Chapter 2

I remembered the tagline on his private account.

One word.

Wait.

I’d once asked him what it meant.

He claimed it was random, something typed without thought.

But now, I knew the truth.

Three years of marriage, and the only photo of us was that cold, lifeless wedding portrait on the wall.

No matter how many times I asked for a picture together, he always brushed it off.

“We’re together every day. What’s the point of taking photos?”

Only now did I understand—it wasn’t that he didn’t need them.

It was that I didn’t deserve them.

I let out a bitter laugh and closed the laptop.

I booked a one-way ticket to Europe, set to leave in three days.

Then, I initiated the process to cancel my entire identity.

Three days. That was all I needed to say goodbye to these three years.

I set a countdown as my phone wallpaper, a constant reminder.

When he came out of the shower, I was already in bed, pretending to sleep.

He didn’t say a word.

I lay awake the entire night.

At dawn, I slipped into the bathroom.

My phone buzzed.

Julian’s voice echoed from the bedroom, confused.

“Ava, did you just get an email from Homeland Security? What are you deactivating?”

I rushed out and calmly took the phone from his hand.

“Nothing. My driver’s license is expiring—I just scheduled a renewal.”

“Aren’t you heading to the port this morning to handle that shipment? You should get going.”

He didn’t press.

Instead, he pulled me into his arms, nuzzling my neck.

“Thank you, sweetheart. Having a wife like you… I’m the luckiest man alive.”

I smiled faintly, saying nothing.

“As a reward, I’ve got a special gift for you tonight. You’ll love it.”

“I’ll be waiting at home,” I replied.

He’d gone to such lengths to keep me from going after Sienna.

But this carefully constructed lie—this three-year performance—was finally coming to an end.

The moment he left, I completed the final step of my identity cancellation.

Then I contacted an old family friend—a retired private investigator.

I asked him about the so-called peace agreement.

He told me only one thing: any pact signed by the last surviving member of a family held absolute legal weight. It was irrevocable.

I didn’t ask further.

I simply asked him to draft two statements: formal declarations severing all ties.

With them in hand, I went straight to the Harlan Tower.

The moment I stepped into the lobby, I heard the receptionists whispering.

“That’s Mrs. Harlan, right? They say she just got back from some ‘retreat.’ I mean, look at her—no wonder Mr. Harlan went to such lengths for her. Even I’m a little smitten.”

“It’s definitely her—that Hermès bag is a global limited edition. I’ve seen the boss flipping through jewelry catalogs in his office. I can’t believe he actually bought something from that tier. That’s real love…”

“Didn’t he buy an entire resort on South Padre Island just for her? And they were childhood sweethearts too. Feels like a movie.”

Upstairs, outside Julian’s office, I heard voices from inside.

Familiar voices.

“How have you been these past three years?”

“Really good,” Sienna Voss said, laughing softly. “Every morning, I wake up to the ocean. The air smells like freedom. I haven’t even thanked you properly, Julian. If it weren’t for you, the Gallaghers would’ve sunk me in the bay years ago.”

“Don’t say that,” he replied gently. “It’s all in the past now. I know you didn’t mean to hurt anyone. Helping you was the only way to keep peace between our families.”

Sienna laughed, flirtatious and light.

“You haven’t changed at all. If Ava knew all you’ve done for me, she’d tear you apart.”

“This bag’s way too expensive—I shouldn’t take it. Give it to Ava. I don’t want her seeing it and going to the Council again.”

Sienna always played the same game—reaping every benefit, then acting noble, pushing the blame onto me.

Three years ago, at a Gallagher Ranch gala, I exposed her lie—that she’d killed my aunt, Aunt Maria Reilly, in that crash.

I denounced her and Leo Gallagher in front of everyone.

But the guests all turned on me, the outsider, accusing me of disrupting the peace.

I became the joke of the underworld.

Julian had been the only one who stood by me.

Or so I thought.

Now, he’d dragged me back into the abyss with his own hands.

A secretary burst through the door with a folder and nearly knocked me over.

Julian’s face froze when he saw me.

“Ava? When did you get here? Don’t get the wrong idea—Sienna just got back. We were catching up, that’s all…”

“Ava. Long time no see.” Sienna stood, dressed in a brand-new couture gown from one of Harlan’s luxury lines.

Her skin glowed, her smile was radiant—no trace of shame, no hint she'd ever been exiled.

I smiled and nodded, swallowing the lump in my throat.

“It’s fine. I was just passing by. Since you’re busy, I’ll head home.”

Julian rushed after me, panicked.

“Don’t be like this. I just wanted to know how she’s been living. She’s a girl alone in a place like that—it couldn’t have been easy…”

“It’s been three years,” I said calmly. “Shouldn’t we all have let it go by now? Didn’t you say the past was behind us?”

He looked stunned.

I smiled.

He had sacrificed a marriage to put on this show with me.

Now that Sienna was back, safe and sound, who exactly was he pretending for?

“Yeah. It’s all in the past. Don’t worry—I’m not unreasonable. I’ll stay home like a good wife.”

He visibly relaxed and told his assistant to walk me down.

Before I left, he reminded me that the Gallaghers were hosting a grand welcome banquet for Sienna the next night.

A family like that cared about appearances.

Publicly, they claimed Sienna had been studying in Europe. No one would mention the word “prison.”

I nodded, promised I wouldn’t cause a scene.

He finally let me go.

Back at home, I walked to the wall.

That massive wedding portrait stared back at me, cold and mocking.

I took a pair of scissors.

Bit by bit, I shredded it to pieces.

Then I tossed the fragments into the fire.