Chapter 2

Olivia started packing the next morning.

It was a methodical purge.

Gifts from Ethan – mostly chosen by his assistant, impersonal, expensive.

Photographs of them, smiling falsely at society events.

Clothes she' d bought hoping to catch his eye, to please him.

Each item dropped into a box felt like shedding a layer of old, dead skin.

The penthouse, once a symbol of her dreams, now felt like a mausoleum of a love that never was.

Ethan returned in the afternoon, needing a suit for the annual Vanderbilt Foundation Gala.

He saw the boxes stacked in the living room.

"Spring cleaning?" he asked, a dismissive arch to his eyebrow. He was already scrolling through messages on his phone.

Olivia didn' t answer.

Her silence was a new language he didn' t seem to notice.

Later, Chloe called, her voice artfully tearful.

"Liv, you have to come to the Gala tonight. Please. For appearances. And... as my best friend. It would mean so much to me, especially now."

Olivia felt a bone-deep weariness.

"Alright, Chloe."

What was one more charade?

At the Gala, Chloe was radiant on Ethan' s arm, a new diamond bracelet sparkling on her wrist.

"Ethan' s 'get well' gift!" she trilled to a cluster of admirers, her eyes flicking to Olivia.

Ethan fussed over Chloe constantly, ensuring she was comfortable, fetching her a drink, adjusting her shawl.

He barely acknowledged Olivia, a brief nod across the crowded ballroom.

Olivia remembered a small, antique locket she' d once pointed out in a shop window, hoping he' d remember for her birthday.

He' d given her a gift certificate to a department store. Chosen by his assistant, of course.

She watched him now, his attention solely on Chloe, a dull ache settling in her chest.

It wasn' t jealousy anymore. It was a confirmation.

She' d been a fool for so long.

She thought of the divorce papers, filed and irrevocable.

A small, secret smile touched her lips.

Soon.