Chapter 4

The whispers from the crowd felt like tiny cuts. People were staring, judging her. The heartless wife, tormenting her husband and his poor, grieving friend.

Sophia couldn' t take it anymore. She stepped forward and slapped Ethan hard across the face.

The sound echoed in the quiet driveway.

Ethan recoiled, stunned. Then his face contorted with rage. "Like friend, like friend. I should have known. Your parents clearly didn' t teach you any manners."

The insult was a low blow. Ava' s parents were the kindest people she knew.

She grabbed Sophia' s arm. "Let' s go, Soph. It' s not worth it."

She turned her back on Ethan and Chloe, her expression cold and blank. She started walking away, pulling Sophia with her.

"Ava, stop!" Ethan grabbed her arm, his grip like iron. "You' re not going anywhere until you apologize to Chloe."

Ava slowly turned to face him. Her voice was devoid of all emotion.

"Why should I apologize?" she asked. She looked him straight in the eye. "You were talking about manners. Is this how your mother taught you to treat your wife?"

The coldness in her eyes unsettled him. It was a look he had never seen before. His grip loosened slightly.

Chloe, ever the master manipulator, saw her opening. She leaned against Ethan, her voice a fragile whisper. "Ethan, don' t. She' s just upset because you' ve been neglecting her. It' s my fault."

Ethan' s anger softened, replaced by a misguided sense of pity for Ava. He let go of her arm, convinced she was just acting out, throwing a tantrum.

That night, he came home. He brought a bouquet of pink tulips, Ava' s favorite. He acted as if the scene at the hospital had never happened.

"I' m home," he said, smiling, as if he expected her to run into his arms.

Ava just stared at him from the couch.

He set the flowers on the coffee table and sat next to her, trying to pull her into an embrace. "I missed you."

She flinched away from his touch, her body rigid.

He tried to kiss her. His hand moved to her waist.

"Don' t touch me," she said, her voice a shard of ice.