Chapter 3

I did it while he showered and late at night, when he thought I was asleep. I searched through every corner of his phone like a thief, terrified each time that he would catch me.

Every time, I felt as though I were the one committing some terrible betrayal.

I didn't feel that way anymore. Edward was the one who had betrayed our marriage. I had only collected the proof.

Summer drew a slow breath and put the flash drive away. "I'll draft the divorce agreement tomorrow. But Grace, Edward won't give in easily. He has the Stone family behind him, and the entire family has something at stake."

"I know." I looked at her. "That's why I still have one card left."

"What card?"

A slow smile spread across my face. "Summer, do you remember what I won during our sophomore year?"

She froze, then her eyes widened. "The National Collegiate Moot Court Competition. Best Advocate."

"Exactly." I leaned back. "I have a law license."

Summer opened her mouth but couldn't find the words for a moment. "You never told me you qualified as an attorney."

"There was no reason to. After I married Edward, he asked me to stop working and stay home. So that's what I did for three years, arranging flowers, cooking, and waiting for him to come home."

I paused, my voice softening. "What he didn't know was that I spent those hours studying. In three years, I earned my CPA, got my law license, and learned two foreign languages."

Summer's eyes reddened. "Grace…"

"Don't pity me." I held her gaze. "I don't need sympathy. I need to win."

And I would.

Not for the money, not for revenge, and not because I needed to prove anything.

I wanted Edward to understand that the woman he had taken for granted had never been some disposable accessory to his life.

I was Grace Lane, and I deserved to be treated well.

If Edward couldn't give it to me, I would give it to myself.

*****

Edward found me at the hotel while I was having breakfast.

The dining room was spacious, and I sat by the floor-to-ceiling windows. Morning sunlight warmed my shoulders. In front of me sat a bowl of oatmeal, some fruit, and a hard-boiled egg.

It was an almost absurdly ordinary breakfast for a woman in the middle of ending her marriage.

Maybe Edward had expected to find me disheveled and crying my eyes out.

Unfortunately for him, I wasn't.

He stood at the entrance in a perfectly tailored suit, his hair immaculate. I had to admit that Edward was an exceptionally handsome man. At 32, he was tall and striking, with the polished, aloof air of someone accustomed to wealth and power.

He was the kind of man people noticed the moment he entered a room.

Today, however, he looked furious. His jaw was clenched, and the tension in his face made it clear he was struggling to keep his temper under control.

He strode toward me, his dress shoes clicking sharply against the marble floor. A few nearby guests glanced up at him before returning to their breakfast.

He sat across from me without ordering anything and said nothing at first.

I calmly continued eating.

Edward finally broke the silence, his voice low and slightly hoarse, as though he hadn't slept. "Grace, are you done making a scene?"

"I'm having breakfast. If you're not planning to eat, you can leave."

He stared at me for several seconds before reaching over and sliding my bowl away. "What exactly do you want?

"That post was Charles's idea," he continued. "He said it might get you to bring up divorce first. I never intended to actually divorce you. I wanted to see whether you still cared. Instead, you liked the damn post."

I set down my spoon and looked straight at him. "So you posted it to test whether I still cared about you?"

"Yes."

"And what if I don't?"

His expression froze.

"You don't care?" Edward stared at me in disbelief. "Grace, you're saying you don't care about me?"

"Why should I?" I asked. "You're gone five nights out of seven, and when you are home, you barely speak to me. Your phone, computer, and study are all locked."

I held his gaze. "You never celebrate anything with me, and you can't even remember my birthday. Tell me why I should care about a husband like that."

His frown deepened. "I'm busy with work."

"You're busy, but somehow you had time to take her to Valoria."

The air between us went still.

His expression shifted almost imperceptibly, and I saw him swallow.

"What are you talking about? What happened in Valoria?"

"Edward, stop pretending." I wiped my mouth with my napkin. "Last September, you spent seven days in Valoria on a business trip, but your meetings only lasted three days.

"For the other four, you took Claire to the Valoria Museum of Art, Aurora Tower, and the Lys River. You also bought her an Aurelia bracelet for 16,000 dollars.

"You paid for it with a corporate card and recorded the purchase as a marketing expense."

His expression changed completely. It wasn't surprise so much as shock. He clearly hadn't expected me to know that much, let alone remember the exact itinerary, purchase amount, and account used to hide it.

His voice dropped, an edge creeping into it. "How do you know all that?"

I smiled. "Take a guess."

I picked up my bag and stood.

Edward shot to his feet and grabbed my wrist. "Grace, listen to me-"

"Let go." My voice was quiet but cold.

He froze.

In three years of marriage, I had never spoken to him that way.

There had been a time when Edward grabbing my wrist would have made me blush. I would lower my eyes, secretly thrilled that he had chosen to touch me at all.

Now his hand on me made my skin crawl.

He released me.

I turned and walked away without looking back.

By the time I left the dining room, my hands were trembling. It wasn't fear. It was anger.

All the emotions I thought I had already worked through came rushing back the moment I saw him. Valoria, Aurelia, Aurora Tower. Every memory reopened wounds I had spent more than a year trying to heal.

But I kept walking because I knew that if I turned back, I would lose.