Chapter 2

Caleb was the first to recover, letting out a short, derisive laugh. "Seriously, Hughes? You bought a fake ring just to get her attention? That' s pathetic, even for you."

Stella' s color returned to her face, a wave of relief washing over her. She clung to Caleb' s explanation like a lifeline.

"He' s right," she said, her voice regaining its familiar arrogance. "Oh, Ethan. You didn' t have to go to such lengths. I told you, I' m still willing to take you back. You should be grateful."

She reached out to touch my cheek, a gesture that used to make me melt. Now, it just made my skin crawl.

I took a step back, out of her reach.

"Leave me alone," I said, my voice low and final. "I need to get back to my wife. And my child."

The word "child" hung in the air between us. Stella' s condescending smile vanished.

"What?" she whispered.

Before I could answer, Caleb, ever the drama queen, clutched his head. "Ugh, Stella, my head is killing me. All this stress... I think I need to lie down."

Instantly, her attention snapped to him. "Oh, sweetie, of course." She shot me a venomous look. "See what you' ve done? He' s distraught."

She started guiding him away. "I' m taking Caleb to a hotel. We need some privacy."

She paused, looking over her shoulder at me, a challenge in her eyes. "Alone. Together." She was trying to get a rise out of me, one last desperate attempt to prove I still cared.

I just shrugged. "Have fun."

Her face contorted with fury at my indifference. It was a look I' d never seen before, and it was strangely satisfying. She spun on her heel and stormed off with Caleb in tow.

Finally free, I walked out of the ballroom and back to my own hotel, the Four Seasons. The conference had put me up in a suite. I was looking forward to a quiet night.

My phone buzzed. It was a text from my wife, Maria.

"Lily and I just landed. On our way to the hotel. Can' t wait to see you, my love."

A real smile spread across my face. I' d met Maria two years after moving to Seattle. She was an architect, brilliant and kind, with a laugh that could light up a room. Our relationship was built on trust and respect, things I never had with Stella. Our daughter, Lily, was the center of our universe. They were my life now. The past was just a bad dream.

I got to my floor and was walking down the hallway when I heard a familiar, grating voice.

"I can' t believe this. Of all the hotels in Austin, he had to follow us here."

It was Stella. She and Caleb were standing outside a room just a few doors down from mine.

Caleb saw me first. "Well, well. Look what the cat dragged in. Come to apologize, Hughes?"

Stella' s face lit up with a sick kind of triumph. "I knew it. I knew you couldn' t stay away. You followed me."

I ignored them and continued to my room.

"Don' t you walk away from me!" she shrieked, her voice echoing in the quiet hall. "You owe me an explanation!"

Just as I reached my door, it swung open from the inside.

Maria stood there, her face breaking into a warm, beautiful smile. "Husband," she said, leaning in to kiss me. "We missed you."