We were at a dinner party, and someone asked about

rama. He once told me if I ever truly left him for Ethan, he'd drive his car

it was: a carefully crafted narrative to keep me docile, to make his continued presence in her life seem like an act o

neered. "She'll get tired of your boring, stable life.

se finally coming to fruition. I had brush

t. The world outside my window was gray and indifferent. I was trying to focus on the equations I was scribbling on a

with an urgent, almost frantic energy that had nothing to do with my well-being. She rushe

she demanded, h

voice flat and tired. "A get-we

es finally locking on the small table next to my

he things she could have said, of all the reasons she could have finally shown up, t

"Liam... he needs it. He feels insecure. He needs a symbol, a promise that I'm

to soothe the ego of the man who had put me in this bed. The sheer, breathtaking audacity of it stole my b

g to him?" I asked, the words coming o

of pure selfishness. "Oh, don't be so dramatic. It's just a

died. It wasn't just the betrayal, the lies, or the abandonment. It was this. The casu

ag, and the ring box was inside. Her fingers closed around it, and she yanked it free. Her move