Chapter 1On the drive back from the courthouse, Derek dropped this bomb:
"I screwed someone else."
He nodded at my seat, then grinned—slow and sick.
"Right here. Yesterday. She practically stripped for me. Yeah, I fucked her."
Betrayed. Again.
I just sat there, frozen.
Derek kept going, like he was reliving it:
"Gotta say, Aaron’s right—Quinn’s hot as hell. You? Flat as fuck."
Aaron was my ex. Quinn was my so-called best friend.
Five years ago, I caught them in bed together.
Derek saved me when I wanted to kill myself.
Now he'd thrown me away for the same bitch.
My throat closed up like someone's hands were crushing it.
Took me forever to find my voice.
"Why?"
Why fuck someone else, then put a ring on my finger?
Why pick the best day of my life to destroy me?
Derek blinked.
Then burst out laughing.
"Congrats. You won."
What?
The car speakers buzzed. A voice I knew too well:
"Mmm, so you're gonna use strawberry for me tonight, right baby?~"
Everything inside me went numb.
"Quinn bet me on how you'd react," Derek said, like we were discussing the weather. "I said you'd bitch-slap me. She said you'd cry and ask why."
He smirked. "Winner gets a prize. I win, she models fishnets for me. She wins, I fuck her with her favorite flavored condoms."
His eyes glinted. "Well. You heard who won."
Quinn's voice dripped through the speakers:
"Oh Olivia... five whole years and you're still the same weak little bitch. But damn girl, you do have taste in men. I might keep this one."
Her mocking laughter hit me hard.
And just like that—I was back there.
Five years ago.
Rushing home early to surprise Aaron for his birthday.
Finding him balls-deep in Quinn against the bedroom window.
Aaron went white when he saw me.
Quinn? She fucking smiled. Lit up a cigarette, naked as hell:
"Oops. My bad, hon. Got bored. Your husband was just... available."
I'd done the exact same pathetic thing back then.
Stood there sobbing. Kept asking them: "Why? Why would you do this?"
Watched their mouths form words I couldn't hear. Like my brain just... shut down.
Until they started screaming. Both of them. Faces drained of color.
That's when the cramping started—this searing, twisting agony in my stomach.
I looked down.
Red. Everywhere.
Lost three people that day.
My best friend of ten years. My husband of one.
And the baby I'd been carrying for three months—the one I didn't even know I wanted until it was gone.
Chapter 2
"Alright babe, I know you miss me already. Tonight, yeah? Gotta dump Olivia off first."
Derek's voice snapped me back to reality.
He ended the call. The car went dead quiet except for our breathing.
Then he goes:
"You must be starving. Let's get you that cake you love, then I'll take you home."
Sweet as fucking honey.
Like he didn't just blow up my entire world.
Meanwhile I'm sitting here—eyes bloodshot, shaking like a leaf—looking like a complete joke.
"Derek... why?" My throat's raw. "You promised you'd love me forever."
Tears just kept coming. I couldn't stop them.
But he didn't wipe them away this time. Didn't even try.
Just sat there, slouched back, smirking:
"Listen, Liv. If you'd picked me first? Yeah, maybe I would've kept that promise." His smile died. "But you didn't. You're used goods now. So tell me—why the fuck should I play loyal to another man's trash?"
He flicked a tissue at me like I was some beggar.
I flinched back. Looked at him like he'd turned into a monster.
We all went to college together.
Years ago, both he and Aaron asked me out.
I picked Aaron.
Derek smiled, said congrats, and I kept things appropriate after we got married.
Until Aaron destroyed me.
I tried to end it all. Slashed my wrists in the tub.
Derek burst in like some knight in shining armor.
Saved me. Fixed me. Made me think I could trust again.
Remembering all that made my chest ache.
"Then why—why come after me? Why even be with me?"
He let out this long, tired breath:
"Honestly? Thought I was cool with it. But then we started wedding planning."
That bitter smile came back.
"And you just... knew everything. How to negotiate with the photographer. That we needed backup rings so the real ones wouldn't get stolen. What to wear today without googling it..."
His jaw clenched tighter with every word.
"Every fucking thing you did was like a neon sign: 'Been here, done this.' Made me feel like I was picking up Aaron's garbage. And I hate feeling that way, Olivia."
My vision went blurry. Couldn't see anymore.
But god, I heard him crystal clear.
"Thing is—I do love you."
"So here's what's gonna happen: You got one year with Aaron. I get one year to do whatever the hell I want, then I'll come home. Seems pretty fair to me."
Something wet and warm hit my cheek.
I blinked hard. My tears splattered onto his hand.
He jerked away like I'd scalded him.
"That's NOT FAIR!"
"You should've talked to me! Not—not pull me out of hell just to throw me right back in!"
"I want a DIVORCE, Derek!"
I was screaming. My whole body felt like it was splitting in half.
He just sat there watching me fall apart. Face blank as stone.
Waited until I had nothing left.
Then, so fucking casual:
"Too late, sweetheart. We're married now. What's fair doesn't matter anymore."
"Divorce?" He actually snorted. "Yeah, that's not happening. So either suck it up, or suffer. I really don't care which."
Then he reached across me and shoved my door wide open.
Gave me a light push—just enough.
"You're really killing my mood right now. Get out and think about your attitude."
Chapter 3
Outside was drenched from the storm.
I slammed into the mud. Hard. Ground was slippery as hell—every time I tried getting up, I'd slip right back down.
Derek didn't move. Just watched from his car, face dead.
"Getting a good look, Liv?"
When our eyes met, his mouth curled:
"Can't even stand on your own two feet. So tell me—where you planning to go without me?"
Didn't wait for an answer.
Door slammed. Car peeled out, mud spraying across my face.
Everything went dark. Memories hit me all at once.
After Aaron destroyed me, I totally fell apart. Depression hit me hard.
Started cutting myself. Derek would find the wounds and cut himself twice as deep.
I couldn't sleep. He ripped open his roof, installed glass—held me under the stars every night.
I stopped eating. He stopped too.
A year later, I I finally crawled back to something like normal. Let myself trust again.
When he proposed, he swore: "I'll never betray you."
I believed him.
Now? One year in.
That promise was already dead.
I wiped the mud off and dragged myself up.
People passing by actually fucking laughed.
Humiliation hit me, and I waved down cabs like crazy.
One finally stopped—driver didn’t care how messed up I looked, just wanted cash upfront… plus two hundred on top.
Done. Whatever.
Then my card bounced. Account frozen.
Got tossed back onto the curb right as the rain started again.
Rain hit like tiny knives.
Don't know how long I walked. Eventually reached our place.
Opened the door.
My brain shut down.
Her heels. His shoes. Her bra tangled with his jacket on the floor.
By the window—Derek had Quinn pinned there, kissing her hard.
Suddenly I was back there. Five years ago. Aaron's bedroom.
Scream.
This sound ripped out of me—not human. My body shook violently.
They broke apart, annoyed.
Derek's face went cold:
"Calm the fuck down. You've seen this movie before."
Quinn chuckled:
"Hey Olivia. Been a while. I was wrong earlier—Derek's way better than Aaron."
Derek grinned.
"Damn right."
He stood up, walked toward me.
The closer he got, the worse I shook.
When he reached out—
I bent over and puked everywhere.
Derek froze for a second.
Then his voice dropped, dangerous:
"You think I'm disgusting?"
