Chapter 3

He wouldn' t let me go. But he was building a new life, a new family, with another woman. My stomach churned with a sickening mix of anger and confusion. Aubrie was different. He actually cared for her. Hunter, who had always treated women as disposable, was attentive, even respectful, to Aubrie.

Their two-year affair had blossomed, seemingly, into something stable, something happy. He allowed her to parade herself in front of me and Kaylee, a constant, subtle provocation. Every night, he would come home smelling of her perfume, a scent that clung to him like a second skin.

I pretended not to notice, not to smell it. I just endured, waiting, wishing for the day he would grow tired of me. I longed for him to be the one to ask for a divorce.

Why, now that Aubrie was carrying his child, was he still clinging to me?

I remembered the first time I met him. He had said he loved me. He had pursued me with a ruthless determination, systematically destroying my family' s finances and Alan' s career, forcing me into this marriage.

The day Alan broke up with me, he cried. He told me Hunter had threatened his family. Hunter had stood there, a victorious smirk on his face, pulling me into his arms.

"You' re mine, Krystal," he' d whispered, his eyes blazing with a possessive fire. "Anyone who tries to take you away will pay the price."

I saw the love in his eyes then, and the madness. If this was how he loved, I thought, then I would accept my fate.

But Aubrie was the exception. Hunter showered her with affection, respect, and freedom, everything he denied me. He had only ever caged me.

He stopped loving me a long time ago. I was sure of it.