Chapter 4

I stayed in the garden for a while, just breathing. The distant party music was a faint hum. I was about to go back inside, find my purse, and leave, when I heard voices from the other side of a large hedge.

"Liam, are you sure this is okay? Giving me the bracelet in front of everyone... in front of Olivia. It feels... wrong." It was Scarlett's voice, soft and full of concern.

"It's not wrong," Liam's voice was firm, but gentle, the way he only ever spoke to her. "It's right. It's where it belongs. On you."

I peeked through a gap in the leaves. Liam had Scarlett pinned lightly against the garden wall. His hands were on either side of her head, and he was leaning in close. The moonlight illuminated them, creating an intimate, romantic scene.

"But she's still your wife," Scarlett whispered, her eyes wide and innocent. "People will talk."

"Let them talk," Liam murmured, his voice dropping lower. He brushed a stray strand of hair from her face. "You know how I feel. You've always known." He leaned in further, his lips just inches from hers.

A small, sharp pang went through my chest. It was a surprise, that little flicker of pain. It felt like a phantom limb, an echo of an old wound. I recognized it for what it was: the last dying ember of the love I once had for him. It wasn't love anymore, just a residual ache. I took a steadying breath and the feeling faded.

I decided to leave them to their moment. I turned to walk away, but my heel caught on a loose stone in the path. I stumbled, making a small noise.

The voices stopped.

A moment later, Scarlett came around the hedge. When she saw me, her innocent expression vanished, replaced by a flash of pure venom. It was gone in a second, replaced by a look of fear.

"Olivia!" she cried out, her voice trembling. "What are you doing, sneaking around out here?"

She clutched at the neckline of her dress. "My necklace! It's gone!" She looked around frantically. "It was a gift from Liam! The one he gave me for my birthday last year!"

Mr. and Mrs. Hayes, drawn by Scarlett's cry, came rushing out. "What is it, darling? What's wrong?" Mrs. Hayes asked, wrapping an arm around Scarlett.

"My necklace! It's missing!" Scarlett sobbed. "I just had it! Olivia was here... she was just standing here in the dark!"

The implication was clear. Mrs. Hayes's face hardened as she looked at me. "Olivia, did you take Scarlett's necklace? You were always so jealous of her. Give it back right now."

"I didn't take anything," I said, my voice even.

"Liar!" Scarlett shrieked. "You've always hated that Liam gives me gifts! You're just trying to hurt me!"

"That's enough!" Mr. Hayes boomed. He strode over to me, his face red with anger. "You've caused enough trouble for one night. Empty your pockets."

Before I could react, Mrs. Hayes grabbed my small clutch purse and opened it, dumping the contents onto a small garden table. My phone, keys, lipstick. No necklace.

"See? She doesn't have it," I said.

Just then, Liam walked around the hedge. He looked from Scarlett's tear-streaked face to me, his expression turning to stone.

"She must have hidden it on her," Scarlett wailed, pointing a shaking finger at me. "She's a thief!"

Without a word of warning, Mrs. Hayes slapped me across the face. The sting was sharp and shocking. "How dare you steal from your sister! After everything we've done for you!"

She began to pat me down, her hands rough and invasive. "It must be here somewhere."

And then, her hand went to the pocket of my dress, a small, almost invisible pocket in the seam. Her fingers closed around something hard. She pulled her hand out.

Lying in her palm was the missing diamond necklace.

A collective gasp went through the small group of onlookers who had gathered. Scarlett sobbed harder. "I knew it! How could you, Olivia?"

I stared at the necklace. I had no idea how it got there. It was an obvious, clumsy setup, but they didn't care. They wanted to believe it.

Liam walked towards me slowly. He stopped right in front of me, his eyes blazing with a cold fire I had never seen before. It was a look of pure, unadulterated hatred.

He spoke, his voice low and lethal, each word a hammer blow.

"You are the most disgusting woman I have ever met."

He didn't shout. He didn't need to. The quiet venom in his voice was worse than any yell.

"Do you really think these pathetic games will get you what you want? Do you think I'll ever look at you? You're nothing. You're not my wife. You're just an obligation I've been forced to endure." He gestured to Scarlett, who was now being comforted by her parents. "You are not fit to even breathe the same air as her."

His words should have shattered me. They were designed to annihilate what was left of my spirit. The old Olivia would have been destroyed, reduced to a weeping, begging mess.

But something inside me didn't break. It snapped.

A strange feeling bubbled up inside me-not sadness, not anger, but a wild, exhilarating sense of release. The last chain holding me to my past had just been broken by his cruelty.

A smile spread across my face. It wasn't a happy smile. It was a smile of pure, unburdened freedom. It was the smile of a prisoner who has just been told she is free to go.

The people staring at me looked confused. My smile was not the reaction they expected. Liam's brow furrowed in irritation.

I looked him straight in the eye, the smile still on my lips.

"You know what, Liam?" I said, my voice clear and steady, ringing through the silent garden. "You're right. I'm done playing games."

My smile widened. "Because I don't love you anymore."