

She stepped forward to push Mia away from us.

But before Abby’s hand could even make contact, Mia let out a theatrical gasp and threw herself backward, plunging straight into the deep end of the pool.

"Mia!" Ethan yelled, immediately turning on Abby in a rage.

As Abby stood there, arms crossed, her loose sweater clung to her frame.

Ethan's eyes traveled down, and he froze. Her stomach was completely flat.

His eyes turned red. "Where is my baby?!" he demanded, grabbing her shoulder.

Abby looked at his furious, panicked face and said coldly, "Gone. Took you long enough to notice."

Ethan shook her violently. "How did it happen?! Tell me how!"

When Abby remained silent, his eyes darted to me. He remembered the day I jumped into the river.

"It was you!" he screamed, lunging at me. "You did this, you crazy bitch!"

With a violent shove, he pushed me backward.

*Splash!*