Chapter 2

When Ava pulled up to the house she once called home, she noticed the neighbors peering through their curtains. Mrs. Gable from next door hurried over, her face a mixture of pity and morbid curiosity.

"Ava, dear," she whispered, clutching her robe. "Ryan... he had that woman stay the night. The whole neighborhood heard them... laughing."

Ava just nodded, a bitter, humorless smile touching her lips. "Let them talk."

She didn't care anymore. The opinions of these people meant nothing. The life she had built in this neighborhood was a stage play, and the final curtain had fallen.

As she walked to the front door, she could hear their voices from inside. Chloe' s, high and sweet, and Ryan' s, a low, intimate rumble.

"Ryan, darling," Chloe was saying, "that tech conference in Geneva... you know how much I' ve always wanted to go. But the tickets are so expensive."

"Don' t worry about it," Ryan' s voice was soothing. "I' ll sell some of my company stock. It' s worth it to see you happy."

A cold memory surfaced in Ava' s mind. A few years ago, she had been offered a chance to attend a prestigious architectural symposium in Rome. It was a career-defining opportunity. She had asked Ryan if they could afford it, even offering to pay for half.

He had shut her down instantly. "Ava, we can' t be frivolous with our money. My stock is for our future, for emergencies. You need to be more responsible."

The hypocrisy was staggering. Love and lack of love. The difference was a trip to Geneva. The difference was everything.

She pushed the door open. The sound of their laughter died. They were on the sofa, tangled together, a half-empty bottle of wine on the coffee table. The air was thick with their intimacy.

Ryan shot to his feet, his face darkening with anger. "Where have you been? I' ve been calling you all day!"

Ava met his gaze, her own expression unreadable. "I was busy."

"Busy doing what?" he snapped.

Chloe rose gracefully, gliding to Ryan' s side. She placed a hand on his arm, her eyes full of false concern as she looked at Ava. "Ryan, don' t be upset with her. She' s probably just feeling a little lost after... the changes at work."

Her voice was laced with poison. She was trying to provoke Ava, to paint her as unstable and jealous.

"My professional life is none of your concern," Ava said, her voice dangerously quiet.

Chloe' s smile tightened. "Oh, but it is. Ryan has put me in charge of your old projects. I was looking through your designs... they' re a bit... dated, don' t you think? A little uninspired."

Ava thought of the sleepless nights, the endless revisions, the passion she had poured into every blueprint. She had won awards for those "uninspired" designs.

She saw the game Chloe was playing. This wasn't about work; it was about humiliation. She wanted a reaction, a fight. Ava wouldn' t give her the satisfaction.

She let the insult hang in the air, choosing silence instead. The exhaustion was bone-deep. She just wanted this to be over.

Ryan, misinterpreting her silence as submission, took charge. "I' ve moved your things into the guest room. Chloe needs the master suite. She' s been through a lot."

The audacity of it stole her breath. He was kicking her out of her own bedroom for his mistress. The room was filled with Chloe' s things now – her clothes spilling out of an expensive suitcase, her perfume hanging heavy in the air.

Ava just looked at him, a flicker of something unreadable in her eyes. "Fine."

She turned and walked towards the guest room without another word.

Her calm acceptance seemed to unnerve Ryan. He had expected tears, arguments, a dramatic scene. He had expected her to fight for him. The fact that she didn' t was something he couldn't comprehend. He stood there, watching her go, a strange sense of unease creeping into his chest. He was losing control, and he didn' t even know it yet.