Chapter 4

"Chloe! What on earth is wrong with you?!"

My best friend, Sarah, slammed her hand on the table after I finished telling her everything. People at the surrounding tables turned to stare. Blushing, I gently tugged her sleeve with my uninjured hand.

Sarah was shaking with pure rage after hearing about Austin's disgusting behavior, but she was even angrier at me for taking it.

"Are you out of your mind?!" she gasped, suddenly throwing her arms around me. I froze for a second before wrapping my arms back around her.

I felt her warm tears spilling onto my neck. "Why didn't you tell us sooner, Chloe?" she sobbed, holding onto my painfully thin body. "That monster... look what he's done to you."

My other close friends, Emily and Jessica, were sitting there with red, teary eyes, too.

"You need to file for divorce right now! I don't care, you have to leave him!"

"Chloe, if you don't divorce him, I'm cutting you off!"

Their voices overlapped, filled with protective anger, washing over me in a chaotic wave.

I forced a small, weak smile, trying to blink away my own tears. But somewhere deep down, a spark of courage ignited. I was going to divorce Austin.

Images of Austin at sixteen and Austin now, at twenty-six, blurred together in my mind. But in the end, only the sweet, boyish face of sixteen-year-old Austin remained, smiling softly at me as if whispering, "Don't forgive him."

His phantom self seemed to step forward, wrapping me in a warm embrace. "Be happy, Chloe."

I looked at my crying friends, and then at the ghost of the boy I once loved.

"Okay," I whispered. "I'm leaving him."

My friends cried tears of relief, their loud sniffling drawing more looks from the other diners. I offered an apologetic smile to the waiter.

When I looked up again, the young boy from my memories shed a single tear and faded into the bustling crowd.

Once I made the decision to get a divorce, a massive weight lifted off my chest.

I hired a lawyer, had the divorce papers drawn up, and had them served to his office. But I heard nothing back. He hadn't come home in two weeks, which was honestly a blessing. I was glad I didn't have to look at his face.

Still, the tabloids kept posting photos and videos of him entering and leaving luxury hotels with different women. Online, people mocked me, calling me a pathetic, discarded wife. I just shrugged it off and went about my life.

One afternoon, while out shopping, Julian's handsome face and his cute snaggletooth smile popped into my head.

I grabbed Sarah's arm and promised her that there was an absolute snack of a sales clerk working at this boutique. Sarah's eyes instantly lit up, and she dragged me toward the store before I could even finish my sentence.

"Hi! Welcome in!"

Unlike last time, a gorgeous young woman greeted us at the door. I looked around and noticed that all the employees working today were young girls.

The second we stepped inside, Sarah completely forgot about the "snack" of a clerk and went straight for the racks. She was totally absorbed in picking out outfits. Hearing the other salesgirls giggling softly at her excitement, I blushed and looked down.

"Excuse me, is Julian in today?" I asked the stunning girl who was smiling warmly at me.