Chapter 5

My dad remained silent, keeping his eyes on me.

"Maya," he said softly. "What do you want to do?"

What did I want to do?

I thought about the Amazon orders. The apartment address. The name *Olivia*.

I thought about all the times he claimed he was working late, or attending emergency meetings, or just "too tired" to talk to me.

"Dad, I need to confirm one more thing."

I stood up, went into the study, and brought out the iPad.

I opened the order history and handed it to my dad.

As my dad scrolled through the screen, his eyebrows knitted together.

My mom leaned over to look. When she saw the purchases, her eyes widened, and then they welled with tears of pure fury.

"That’s not our address," I said quietly.

"And none of those things were bought for me."

The living room fell silent again.

My mom wiped a tear from her cheek, while my dad stared at the screen for a long time.

"How do you want to handle this?" my dad asked.

I looked at him, then at my mother.

"I want to wait for him to come back."

"I want to hear what he has to say for himself."

"What is there left to say?!" my mom cried, wiping her eyes. "The proof is right here! He's a liar and a cheater!"

"Mom, I need to hear him admit it to my face."

My dad placed a comforting hand on my mom's shoulder. "Let her handle this her way, Helen."

My mom wanted to argue, but my dad gently pulled her back. He looked at me and said, "Call us the second you need anything. Doesn't matter how late it is."

"I know, Dad."

"We’ll head out now."

"Okay."

They walked to the door, but my mom turned around at the last second and threw her arms around me. She hugged me so tightly I could barely breathe.

"Maya, I can stay with you," she whispered.

"No, Mom, go home with Dad. I need some time alone."

She let go, looking at me with deep heartache, before finally sighing and leaving with my dad.

The door clicked shut, and the apartment was quiet once more.

Ethan didn't come back that night.

I sent him a single text: *Come home. We need to talk.*

He didn't reply.

I sat on the couch all night, staring at the pile of wedding itineraries, the untouched box of cronuts, and the remnants of a life we were supposed to build together.

When the sun began to rise, the door lock finally clicked.

I raised my head and watched Ethan walk in.

He saw me sitting on the couch and flinched slightly. Avoiding my gaze, he walked straight past me and into the bedroom.

I stood up and followed him.

He had dragged his suitcase out of the closet and was laying it flat on the bed. He began grabbing his t-shirts, his shirts, and his jackets—the ones I had thrown onto the mattress the night before—and started folding them.

"Ethan."

He didn't stop.

"Ethan, look at me."

He kept folding.

I walked over and grabbed his wrist. He violently shook me off and continued packing.

"We need some space," he said, his eyes glued to the suitcase.

"I'm going to stay at a hotel for a few days. We both need to cool down."

I looked at his hands, watching how carefully he was folding his clothes.

"Cool down for a few days?" I asked.

"Yeah. Just a few days."

"And then what?"

He finally stopped and looked up at me.

His lips parted as if he wanted to say something, but he swallowed his words.

"Ethan," I said, my voice entirely flat. "Don't bother cooling down."

He stared at me.

"We’re over. It’s finished."

His hand paused for a fraction of a second before he went back to packing.

"Maya, don't be dramatic. I just wanted to save some money because I didn't think a massive wedding was necessary. Is that really worth throwing our relationship away?"

I let out a cold, sharp laugh.

"To save money?"

"Yes."

"To save money for whom, Ethan?"

He went stiff.

"To save money for Olivia Styles?"

"Buying her designer dresses, Sephora skincare, and expensive perfume? Taking her to fancy dinners and movies? Is that where our wedding budget went?"