Chapter 2

Liv Hayes POV

The brunch had ended three hours ago.

I sat on the edge of our sprawling king-sized bed, the silence of the house pressing against my eardrums like a physical weight.

My hands were steady, which terrified me. I should be crying. I should be screaming.

But the pain was so absolute, so total, that my body had simply shut down to survive it.

I reached up and unclasped the diamond necklace Michael had given me for our first anniversary.

*To my eternal love,* the card had said.

A lie.

I dropped the cold metal into a velvet box and buried it at the back of the drawer, underneath old receipts and broken pens.

I was in the middle of scrubbing the makeup off my face when the front door slammed downstairs.

Footsteps followed. Heavy, confident.

Michael walked into the bedroom, smelling of rain and *her* perfume-something musky, expensive, and undeniable.

"You're still up?" he asked, loosening his tie. He didn't look at me. Instead, he studied his reflection in the mirror, checking for lipstick, blood, or guilt. He found neither.

"I was cleaning up," I said. My voice sounded hollow, like it was coming from someone else.

"Sorry about leaving," he said, tossing his jacket onto the chair. "One of the shipments got held up at the docks. Family business. You know how it is."

"Of course," I said. "For our future."

He turned then, a flicker of confusion crossing his face at my tone. But he dismissed it just as quickly.

"I'll make it up to you," he said, walking over to cup my chin. "We'll throw a bigger party. A real celebration. Once the baby comes."

He didn't ask how I felt. He didn't ask why I was pale.

"Elizabeth called," he said, dropping his hand. "There's a family dinner at the compound tomorrow night. Everyone will be there."

"I don't feel well, Michael. The baby is kicking a lot."

"Nonsense," he snapped, his voice hardening. "I already told them we're coming. You need to show face. People are talking about why I left early."

He grabbed his phone from the nightstand, scrolling through messages.

"Besides," he muttered, "Selena will be there. She's staying with my aunt for a while. We need to be welcoming."

My stomach lurched.

"Welcoming," I repeated.

"Yes. In fact..." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, flat box wrapped in silver paper. "I bought this. You give it to her."

I stared at the box. "What is it?"

"Just a bracelet. A welcome home gift. It looks better coming from the wife."

He shoved the box into my hand. It felt heavy, like holding a live grenade.

"Be ready by seven tomorrow, Liv. Wear the red dress. I like how it shows off what's mine."

*

The Hayes family compound was a fortress of gray stone and iron gates.

We sat at the long mahogany table. Twenty people, all connected by blood or complicity.

I sat on Michael's right. Selena sat on his left.

The seating arrangement was a calculated insult, but no one said a word.

"So, Selena," Michael's uncle boomed, raising a glass of dark red wine. "To the return of our lost sheep. Michael was miserable without his best friend around."

Laughter rippled around the table.

I stared at my plate. The prime rib looked raw and bloody.

"Liv has something for you," Michael said, nudging my arm under the table. His grip was bruising.

I lifted the silver box. My hand didn't shake.

"Welcome to the family," I said softly.

Selena took the box, her fingers brushing mine. Her skin was ice cold.

She opened it and gasped. A diamond tennis bracelet glinted in the chandelier light.

"Oh, Michael," she breathed, looking directly at him, ignoring me completely. "You remembered."

"Remembered what?" I asked.

"I saw this in a magazine in Milan three years ago," she said, clutching the diamonds to her chest. "I told him it was the only thing I ever wanted."

Three years ago. We were newlyweds then.

"It's exquisite," she said, finally glancing at me. "You have great taste, Liv. Or did Michael pick it out?"

"Michael picked it out," I said.

Dinner was served.

Michael was animated, talking strategy with his uncle, but his body was angled toward Selena.

He picked up the serving spoon for the roasted potatoes.

"Here," he said, piling them onto Selena's plate. "You're too thin. Eat."

He placed a heap of asparagus on her plate next.

Then he turned to me.

He put a rare slice of steak on my plate.

"Eat up, Liv. The baby needs iron."

I looked at the blood pooling around the meat.

"I can't eat undercooked meat, Michael," I whispered. "The doctor said-"

"Just eat around the pink parts," he said dismissively, turning back to Selena to refill her wine glass.

"Look at them," an aunt whispered loudly across the table. "Like two magnets. Always have been."

I sat there, the invisible wife, watching my husband cut the meat for the woman he loved.

He knew exactly how she liked her steak.

He had forgotten that his own child's life depended on what I ate.

I picked up my fork and gripped it until my knuckles turned white.

I wasn't just a bridge anymore.

I was a ghost haunting the ruins of my own marriage.