Chapter 2

Craig tossed the box onto the nightstand and walked into the bathroom.

I was speechless, so I got up again and waited for him to come out.

Soon, he came out wrapped in a towel.

There were a few scratch marks on his chest.

Some of them were pretty deep. I couldn't tell if it was done on purpose for me to see.

I remembered how I completely fell apart the first time I saw those marks, how I just couldn't handle it. But now, weirdly enough, I was totally numb.

It was as if the man standing in front of me wasn't my husband, and I'd never truly loved him.

He leaned in close, that lemony scent of his filling the air, his voice all playful and suggestive. "Miss me?"

My fingers twitched, and I turned my head away, my heart suddenly pounding for no reason.

The marks that pretty boy left on me yesterday still hadn't faded. If I hooked up with Craig, Craig would definitely see them.

I shoved him away again, my voice icy. "If that's what you want, go find Trisha."

Craig glared at me, his face thunderous with anger. "Are you ever going to let this go?

"Paula, I'm already doing you a favor by coming back. Don't be ungrateful."

"Thanks for the courtesy, Mr. Hayden, but I don't need it. Clear?" I shot him a cold look.

He glared at me for a moment, his striking face pale and furious. Then he turned on his heel and walked out. "Fine, don't come begging me to come back."

He slammed the door on his way out. I lay back down on the bed, but there was no way I could sleep now.

Just as I was finally starting to drift off, my phone buzzed.

It was a photo from Trisha.

Craig had his face pressed into her chest, devouring her hungrily.

Both their faces were clearly visible.

Trisha wrote: [Come on, Paula, how can you not know how to grab an opportunity when it's right in front of you?]

This wasn't the first time I'd gotten photos like this over the years.

But it still caught me off guard that even someone as classy as Trisha could pull a stunt this low.

I finally dozed off at 1 a.m.

However, I was woken up again by Craig's slurred, drunken voice. "Why? Paula, why?"

I couldn't make sense of what he was saying, so I just ended the call.

But my phone started buzzing again.

Annoyed, I snapped as I answered, "What do you want? If you want to vent or act crazy, go bother Trisha."

The person on the other end went dead silent, clearly scared. "S-sorry."

It was a stranger. He said, "Ma'am, your friend's had a bit too much to drink at our bar, and you're down as his emergency contact. Could you come get him?"

"No, I can't," I snapped.

But I still got the address anyway. I sent it right over to Trisha.

Then I pulled the covers over my head and finally drifted off to sleep.

Maybe it was those damn calls that kept waking me up, but either way, sleep was out of the question now.

It was not like this hadn't happened before.

When I first found out Craig was cheating, I started watching him like a hawk.

I slapped a 10 p.m. curfew on him.

If he wasn't home by then, I'd start blowing up his phone, trying to track him down.

Then I'd rush over to catch him in the act.

There was this one time, back when I'd just gotten my license, I drove through pouring rain just to pick him up.

But as soon as he left, he shoved me aside, shouting for the girl hanging on his arm.

He kept yelling at me to get the hell out.

The steps were slick, and with how hard he pushed me, I slipped and fell right down.

I landed so hard, my back and stomach were killing me.

One of Craig's friends ended up taking me to the hospital.

But it was already too late. I had a miscarriage and lost our first child.

That day, the rain came down so hard, even the pros wouldn't risk driving fast.

The drive to the hospital felt endless. My blood kept seeping into the leather seat, and the pain grew, carving itself into my bones.

After that night, I started getting phantom pain.

Sometimes, out of nowhere, my back and stomach would hurt so much I could hardly breathe. Every period was pure agony, like someone was carving me up inside.

As I was drifting off again, someone started pounding on my door.

This time, I could hear Craig's voice right outside.

He was wasted, mumbling and slurring his words. "Paula, open the door. Will you come out and see me? Please, don't shut me out.

"You know that it scares me most when you ignore me."

His words made my heart clench for a moment.

Back when we were still dating, the Hayden family thought I wasn't good enough for him and cut off his allowance.

With no money left, Craig had no choice but to squeeze into a tiny one-bedroom apartment with me.

Winters in the north were freezing, but I was so pissed at him for not knowing where to draw the line with other girls that I locked him out of the bedroom.

Honestly, if he'd gone home, the Hayden family would've welcomed him back in a heartbeat.

But that fool practically glued himself to my bedroom door, pleading with me to let him in.

The door wasn't even locked, but he still didn't dare come in.

He said he was scared I was still mad and didn't want to piss me off even more.

He was also afraid that if I cooled off, he wouldn't be the first thing I saw when I opened the door.

My eyes grew misty at those memories.

I was about to get up and open the door when I heard another gentle voice from outside.

Trisha said, "Craig, there's not even a sliver of light coming through the crack. Paula must be asleep. Let's just go, okay?

"Can we head back? Tell me what you want me to wear. I'll put on anything for you, promise."