Chapter 2

When we got home, Ryan was in front of the mirror, trying on one outfit after another.

He was holding his phone on a video call. A voice came from the phone: "Mr. Shepherd, this gray tracksuit looks great on you.

"It matches my dress. We'd look like a couple. Why don't you wear this one?"

Ryan never really liked casual clothes. I'd bought him that tracksuit, but he'd never worn it.

When he saw me come in, the slight frown on his face disappeared, and he gave a doting smile to the camera. "Alright, since I'm taking you out today, whatever you say goes. You're the boss."

"Ugh, what boss? That's so embarrassing. I was messing around because I was drunk last night."

Ryan laughed again, then suddenly met my gaze. "I'm taking Hannah out later. It's her birthday present, so you'll have to wait a bit for your apology."

I smiled along with him. "No, really. If the apology isn't genuine, it doesn't matter to me anyway."

Hannah's voice on the phone was shaky, almost crying. "Mrs. Shepherd, I'm so sorry. I'll come over and apologize in person. Please don't trouble Mr. Shepherd because of me."

*****

I had no idea where Hannah had rushed over from, but five minutes later, she was at my door. Ryan's personal driver had brought her over.

She was dressed in a form-fitting, light gray dress. Around her neck was that pink diamond necklace, the one that had been auctioned off for a fortune by some mysterious seller. So, he'd given it to her.

If I'd spotted that necklace a few days ago, I probably wouldn't have had the wedding at all.

Ryan came down the stairs right after and dragged Hannah inside. Her eyes were full of tears, and she was nervously biting her lip as she stood at the door.

He stood protectively in front of her, as if she'd been terribly wronged.

Then he turned to me. "Mia, I was the one who told Hannah not to come apologize to you this morning, so if you're mad, take it out on me.

"Hannah was so anxious last night, the two of us alone together. She was worried I might do something, so she didn't get a wink of sleep.

"She needs to rest up if we're going out this afternoon."

Her sobs echoed through the room.

Ryan took her hand, sat her down on the couch, and crouched in front of her, gently wiping her tears. He glanced at me as he did. "And right now, I'm the one who told her not to come over.

"If Hannah apologizes to you, she'll feel really upset. It's her only birthday this year. I don't want to mess it up for her.

"Mia, it's an apology. Can't you hold off a bit longer?"

It hit me. When I was not the one he cared about, my pain was invisible to him.

I blinked, fighting back the tears I almost shed for Ryan. He didn't deserve my tears.

Seeing me looking so heartbroken, Ryan slowly got up and walked over to me.

He reached out to hug me, but I dodged him.

He sighed, sounding helpless. "Come on, Mia, be good. When a man makes a promise, he has to keep it. Let me take her out for a few days, then I'll come back and be with you."

Ryan paused, his voice carrying a meaning I couldn't quite grasp. "After this, things between us can go back to the way they used to be."

I met his gaze and made a promise of my own. "Alright, when you come back, we'll go back to the way things were." Back to the beginning, as if we'd never met at all.

Ryan and Hannah disappeared for three days.

During those three days, I finally found a buyer and was ready to sell the villa.

I gave the housekeeper six months' extra pay and told her to find another job.

She'd been with Ryan and me for five years, and we were all pretty close.

She was always the one trying to keep us together. "Mrs. Shepherd, are you really going to leave Mr. Shepherd? Five years, can you really let that go?"

There was nothing worth holding onto when a man didn't love me.

Even if it hurt, I knew it wouldn't last forever.

The housekeeper was about to say more, but her phone buzzed with a message from a friend. [Hey, isn't that the guy you work for?

[Didn't you say he got married? That doesn't look like his wife from the wedding, does it?]

She casually tapped the link. A three-minute video was sitting at number one on the trending list.

Ryan's striking side profile was all over the screen. Clasping his hands devoutly over his chest, he prayed to the Lord to keep the girl beside him safe from all harm.

*****

The trending list was on fire, and my private messages were blowing up. Everyone was talking about it.

Especially my family, the ones who always disapproved of Ryan and me. They were blowing up my phone first thing.

On the video call, my brother's face was tense with anger, and my parents stayed off camera, probably so they wouldn't lose their temper with me. "Mia Johnson, open your eyes.

"Is this really the guy you fought so hard to marry?"

I shot back, stubborn even though I knew I wasn't in the right. "Yeah, I was blind back then, but I'm not anymore.

"I've booked my flight. It's the day after tomorrow. You're picking me up, right?"

My brother's face relaxed a bit, but he still looked puzzled. "Divorce happens that fast? Mia, are you sure you're not still hung up on Ryan and fooling us?"

I pouted, feeling a little hurt. "Come on, I'm not that desperate. I'm not about to grovel for a man who doesn't care about me. He's already dumped me. Why would I cling to him?

"As for the divorce, we never actually registered the marriage, so I can leave whenever I want."

We were so close to getting married. Just one step short, and Ryan and I would've been husband and wife.