Chapter 4

Daniel and I had been married for five years. I had spent all that time hoping we would start a family, but he always had an excuse. "The timing isn't right. Wait until the company's stable."

In fact, it was never about timing. He just never wanted children with me.

"Daniel," I said, my voice shaking, "is this what you call 'just physical'?"

He looked away, unable to face me. "Ava, listen, I can explain..."

"Explain what? That you two are having a baby, but you still want to use me to win the project and throw me away?"

Tears streamed down my face.

Five years of marriage, and I had been nothing but a tool to him.

"I told you I'd give you everything," Daniel said, guilt creeping into his voice. "Once my career takes off, we can have kids."

"Have kids?" I scoffed. "Daniel, do you even see me as a person?"

"Of course I do, I just..."

"Just what? Think I'm a pushover? That I can't survive without you?"

I wiped my tears and stepped right up to him.

"Listen up, I'm done with all your crap. I don't want a damn thing from you," I shot back.

With that, I turned and walked out.

"Ava, where are you going?" he yelled after me.

"None of your damn business!" I shot back over my shoulder.

Caleb followed me out. "Ava, wait up!"

Outside the building, I crouched by the curb and broke down completely.

Five years of my love and my youth were traded for this betrayal. What a joke.

"Don't cry," Caleb said, kneeling beside me and rubbing my back gently. "He's not worth your tears."

"Caleb, am I an idiot?" I looked up at him with tears. "How could I have been so blind for five whole years?"

"You're not an idiot. He's just a good liar," Caleb said, handing me tissues. "Guys like Daniel act all sincere and honest, but underneath, they're manipulative as hell."

"What am I supposed to do now?" I asked.

"First, you divorce him. Then, you start living for yourself," he said, gently wiping a tear from my cheek. "Trust me, Ava. You deserve so much better."

That night, Caleb put me up in a suite at a luxury hotel.

I tossed and turned for hours, the recording of Daniel and Emily's conversation playing on a loop in my head.

Daniel planned to use me to win the project and run off with Emily.

And I had almost let him do it. What an idiot.

My phone lit up with a call from an unknown number.

"Hello?"

"Ava, it's Emily."

I sat bolt upright in bed. "What do you want?"

"I need to talk to you," she said nervously. "About me and Daniel."

"We have nothing to talk about."

"Please, Ava. Just give me ten minutes. That's all I ask," she pleaded. "I'm in the coffee shop in the hotel lobby. I'll wait for you."

I hesitated and sighed, "Fine. Ten minutes."

I threw on a coat and went downstairs. Emily was huddled in a corner booth.

She looked exhausted and pale. Her eyes were red and swollen. Clearly, she'd been crying.

"What is it?" I asked, sitting opposite her.

"Ava, I know what I did was wrong," she said, staring at her hands. "I never should've gotten involved with him. And I definitely shouldn't have gotten pregnant."

"What's the point of saying this now?"

"I want you to forgive me," she said and looked up, tears welling. "I'll leave Daniel and leave this city. You'll never see me again."

I stared at her coldly. "You think an apology fixes everything?"

"I know it doesn't, but I really am sorry." Emily started crying. "I grew up in an orphanage with no parents. I finally got a job, and then I made this terrible mistake."

"So you want my sympathy?"

"No, I just... I needed you to know that I wasn't with him for his money. I was with him because I actually fell in love with him."

Her words caught me off guard.

"You loved him?"

"Yes. From the first day I started at the company," she said, wiping her tears. "I knew he was married. I tried to fight it, and I really did, but..."

"But you chose to be the other woman anyway." I finished.

"I couldn't help it," she choked out. "The first time he kissed me, I was lost."

I laughed harshly. "So that's your excuse for seducing a married man?"

"I didn't seduce him!" Emily said defensively. "He came onto me first! He pursued me!"

"So what? He had a wife. You should have said no."

"I did try! But he told me there was nothing between you two. He only stayed married because of the company."

Her words hit me like a punch to the gut.

To Daniel, our marriage was just a business asset.

"Ava, Daniel... he actually..." Emily started but trailed off.

"He actually what?" I pressed.

"He's in love with someone else," she finally whispered.

My heart was racing, anxiety twisting in my gut. "What are you talking about?"

"He talks about a girl named Ava all the time. He says she's the most brilliant designer he's ever met, a real genius, but she was out of his reach, living overseas."

She looked me right in the eye. "I always thought he was talking about some other woman. It wasn't until today that I realized he was talking about you."

I was frozen. My mind was reeling.

Daniel was in love with me?

"You're lying," I whispered.

"I'm not," she insisted with an earnest expression. "He really does love you, Ava. He's just terrible at showing it."

"Then why was he with you?"

She sneered, "Because you weren't there, and he was lonely. And I was your replacement."

Her words left me in a spiral of confusion.

Did Daniel really love me?

If he did, why would he betray me so completely?

But if he didn't, why was he fighting so hard to stop me from leaving?