Chapter 2

Rachel narrowed her eyes at me, crossing her arms.

"Are you seriously throwing a tantrum over what happened earlier? Grow up, Austin. It was strictly business."

"The company loves the dynamic between Liam and me. Clients think we're the power couple. If they think we’re together, they’ll invest more money!"

Right. The golden couple. My anniversary bash magically transformed into your soft-launch engagement party.

I scoffed under my breath, wondering if her sudden success had rotted her brain.

I didn't answer, just gave a small shrug.

My silence rubbed her the wrong way. She stepped closer, about to chew me out, when the front door clicked open.

Liam let himself in like he owned the place. He held a high-end shopping bag, offering an apologetic little grin.

"Rachel, you forgot your designer jacket in my car. Thought I'd drop it off."

Then he feigned surprise at seeing me. "Oh, Austin! Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt."

Rachel had added Liam’s fingerprint to our smart lock weeks ago. The guy walked into our condo whenever he pleased.

Rachel didn't see anything wrong with it. She took the bag warmly. "You didn't have to drive all the way out here tonight, Liam. You could have just brought it tomorrow."

Their eyes locked with unmistakable tension. A wave of disgust hit me.

Rachel immediately turned back to me, finding fresh ammo.

"See? Why can't you be more considerate like Liam? He's younger than you, yet twice as mature."

"He handled hundreds of high-profile guests effortlessly tonight while you hid away like a coward."

"Things got chaotic at the end, and if it weren't for Liam, the whole event would've fallen apart! But you just walked out and went to sleep, like some—"

I cut her off cleanly.

"My fault."

The room fell dead silent. Both of them froze.

Neither Rachel nor Liam expected this calm surrender. They were waiting for me to yell, to smash something, to play the humiliated husband.

Instead, I sat there, looking at Rachel with zero emotion.

Everyone in our circle knew how deeply I had loved her. I had literally walked away from my own life for her.

Before Rachel, I was a rising star in the contemporary art world.

Galleries fought for my paintings. Canvas was how I spoke to the world; art was my lifeline.

Then I met Rachel, and everything changed.

Back then, she was just a junior analyst struggling in corporate America.

Her bright smile and vulnerable ambition made me want to shield her from everything.

For her, I set down my brushes and stepped away from the spotlight.