Chapter 3

My stomach churned. I felt sick.

Convenient. That's all I was.

Izzy, catching her friends' comments, finally spoke, her voice carrying easily.

"Oh, Liam was sweet. But Cody... Cody has always been the one. This arrangement with him, it's just to make his last few months happy. He deserves that."

Her words, so casual, so cruel, hit me like a punch to the gut.

I had to get out of there.

I turned, ready to bolt through the back door.

"Liam?"

Izzy's voice. She'd seen me.

My blood ran cold. Panic seized me.

Do I turn around? Do I pretend I didn't hear?

Before I could decide, Cody Jenkins swaggered in.

He spotted me instantly. A smug smirk spread across his face.

Our eyes met. A silent, charged exchange.

He walked over to Izzy, slinging an arm around her shoulders.

"Hey there, wife," he said, his voice loud, possessive.

Izzy stiffened slightly.

"Cody, please. We're not... He's my brother, in spirit."

She tried to maintain the facade, even now.

He just grinned, leaning in to kiss her cheek.

"Sure, 'sister.' Whatever you say."

He repeated "wife" again, louder this time, for my benefit.

Izzy sighed, a small, exasperated sound, but she didn't pull away.

She leaned into him, a subtle shift, an acceptance of his intimacy.

It was clear. Their bond, whatever its true nature, was deep.

I stood there, a ghost at their celebration.

I had no right to say anything, no place in this new reality they'd crafted.

The idea of confrontation died.

I slipped out the back, unnoticed.

The walk home was long. Or rather, to the small apartment I'd rented for my last few days.

Exhaustion, bone-deep and soul-crushing, finally claimed me.

I fell into bed, fully clothed, and slept like the dead.

A banging on the door woke me.

Disoriented, I stumbled to answer it.

Izzy.

She was drunk, leaning against the doorframe.

"Liam," she slurred, "what are you doing here? This isn't our house."

"Izzy, we're divorced, remember?" I said, my voice rough with sleep and despair.

"We live here now."

She stumbled in, her eyes unfocused.

She reached for me, her hands surprisingly strong.

"Cody," she whispered, her breath smelling of champagne. "Oh, Cody, I missed you."

My heart fractured. Again.

"Izzy, it's me, Liam!" I tried to pull away, frustration rising. "Look at me!"

She wasn't listening. She was in her own world, with her own desires.

"Cody, hold me," she murmured, her lips finding my neck. "Make love to me."

She pressed against me, her body soft, familiar, yet alien.

She was kissing me, touching me, calling me Cody.

I was trapped, pinned against the wall by her misplaced affection.

All night, she whispered his name, declarations of love meant for another man.

I endured it, a silent scream trapped in my chest.

By morning, I was numb.