Chapter 2

The courthouse was nearly empty. The air conditioning was cranked up high, and the cold air raised goosebumps along my bare arms.

Victor and I sat side by side with barely six inches between us, and neither of us said a word.

A few other couples sat nearby. Some filled out their paperwork with easy smiles, ready to start a new chapter together.

Others argued in hushed voices, dragging out the end of something already dead.

But the two of us just sat there, still and silent as statues.

The clerk looked up at us with a rehearsed expression. "Is this divorce mutual?"

Victor's lips moved, but no sound came out.

I glanced at him, then answered clearly. "Yes."

"Have you settled the division of assets and child custody?"

"We have," I said. "I'm walking away with nothing, and there are no children."

The moment those words left my mouth, Victor's head snapped toward me. His eyes went wide with shock, searching mine as if to ask, "What about our child?"

I held his gaze, and my expression gave him nothing.

The second he chose Linda, the second he walked away from our baby and me, we stopped having a child together. From this day forward, this baby was mine. Only mine. The Shaws would never have any claim.

The paperwork went fast. When the clerk slid the divorce certificate across the counter, the whole thing felt surreal. Three years of marriage, and it all came down to a single sheet of paper.

I didn't feel an ounce of regret. All I felt was free.

Sunlight hit hard the moment I stepped outside. I squinted against the brightness, and for the first time in years, the weight on my shoulders was gone.

Victor followed me out and finally broke the silence.

"Aurora, what the hell are you doing?" His voice was tight, barely holding back his anger. "You planned this, didn't you? This is your way of getting back at me and my mother?"

I stopped and turned to look at him.

The sunlight hit his face at an angle that made his handsome features look almost distorted.

I nearly laughed. Even now, he still thought I was the one throwing a tantrum, the one playing games. It had never once crossed his mind that he was the one in the wrong.

"You made your choice, Victor." That was all I said before I turned and walked away.

"Wait." He caught up in a few strides and pulled a bank card from his wallet, pressing it into my hand. "There's 60 thousand in here. The PIN is your birthday. Find a place to stay first, and don't—"

He didn't finish.

I threw the card back at him. It bounced off his chest and clattered against the pavement.

"I told you, I'm walking away with nothing." I didn't need his charity, and I wanted no financial ties left between us.

All I wanted was a clean break.

He looked at the card on the ground, then back at me. His eyes held a storm of emotions like anger, resentment, and a flicker of panic I had never seen from him before.

I didn't give him another glance and walked straight to the coffee shop on the corner.

The moment I pushed the door open, a woman with a sharp bob and a tailored pantsuit stood up and waved me over.

It was my best friend, Rachel Grant. We had been close since college, and she was now one of the top attorneys in the city.

I walked over and sat down across from her, and she slid a cup of coffee toward me. "All done?"

"Done."

Rachel smiled, but the worry in her eyes gave her away. "You look okay, all things considered. I was afraid you'd be a total mess."

I shook my head. "I'm past crying."

My heart was already dead. There were no tears left to give.

"Good." Rachel pushed a folder across the table. "Everything you asked me to look into, I got it all."

I opened the folder. Inside were Victor's bank statements from the past year and a handful of photos.

In the photos, Victor was seen with his arm around a young, attractive woman at an upscale hotel. The dates on them were when I was two months pregnant.

Rachel said, "His mother set him up on blind dates six months ago. This girl is the daughter of one of Linda's distant relatives. Apparently, the family's got money.

"Linda never liked you. She always thought your background was too ordinary for her precious son.

"Her plan was to wait until you gave birth. If it's a boy, she keeps the baby and kicks you out. If it's a girl, she gets rid of you both."

I stared at the photos. A cold numbness settled over me, but none of it came as a surprise.

The signs had been there all along. I had refused to see them.

Rachel stood up. "Car's out front. I'll take you to my place. You can stay with me and figure things out."

I nodded.

When I stepped out of the café, Victor was still standing in the same spot, frozen in place like a statue.

I didn't look at him.

I got into Rachel's car and dialed a number. Lora Lewis picked up on the second ring. She was the caretaker I'd hired for my parents.

I said, "Hey, Lora. I need you to keep an eye on my parents for a while. Tell them I'm away on a business trip and I'll be back soon."

"Don't worry, Ms. Wynn. I've got everything covered."

I hung up and leaned back against the seat, closing my eyes.

Victor and Linda thought I had nothing, that I'd roll over and take whatever they threw at me.

What they didn't know was that the moment I decided to leave, the war was only beginning.