Chapter 2

I stared at William in front of me, and suddenly, he felt like a complete stranger.

I stopped arguing and headed straight for the bedroom.

Once the door was shut, I could hear Madeline softly crying on the other side. "If only I'd never been born, none of this would've happened."

"Don't mind her. She's spoiled. You did nothing wrong," William said gently, trying to comfort her.

"William, thanks." Madeline didn't say anything else.

I leaned against the door, listening to the soft, fragmented sounds coming from the other side.

It was a sound I knew all too well, the sound of kissing.

I was in the bedroom, and they were in the living room.

We were so close, and yet they were kissing right there.

Did they think I couldn't hear them? Or did they not care if I knew?

This place wasn't big. It was the first home we bought after we started out together, packed with memories of us.

But now, William was right here, in our home, being all lovey-dovey with another woman.

I quickly packed up my clothes and all the essentials, dragging my suitcase behind me, ready to walk out the door for good.

As soon as I opened the door, they tried to act casual, but it was obvious they'd been caught in the act.

Madeline's cheeks were still flushed, her lips wet, and her eyes darted around. Anyone with half a brain could see exactly what they'd been doing.

"Hazel, where are you going?" William saw me with my suitcase and rushed over, pulling me into an embrace. His hold was so tight that I felt like I was suffocating.

"I'm making room for you two. Congratulations on your new relationship," I sneered.

"Hazel, after seven years together, does all that really lose out to a piece of paper?" William's voice was shaky.

"Hazel, William treats you way better than you deserve. You laze around at home all day, doing nothing, while he's out busting his ass and paying for everything you spend," Madeline said, jealousy practically dripping from her eyes.

She grabbed my suitcase right out of my hand.

"You know we've been together for seven years. Did you even think about everything we've been through when you dragged him to marry you this morning?" I shot back.

William hesitated, then stammered, "I-It was a favor. If I actually wanted to be with her..."

He caught himself and clammed up.

"Hazel, it's all my fault. I shouldn't have turned to William for shelter, and I shouldn't have let him help me," Madeline said.

Madeline popped into my life out of nowhere six months ago.

She claimed she couldn't find a job, so William pulled some strings and got her a spot at our company.

One night, she called up crying, saying her place had lost power and she was scared. William didn't even blink. He threw on some clothes and went over to stay with her all night.

I'd seen Madeline hanging all over him more than once.

And I'd caught them drinking from the same cup more than a few times, too.

I knew they hadn't actually slept together, but every single thing between them still tore me up inside.

Whenever I called him out, William would brush it off, saying they grew up together and were like family.

Ever since Madeline barged into our lives, cracks kept showing up in our relationship, again and again.

Back then, I kept convincing myself that William would only ever marry me, that we'd spend our whole lives together.

But now, it was not me walking down the aisle with William anymore.

"If you know you shouldn't, then why do you keep running to him for help again and again?" I snapped, snatching my suitcase back from her.

William said, "Hazel, we've been together for so many years. If someone else takes your place at the wedding, what will our business partners think? What happens to our company?

"And you're already twenty-eight. How many seven-year stretches does a woman really get?"

He wrapped his arms around my waist. I could feel the vibration of his voice against my back.

Yeah, how many seven-year chances did a woman really get?

He took it for granted that I'd never leave him, that I'd never give up on everything we built together. That was why he did whatever he pleased.

He even had the nerve to kiss another woman right here, in the home we made together.

"Let go," I said, my voice cold as ice.

"No way." William clung to me stubbornly. "If you leave, what am I supposed to do? What about our wedding? What about everything we've built together?"

"Home?" I shot him a look. "William, you went and married her. There's no home left for us anymore."

I wrenched myself free from his grip and dragged my suitcase out the door.

As the door slammed shut behind me, I heard William calling out to me in anguish, his voice torn with pain.