Chapter 3

Day broke, but Scarlett still hadn't returned.

The pain intensified. I couldn't bear it anymore, so I called an ambulance.

While waiting, I scrolled through Ins and stumbled upon Jax's latest post. He basically wrote about intervening in a bar fight, protecting a girl from some creeps, and how Scarlett rushed to the hospital to be with him. He was "so touched" she'd come out so late for him. Underneath the post was a photo of Scarlett, her eyes teary, applying cream to Jax's injury, with the caption: "Love conquers all, and faces all." The comments section was brutal. One read: "A woman that hot in front of you, and you held back? Dude, are you even straight?" Another chimed in: "Seriously, if she showed up for me in the middle of the night, I wouldn't just be asking her to put on cream..." Jax, with a smug emoji, replied: "What's the rush? She'll be mine eventually!"

...

The ambulance arrived, and medical staff carefully put me on a stretcher.

While getting an IV in the emergency room, I sent a SnapChat message to my best friend, Ryan.

"Ryan, I'm getting a divorce."

After I got home from the hospital, I rested for a few days.

I thought things might calm down, until I was woken up by incessant phone calls. I groggily answered. Scarlett's voice on the other end was cold.

"I'm picking you up for dinner."

Before I could reply, she hung up.

I figured I should try to be civil before the divorce, so I got dressed and went out.

Seeing how exhausted I looked, Scarlett suddenly remembered she'd forgotten to buy me cream.

"The restaurant is near the hospital, so I'll take you there first."

"No need. It's been days. I'm fine."

She sighed in relief.

"I figured. It's been seven years, after all. Any pain you feel is probably just in your head."

I gave a self-deprecating laugh. "Right, seven years."

Back then, I had used every ounce of my strength to push Scarlett out, leaving myself trapped under falling timber in the raging fire. Three of my ribs were fractured, my tailbone cracked. All these years later, even the slightest bump sends agonizing pain through me.

I never told Scarlett about the lasting after-effects, fearing her guilt. Instead, she called it my "victim mentality."

But we'd been together for seven years. If she truly loved me, truly cared, how could she not know if I was in pain?

Scarlett drove, telling me about that night.

"I took Jax to the hospital. His scrapes were pretty bad. I was worried he'd be uncomfortable in the middle of the night, so I stayed with him a bit longer. Don't overthink it."

I stared blankly out the car window.

"I'm not overthinking it. He's your secretary. It's perfectly natural for you to spend a few extra days with him."

Scarlett clearly wasn't happy with my answer. She slammed on the brakes, sending my headphones tumbling under the seat. I bent down to retrieve them, but instead, I found a pair of men's swimming trunks tucked away. Half a month ago, I would have gone ballistic, waving those trunks in her face. But now? I just gave a wry chuckle, picked them up, and tossed them onto the back seat.

Scarlett looked flustered.

"Oh, those? Jax must have left them in the car after his swimming lesson. Accidentally."

I nodded, resuming my stare out the window.

At dinner, a couple at the next table kept staring at Scarlett and me. When I noticed their gaze, the girl approached us.

"Excuse me, are you the female CEO from Jax's Ins posts? You're even more gorgeous in person!"

Scarlett looked up at her. "Can I help you?"

The girl, clearly intrigued, pressed on, "So, are you and Jax dating?"

Scarlett glanced at me, still eating, then smiled at the girl. "Yes, Jax and I are together."

I managed a weak smile back at the girl, but then a sharp pain shot through my stomach.

The girl looked at me, confused. "Then who is he?"

Scarlett blurted out, "The security guard."