Chapter 1

In the seventh year of my marriage, I found an email in my husband's desk.

It had been sent two days before he proposed to me.

"The board wants to see a stable family image. The company also needs her three algorithm patents. Marrying her solves both problems."

There was one more line.

"Meredith is quiet, focused, and accustomed to giving. Low maintenance, high return."

At that very moment, Blaine was downstairs, rushing me to pack for his trip to Seattle.

Two shirts. One suit for the gala. A spare tie. Nico's asthma inhaler and spacer.

For the past seven years, all Blaine had to do was tell me his flight time. I made sure everything else was exactly where he could reach it.

I had always believed that was the unspoken understanding between husband and wife.

Now I knew that, in his eyes, I had only ever been a carefully calculated investment.

Nico's laughter drifted up from downstairs.

With trembling hands, I returned the email to its folder and walked into the living room.

My six-year-old son was clutching the robot Fiona had given him.

"Go wash your hands. Dinner is ready," I said.

He did not even look up.

"I already ate. Fiona took me out for a burger."

I crouched down and reached for the robot box beside his leg.

Nico slapped my hand away.

"Don't touch it! Fiona gave it to me!"

He hugged the robot to his chest and screamed at me.

"I don't want you! I want Fiona!"

My hand remained suspended in the air.

Six years earlier, Nico had been born prematurely and admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit. Blaine was negotiating an acquisition in another city, so I spent nine nights alone outside the glass.

When Nico had his first asthma attack, I was the one who held him in the emergency room until sunrise.

No matter how busy Blaine was, I had always believed that at least my child knew how much I loved him.

Now a robot and a hamburger were enough to let Fiona take my place.

"Stop hovering over him," Blaine said. "He already ate. Let it go."

I looked at him and remembered the email.

Accustomed to giving. Low maintenance.

Apparently, the moment I asked for the most basic respect, I became an unbearable inconvenience.

Blaine's phone rang.

The irritation between his brows vanished the instant he saw the caller ID.

"Fiona." He answered in a voice so gentle it almost sounded unfamiliar. "We made it home. Yes, he loves it."

Whatever she said made him laugh.

"You're not interrupting anything. I'm free."

He walked past me and into his study.

Before the door closed, I heard him softly ask whether she had gotten home safely.

I stood there, my right hand still stinging where Nico had struck it.

The salmon on the dining table had gone cold. It used to be Blaine's favorite. During his busiest years, I would cook a fresh plate even if he came home after midnight, then sit beside him until he finished.

Lately, he had barely eaten dinner at home.

I carried both plates into the kitchen and scraped the food, piece by piece, into the garbage disposal.

The machine roared. Within seconds, nothing remained.

Blaine was still talking to Fiona in the study. In the living room, Nico switched his robot back on.

Neither of them noticed me go upstairs.

I sat in the guest room, closed the door, and found Marshall Kane's number in my contacts.

He had been the Larkin family's attorney for more than a decade. When he answered, he said my name before asking his usual question.

"Meredith, what happened?"

I lowered my gaze to the wedding ring on my finger.

When Blaine slid it into place seven years ago, I thought I had finally found a home.

Now all I wanted was to reclaim myself from the deal he had made.

"Marshall," I said, "prepare the divorce papers."

Silence filled the line for two seconds.

"Are you sure?"

Through the wall, I heard Blaine laugh again.

"I'm sure." I removed my ring and set it on the table. "This time, don't leave him any room to maneuver."