Chapter 3

The next morning, I pulled the door open to find a crowd standing outside.

"Ava, I knew it—you still love Boss most. Couldn't give up that house, could you?"

"Told you. She talks tough but she's soft inside. We saw right through her."

The door to the next room opened too.

Damon walked out, knotting his tie.

"Keep it down. Sofia's still sleeping."

The snickering died instantly.

He pulled out a stack of cash and held it toward Luca.

Luca didn't take it.

"Ms. Reed has already paid."

Damon's hand hung frozen in midair.

The casual mask on his face shattered in an instant.

"Ava Reed!"

My name came out of his mouth one syllable at a time, bitten off like a threat.

"You didn't actually—"

He didn't finish the sentence.

But his bloodshot eyes bore into me, as if trying to confirm something.

Sofia shuffled out rubbing her eyes, the collar of her nightgown slipping off one shoulder, revealing a trail of red marks.

She spotted me and blinked, then quickly curved her eyes into a smile.

"Oh, Ava, you're here too?"

"Damon was so worried about me last night. I said I was thirsty and he ran out to buy water—kept at it until really late."

"I told him he didn't have to, but he insisted. You don't mind, do you?"

She leaned into Damon as she spoke.

He wrapped an arm around her waist by reflex, but his gaze stayed on my face.

He was waiting.

Waiting for me to blow up. To lose my mind over him.

But I didn't.

I just barely turned up the corner of my mouth.

"Not at all. Carry on."

I slipped sideways between them without looking back, calling to Luca over my shoulder: "Give them the bag."

Everyone looked confused, staring at the takeout bag in Luca's hand.

It was stuffed to the brim—every brand of condom you could think of.

The air solidified for one long beat.

Damon's ice-cold voice slammed into me from behind.

"Ava! Don't you dare walk away!"

I didn't turn around.

So this was what it felt like to fight silence with silence. Even Damon Croce could lose his cool.

Then what had I been enduring for the past three years?

I pressed the elevator's down button.

For the first time in memory, Damon actually chased after me.

"Ava, you've gotten bold. Tell me—what exactly happened last night?"

I lifted my face to look at him and smiled.

"If I said nothing happened, would you believe me?"

Damon visibly relaxed.

"The divorce papers can be signed today. Everything I promised, you'll get."

"What Sofia said just now—don't take it to heart. She's young. She speaks without thinking."

I nodded, took the divorce agreement from his hands, and signed my name.

Damon watched me sign so quickly. A complicated expression crossed his face.

"You don't have to take this so seriously. This agreement is just for Sofia—to put her mind at ease."

"In a year, we'll remarry anyway."

I smiled and didn't tell him that I had no intention of remarrying. Ever.

Done was done.

We spoke almost at the same time.

"Thirty days. See you at the courthouse."