Chapter 4

The world finally felt peaceful again.

I tossed the untouched cake straight into the trash.

It wasn't sweet anymore. Now it tasted kind of gross.

The afternoon surgery went off without a hitch.

Adrian and I had perfect chemistry in the operating room. We barely needed to speak. We knew exactly what the other would do next, even through a look.

When the surgery was finally over, and I peeled off my scrubs, I felt like I was about to fall apart.

Adrian handed me a bottle of water. "Thanks a lot. You were amazing."

"You too," I said, taking the bottle and drinking.

"Are you free tonight?" he suddenly asked.

I paused, a bit surprised. "What's up?"

"It's nothing, really. I thought we could grab dinner to celebrate the surgery," he said, looking at me, honest and straightforward. "And maybe I could ask you a few questions about work."

I looked at him, hesitated for a second, then ended up saying no. "No, I've got plans tonight."

I really didn't want to get tangled up with another guy while my divorce wasn't settled yet.

There was no need to stir up any drama.

Adrian looked a little let down, but he nodded gracefully. "Alright, maybe next time."

I walked into the house.

The place was as empty as it had been yesterday.

Robert still hadn't come back.

Honestly, that was fine by me.

I took a shower, flopped onto the bed, and was ready to crash.

My phone buzzed with a text from an unknown number.

I opened it. It was a photo.

In the photo, Robert and Mia were standing together in front of a massive birthday cake. Mia was grinning, her head nestled against Robert's shoulder.

Robert was looking at her with a softness in his eyes I'd never seen before.

Underneath the photo, there was a message. [Isabella, thanks for being my stand-in for three years. Now that I'm back, it's your turn to disappear.]

I didn't even need to guess who sent it.

I stared at that painful photo, and the last bit of feeling I had vanished.

I saved the photo, attached the text, and sent both to my lawyer, Bryan Price. [Bryan, can this count as evidence of him cheating while we were married?]

Bryan replied almost instantly: [Of course, Ms. Brown. Our chances are really good.]

I turned off my phone and closed my eyes.

That was it. It was all over. Life went on, dull and uneventful.

Robert never came back, and he never called.

It almost felt like I was the only one who cared about how things ended.

He probably thought giving me the cold shoulder was the best move.

He would leave me hanging until I ran out of strength and ended up begging him to take me back.

That was his usual tactic, arrogant and confident.

He thought I couldn't live without him.

He was dead wrong.

The divorce proceedings were already in motion, and Bryan was handling everything like clockwork. All I had to do was go to work, come home, and live my own life.

With Robert gone, my life was dead calm, almost eerily peaceful, but honestly, it felt almost too easy.

I didn't have to wait up for him anymore, didn't have to rack my brain guessing what he liked, and didn't have to lose sleep over some random thing he said.

I finally had time to read, to dive into more complicated surgical cases, and even dusted off the violin I'd abandoned for three years.

One evening, as I got home from the gym, I got a call I really wasn't expecting.

It was Harper Wilson, Robert's mom. "Isabella, you need to come to the Wilson mansion right now."

Her tone was pure authority, like Robert's, with no room for argument.

Harper and I never really got close.

She never liked me, not even from the start. She always thought my family was way too ordinary, not up to the Wilson family's standards.

If Robert hadn't pushed for it, I would've never gotten through their door.

Honestly, I still can't figure out why Robert was so determined to marry a woman he didn't even love.

Maybe it was simply because my features somewhat resembled Mia's.

"It's late, Harper. Is something wrong?" I asked.

"Do as I say and get over here. Stop wasting time," she snapped, then hung up on me suddenly, just like that.

I looked at my phone and sighed. Whatever was coming would come.

I changed clothes and headed out to the Wilson mansion.

As soon as I parked, the butler came out, his face looking pretty sour.

"Isabella, Mrs. Wilson's not in the best mood tonight. Brace yourself," he said.

I nodded. "I know, thanks."

The living room was brightly lit.

Harper sat in the main seat on the sofa, her expression so grim that it made the air feel heavy.

Robert was there, too.

He was sitting beside her, head down, and I couldn't see his face.

On the coffee table, a pile of photos was strewn across the surface.

Those were the exact same photos Mia had sent me.