Chapter 2
He couldn't let me go, but he had already built another home with another woman.
And I could feel it.
Chloe meant something to him. She was different.
After me, Edward had never cared about another woman. But then he found Chloe, and she became the second woman in his life.
They'd been together for two years.
There were no breaks and no distance—everything still felt as sweet as the first days of an affair.
He let Chloe show up in front of me and Abigail whenever she wanted.
He let her throw little jabs at me, openly and fearlessly.
Every night, Edward came home carrying the faint smell of another woman's perfume.
I pretended not to notice. I made myself blind and numb.
I waited for him to get tired of me and waited for the day he'd finally ask for a divorce.
But something went wrong along the way.
Chloe was already pregnant, so why wouldn't he let me go?
When I first met Edward, he said he loved me, said he wanted to marry me.
He didn't care what it took.
He even forced me to break up with my college boyfriend to make it happen.
The day we broke up, the boy who used to be loud and full of life just stood there with his head down.
His eyes were red. He was trying not to cry, but he failed.
"I'm sorry," he said. "He threatened to get my parents fired. I can't drag my family into this."
After he walked away, Edward stepped out of his car. He had watched the whole scene like he was watching a show. Then he wrapped his arms around me with the confidence of someone who had already won.
He said, "Molly, you're mine. Anyone who tries to take you from me—I'll ruin them."
Back then, I could still see the love and the madness in his eyes.
If that was his way of loving someone, then maybe I had already accepted it. I was the bird with its wings broken, and he was the one who snapped them.
But why was Chloe the exception?
He gave her affection. He gave her respect. He even gave her the freedom I envied more than anything.
And he still kept me locked in place, even though he had stopped loving me a long time ago.
The thought of leaving him started growing wild again in my head.
My old insomnia came crawling back too.
The only good thing was that after that night, Edward didn't come home at all.
For the first time in years, I could actually breathe.
After dropping Abigail off at school, I went to the hospital.
If I didn't take care of myself, no one else would.
When I came out, I saw Edward standing at the entrance of the OB-GYN department with Chloe.
She was smiling, almost pouting, acting sweet with him.
Edward had his hands in his pockets, listening patiently.
Then, suddenly, he turned his head—like something inside him sensed me before he saw me. His eyes locked onto mine instantly.
He took one step toward me.
But Chloe slipped her arm through his and pulled him closer as they walked in my direction.
Right in front of me, she asked, almost cheerfully, "Ms. Bennett, you've known about me and Edward for a while, haven't you? Well, I won't hide it. Yes, we're in love."
My silence must have counted as an answer.
Chloe's smile widened.
She tilted her chin up, proud and a little confused. "You're not jealous? I took your husband. I took your daughter's father. Why aren't you angry? Why didn't you try to get rid of me?"
It felt like every woman should fall apart when her husband cheated.
But as I listened to my own heartbeat, steady and quiet, there wasn't even the slightest ripple inside me.
My mind had been slow lately.
I stayed quiet for a long moment.
Edward kept his eyes on my face, studying me until his patience finally wore thin.
"Go to the pharmacy and pick up Chloe's medication," he said.
He handed me the prescription. His wedding ring caught the light as he held it out to me.
I lifted my head slowly.
The two of them were looking at me like I worked for them.
Maybe I really had lost my mind.
Because before I could think, my hand moved.
I slapped the prescription right out of his fingers. "Edward, she's your woman. Why is it my job to take care of her? Why do I have to do your work for you? Why do you think you can dump everything on me?"
A thin slip of paper hit the floor. My words hit the room even harder.
All three of us froze.
I hadn't had a temper in years.
Not after everything I'd seen—especially the day I walked in on him and Chloe tangled up in our own home, and quietly closed the bedroom door behind me so no one else would go upstairs.
But this moment—this tiny burst of anger—felt unbelievably good.
Before they could react, I stepped forward, stomped hard on Edward's foot, and shot him a glare.
Behind me, he started laughing—loud, unrestrained, almost delighted.
I sped up, refusing to look back.
I knew that laugh. He wasn't amused. There was no way that sound meant anything good.
I had definitely pissed him off.