Chapter 1

My husband signed our separation papers in front of his friends because he was sure I'd never leave him.

I was standing outside the VIP room when he did it.

In my hands was a box of his favorite pastries.

Inside, his friends were laughing.

"You should've seen Sienna," Callum said. "She actually packed a suitcase."

My hand froze on the door.

I had come to Tessa's welcome party because Callum asked me to pick up dessert on the way.

Tessa was his childhood friend.

Her engagement had recently ended, and Callum said she needed people around her.

So I drove halfway across town for the bakery he liked.

Then I heard my husband making fun of the night I almost left him.

"Eight years, Callum. I deserve better."

He copied my voice.

The room erupted again.

My fingers tightened around the pastry box.

Those really had been my words.

Two months ago, Callum had missed another dinner after promising to spend less time with Tessa. I had waited until the food went cold.

That night, I finally showed him the separation agreement a lawyer had helped me prepare.

I had cried so hard I could barely get the words out.

Callum took the papers from my hands. He had pulled me into his arms while I cried.

He promised our marriage mattered.

He promised he understood why I was hurt.

He even showed me a lake hotel on his phone and said he would take me away for a weekend.

I believed him.

Now, two months later, he was telling the story like he had won a game.

"She had her huge suitcase out, ready to leave," Callum continued. "But the second I offered a weekend trip, she unpacked everything and hung her clothes right back up."

Dean raised his glass. "That easy?"

Callum smiled. "With Sienna? Always."

My chest tightened.

We never took the trip.

That night, I thought he had asked me to stay because he loved me.

Apparently, Callum remembered it differently.

Now, he was boasting to everyone.

"She sounds exhausting." Tessa's sweet voice cut through the laughter. "Maybe It is not that Sienna doesn't dare to leave. I bet you don't dare to divorce her, Callum."

The room quieted.

Through the crack in the door, I saw her sitting beside my husband.

Her purse was on the chair I usually took.

A folder lay on the table near Callum's hand.

My stomach dropped.

I knew the bent corner. It was my separation agreement.

He had brought it here.

"Well?" She pushed the folder closer. "For a joke. Sign it, if you are so brave."

Someone laughed.

Another man tapped the table.

"Come on, Reed."

I forgot to breathe.

For one second, I waited for him to shut the folder.

He could laugh at me.

He could tell his friends I was easy to please.

But surely he would not sign the papers that could end our eight-year marriage just because people were watching.

Callum looked around the table.

Then he laughed.

"Watch."

His eyes were clear. He wasn't drunk.

He picked up the pen. He signed his name without hesitation.

The cheers came before he finished the last letter.

Dean's eyes widened. "You actually signed it? What if Sienna sees?"

"She won't do anything."

He sounded completely certain. "She already booked our anniversary dinner for Friday."

"She needs me too much."

I looked down at the pastry box.

I had spent forty minutes driving across town because he liked the almond ones from this bakery.

I had worried he would be waiting for me.

He wasn't waiting.

He was laughing.

I slowly turned around.

I walked to the front service desk and left the dessert there. Then, I walked out of the club.

The night wind hit my face. My body was cold, but my mind was completely clear.

Buzz.

My phone lit up. A text message from Callum.

"Where are you? We are waiting."

I stared at the screen. Yesterday, a message like this would make me anxious. I would rush to his side. I would apologize for being late.

This time, I locked the screen.

He did not know I had heard him.

He did not know I had watched him sign.

And most of all, he did not know that I finally understood why every promise he made had been so easy to break.

He believed I would always stay.

I started the car.

Friday was our anniversary.

Callum was already certain I would be sitting across from him at that restaurant.

For the first time in eight years, I was making plans that did not include keeping that promise.