Chapter 3

Eliza Hodges POV:

Camden, for a split second, hesitated. His eyes, usually so sharp and calculating, flickered with something akin to apprehension when he saw me standing there, radiating a cold, detached calm. But the hesitation vanished as quickly as it came.

"What are you doing here, Eliza?" His voice was a low growl, laced with an anger that felt disproportionate to the situation. "Are you trying to ruin my event? Make a scene?"

I took another step forward, holding out the black velvet coat. "You forgot this. It's cold out." My voice was steady, betraying none of the turmoil churning inside me. "I'll be leaving now."

"Don't you dare," he hissed, his eyes darting around at the throng of reporters still snapping photos, their flashes momentarily blinding. "Don't you dare walk away and make me look bad."

Before he could finish, a glass of amber liquid, undoubtedly whiskey, sailed through the air, narrowly missing my head. It shattered against the wall behind me, spraying sticky droplets and sharp shards onto my hair and evening dress. My body recoiled, but my expression remained impassive.

"What do you think you're doing, you old hag?!" Kai shrieked, his face contorted with rage, his arm still wrapped around Camden. "Trying to sabotage us? You're just jealous, aren't you? Because Camden finally found someone who actually cares about him, someone who understands his vision!"

His words rolled off me like water on glass. I looked at Camden, who was now openly comforting Kai, his earlier apprehension completely gone, replaced by a fierce protectiveness. He stroked Kai's hair, whispering reassurances, while I stood there, drenched in whiskey, a public spectacle.

The days that followed blurred into a monotonous parade of public humiliation. Camden never came home. Instead, his image, always with Kai, was plastered across every social media feed, every gossip column. "Camden Dunn and Kai Hoffman: A Love Story Ignited by Innovation." His company's marketing team, usually so meticulous, now shamelessly used their affair to promote the "Dunn Fitness" lifestyle-a lifestyle of youth, vitality, and apparently, infidelity.

I remained silent. What was there to say? My voice had been silenced long ago, first by his promises, then by his betrayals, and finally, by my own exhaustion.

One afternoon, as I was packing some of my art supplies, the doorbell rang. I opened it to find Kai standing there, a smirk playing on his lips, dressed in Camden' s oversized hoodie, looking entirely too comfortable.

"What do you want?" I asked, my voice devoid of warmth.

"Just wanted to see how the old lady was doing," he drawled, his eyes sweeping over me with contempt. "Heard you're not taking the separation well. Crying into your glass, are we?"

I simply raised an eyebrow. "Is that all?"

"Oh, no," he stepped closer, his voice dropping to a theatrical whisper. "Camden told me everything. How you never satisfied him, how you were always so frigid in bed. Honestly, Eliza, for a woman your age, you really should have learned a trick or two." He leaned in, his breath hot against my ear. "He said I made him feel alive again. Something you haven't done in years."

A strange, almost hysterical laugh bubbled up inside me. Frigid? Unsatisfied? The audacity of this boy, repeating Camden's cruel words like gospel. It was almost comical.

"Kai," I said, my voice dangerously soft, "do you truly believe any of this is right? Breaking up a marriage, publicly humiliating someone, all for... what? A temporary thrill? A step up the corporate ladder?"

He straightened, puffing out his chest. "Love is love, Eliza. You wouldn't understand. You're just a bitter, jealous woman who can't hold onto her man. Camden and I have a real connection. A true connection." He preened, basking in his perceived victory. "Besides, what's wrong with finding happiness? You're just a relic, Eliza. He outgrew you."

I stared at him, at his youthful arrogance, his utter lack of remorse. My stomach churned, not with anger, but with a profound revulsion. This was the depth of their depravity, the utter moral bankruptcy. I wanted to slap him, to wipe that arrogant smirk off his face, but my upbringing, my very nature, held me back. Violence was not my way. That was his world, not mine.