Chapter 2

Ava Miller POV

The next morning, I filed for divorce.

I sat in the lawyer's office, the leather chair sticking uncomfortably to the back of my legs, and signed the papers. The room smelled of stale coffee and litigation. I requested complete confidentiality. Bennett couldn't know. Not until I was gone.

I needed to act normal. I needed to pretend my heart wasn't a pile of ash in my chest.

Mr. Randolph Sr. called me in the afternoon.

"Kelsey," his voice was gruff, roughened by age but undeniably kind. "Bennett has been acting strange. Skipping meetings. Is everything alright at home?"

"Everything is fine," I lied, the words tasting like copper on my tongue. My voice didn't shake. "Just preparing for the baby."

I hung up and drove to Bennett's office.

I had stitched a blanket for the baby. It was soft, yellow wool-neutral and innocent. I had spent weeks on it, trying to pour love into a child that wasn't mine, trying to perfect the performance of the supportive wife.

I walked past his assistant, who looked at me with a heavy, knowing pity. I didn't knock.

The door swung open.

Bennett was sitting on the edge of his desk. Aria was standing between his spread knees. His hands were resting on her stomach, his thumbs rubbing possessive circles over the fabric of her dress.

"He's going to be a fighter," Bennett murmured, his face pressed reverently against her abdomen. "Just like his father."

I stood in the doorway, the yellow blanket clutched in my hands like a lifeline.

Aria saw me first. Her eyes widened, then narrowed into a sharp, territorial smirk. She didn't step away. She leaned back into him, staking her claim.

Bennett looked up. He didn't look guilty. He looked annoyed.

"Kelsey," he said, his tone flat and devoid of warmth. "What are you doing here? We're in the middle of a moment."

*A moment.*

Fifteen years of moments, erased by a girl he had known for three months.

"I brought this," I said, walking forward. My legs felt like lead weights. "For the baby."

I held out the blanket.

Bennett looked at it like it was a soiled rag. He took it with two fingers and tossed it carelessly onto a pile of paperwork on his desk.

"Thanks," he said, already turning his attention back to Aria. "We have a doctor's appointment in an hour. You should go home."

"Bennett," I said, my voice barely a whisper. "Did you ever actually have a genetic condition?"

He froze. His back stiffened, the muscles visible through his shirt.

"This isn't the time, Kelsey," he snapped, refusing to meet my eyes. "Stop making everything about you. This is about the child."

He didn't deny it.

I turned and walked out. I left the blanket. I left the last shred of my hope on that desk.

That night, there was a gathering at the estate. I had to go. Appearances had to be maintained until the paperwork went through.

I wore black. It felt appropriate for a funeral.

Bennett was pouring water for Aria. He adjusted her chair. He listened to her talk about reality TV with a rapt attention he hadn't shown me in a decade.

Then, he did the unthinkable.

He pulled a small velvet box from his pocket.

The room went quiet. He took out a necklace. It was my grandmother's emerald pendant. The one I had given him to keep safe in the family vault.

He had reset the stone.

"For the mother of my heir," Bennett announced, fastening the stolen legacy around Aria's neck.

The room applauded. I stood there, watching my family history being draped around the neck of the woman destroying my life.

I felt nothing. The anger was gone. The sadness was gone. There was just a vast, cold void.

I went to the restroom to breathe. Aria followed me.

She stood by the sinks, checking her makeup in the mirror with practiced vanity.

"He's bored of you," she said, applying a fresh coat of lipstick. "You're just an old copy of a book he's already read. I'm the new story. I'm his fire."

"Be careful," I said, my voice steady. "Fire burns."

Aria laughed. Then, her eyes flashed with malice. She stepped back, caught her heel deliberately on the tile, and threw herself backward.

She screamed as she hit the floor.

"Kelsey! Why did you push me?"

The door burst open. Bennett rushed in.

He didn't ask what happened. He didn't look at the distance between us.

He knelt beside Aria, panic in his eyes. "Are you hurt? The baby?"

"She pushed me," Aria sobbed, pointing a shaking, accusatory finger at me. "She's jealous, Bennett!"

Bennett looked up at me. His eyes were full of hatred.

"Get out," he snarled.

"Bennett, I didn't-"

"I said get out!" he roared. "You are toxic, Kelsey. Get out of my sight before I have security drag you out."

I looked at him. Really looked at him. The man I loved was dead. This was a stranger wearing his face.

I walked out of the restroom, past the whispering guests, and into the cool night air.

My phone buzzed in my pocket. A text from Aria.

*Stay away. He loves me and our baby now.*

I stared at the screen.

I deleted the contact. Then I deleted Bennett's.

I set my phone to Do Not Disturb.

The silence was finally mine.