Chapter 3

I sat across from Jake at our dining table, the remains of a takeout dinner between us. Neither of us had touched much of the food. The silence hung heavy in the air, broken only by the occasional clink of my fork against the plate as I pushed the food around. My wedding ring was still on Brittany's finger, and the wound of that betrayal throbbed with every beat of my heart.

I couldn't bear to look at him—this stranger wearing my husband's face. The man who had orchestrated my public humiliation with such calculated precision. The man who had kissed another woman in front of me while I stood surrounded by the shredded remains of my work.

"I want a divorce," I finally said, my voice trembling slightly despite my efforts to steady it. The words hung in the air between us.

I expected anger, perhaps even regret. What I didn't expect was the slow, satisfied smirk that spread across Jake's face.

"I thought you'd never ask," he said, reaching beside him into his briefcase.

With a theatrical flourish, he pulled out a thick manila envelope and slid it across the table. It landed with a soft thud next to my barely-touched plate.

"What's this?" I asked, though I already knew.

"Divorce papers," Jake replied, leaning back in his chair with the relaxed posture of a man who held all the cards. "Already drawn up. Notarized last week."

Last week. While I had been working late nights on the bridge design, believing I was securing our future, he had been planning my exit.

"You've been planning this," I said, the realization washing over me in a cold wave. "All of it."

"Business strategy, Maya," he said with a casual shrug. "Always be three steps ahead."

I stared at the envelope, unable to reach for it. "How long? With Brittany?"

"Does it matter?" Jake stood up, impatience flickering across his face. "Let's not drag this out with emotional scenes. My office. Now."

He walked away without waiting for my response, expecting me to follow like I always had. And I did, my body moving on autopilot while my mind raced to catch up with how thoroughly I'd been deceived.

Jake's home office was meticulously organized, just like the man himself. Everything in its place, including the soon-to-be ex-wife he was discarding.

He gestured impatiently to the chair across from his desk. When I didn't move quickly enough, he gripped my arm and practically dragged me to the seat, his fingers digging into my flesh hard enough to leave marks.

"Sign," he ordered, shoving the papers across the polished surface of his desk. "Every flagged page."

I flipped through the document, my engineering mind automatically scanning for details despite my emotional turmoil. With each page, the blood drained further from my face.

"This gives me nothing," I whispered. "No assets, no alimony, no shares in the company I helped build."

"You're getting exactly what you brought to the table," Jake said coldly. "I made you. Without me, you're nothing but a mediocre engineer with delusions of grandeur."

"I designed every major project for the last five years," I argued, my voice rising. "The federal committee specifically—"

"The committee responded to my pitch, my company, my reputation," Jake cut in. "Your contribution was minimal and replaceable. As we've already demonstrated."

He leaned forward, his eyes hard. "Sign the papers, Maya. Or I'll make sure you never work in this industry again."

I stared at him, searching for any trace of the man I thought I had married. There was nothing—only cold calculation and contempt.

With numb fingers, I took the pen he offered. Each signature felt like slicing away a piece of myself, but I signed. Page after page, I signed away my marriage, my financial security, my professional standing.

When I finished, Jake collected the papers with a satisfied nod. "Smart choice. For once."

As he slipped the documents back into the envelope, I caught a glimpse of his computer screen. An email was open—a reservation confirmation for a beachfront villa in Bali. For two. Departure date: tomorrow.

He had planned everything down to the last detail. While I packed my belongings, he would be celebrating with Brittany on a beach halfway around the world.

I rose from the chair on unsteady legs, feeling hollowed out. But as I turned to leave, something shifted inside me—a small, hard kernel of resolve forming in the center of my chest.

Jake Collins thought he knew everything about me. He was about to discover how wrong he was.