Chapter 3

That night, I lay in our large, cold bed, a chasm of space between us. Liam came in late, reeking of Chloe's perfume. He didn't speak to me, just undressed in the dark and slid under the covers on his side, his back a rigid wall.

Sleep wouldn't come. A sharp, cramping pain started low in my belly. It wasn't the first time, but tonight it felt worse, more insistent. I reached out a hand, my fingers brushing against Liam's shoulder.

"Liam," I whispered, my voice tight with pain. "I don't feel well. My stomach hurts."

He didn't move. I thought he was asleep, but then I heard it. The soft, rhythmic tapping of fingers on a phone screen. I saw the faint blue light reflecting on the ceiling. He was texting.

"Liam, please," I tried again, a note of desperation creeping in.

He let out an impatient sigh. "It's just pregnancy cramps, Ava. Take one of the pills Dr. Carter gave you. I'm busy."

Busy. He was lying next to me, ignoring my pain, because he was busy texting his mistress.

He must have thought I couldn't see the light from his phone, that I was still the blind, helpless woman he could easily dismiss. The arrogance of it was breathtaking.

The pain in my belly was a dull, persistent ache, but the pain in my heart was a raging inferno. I slid out of bed, my movements silent. He didn't even notice.

I followed a sliver of light from the hallway to the guest room-Chloe's room. The door was slightly ajar. I peered through the crack.

Liam was inside. He had his arms wrapped around Chloe, who was sitting on the edge of the bed in a silky nightgown. He was kissing her, a desperate, hungry kiss that he had never given me.

"I can't stand it anymore, Liam," Chloe whimpered, pulling away slightly. "Having to see her every day, living in her house. When is she going to be gone?"

"Soon, my love, soon," Liam murmured, stroking her hair. "Just a little longer. We have to be careful."

"What if she finds out?" Chloe's voice was a breathy whisper. "What if she overheard us?"

"She won't," Liam said with absolute certainty. "She's blind and deaf to the world, Chloe. She only knows what I want her to know."

A bitter laugh almost escaped my lips. He was so wrong. I saw everything. I heard everything.

A wave of dizziness washed over me, and I swayed, my hand bumping against the door frame. It made a soft thud.

Inside the room, they froze.

"What was that?" Chloe hissed.

"Probably just the house settling," Liam said, though a flicker of unease crossed his face. He glanced toward the door. For a moment, I saw a sliver of guilt in his eyes, a shadow of the man I thought I knew.

But then Chloe wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling his face back to hers. "Don't think about her," she purred. "Think about us."

And just like that, the guilt was gone, replaced by the familiar obsession. He was weak, so terribly weak.

I stumbled back to our room, the image of them seared into my brain. The pain in my belly was sharper now, a protest against the storm of betrayal raging inside me.

I fumbled in the dark for the bottle of pills on my nightstand, my hands shaking so badly I could barely open it. I swallowed one dry, the bitter taste coating my tongue.

I had a choice to make. I could confront them, create a scene, and be dragged through a messy, public battle. Or I could be smart.

My baby. I had to think of my baby. This child was all I had left.

I would play their game. I would be the blind, deaf, foolish wife for a little while longer. I would let them think they were in control.

I would wait until my baby was born, safe in my arms.

And then, I would leave. I would walk away from this house of lies and never look back.

As for Liam, I felt nothing. No love, no hate. Just a vast, empty void where my heart used to be. He was no longer my husband. He was just a man I used to know.