Chapter 2
I stared blankly at Liam’s departing figure.
The click of the door brought me back to reality, and my heart completely calmed.
I took a deep breath, picked up my bag, and decided to see for myself.
I changed into black clothes, pulled on a black cap and mask, hailed a taxi, and in a voice as steady as still water, gave the driver Liam’s company address.
The company wasn't far. Before I even stepped out of the cab, I was frozen, watching the very reason Liam had rushed out—
A fragile-looking woman, bundled into his blazer, was held tightly in Liam's arms.
And Liam was locked in a heated argument with a few of his friends.
Their voices carried, every word stabbing at my heart.
“Dude, it’s just a little model, right? A few risqué photos, no big deal. You never cared about stuff like this before. Why are you suddenly so protective? Aren’t you worried Aubrey will flip out?”
Liam’s voice was icy and stern:
“Serena is *mine*. If any of you even *think* about touching her, you’ll answer to me! And this has nothing to do with Aubrey…”
The woman, Serena, clung to Liam's waist, trembling. Her voice was a pathetic whimper, like a terrified fawn trying desperately to be brave:
“Liam, just leave me alone… I’m nobody to you, just some girl with no claim, no title. I deserve to be disrespected. Go home to Aubrey, I’ll be fine…”
A flicker of anger, or perhaps self-mockery, crossed Liam’s face.
The next second, he roughly cupped Serena’s head, pulling her into a possessive, almost savage kiss, like a beast staking its claim.
Right there, in front of all his photography studio partners, they kissed passionately, lost in each other.
“Satisfied? Did you all see? From now on, Serena is *my* woman, Liam’s woman!”
Someone else still looked reluctant, struggling to speak:
“But Aubrey, your wife…”
A single glare from Liam silenced the guy completely.
The blood drained from my body, Liam’s warning words echoing in my ears.
“I know Aubrey. She can’t live without me. Just keep your mouths shut, and I’ll handle her, no problem.”
After Liam said that, I might have been mistaken, but I felt the woman named Serena turn her head slightly in Liam’s embrace and glance in my direction.
I stood rooted to the spot, feeling the wrenching pain in my heart, until it finally morphed into a bitter, twisted smile that felt worse than crying.
Serena was flaunting her victory, telling me she had stolen not only my husband’s body but his heart too.
Serena cried about having no claim, no title. Her next step, then, would be to gain one.
Sure enough, Liam didn’t come home that night. Instead, I received a message request from an unknown account.
My trembling finger tapped ‘accept’, and the next second, a FaceTime call popped up. Through it, I heard sounds that made my cheeks burn and my heart race – the intimate sounds of a man and a woman.
The familiar male voice, deep and rough, stubbornly repeated his demands:
“You’re my woman, my model. From now on, only I get to see you like this… Do you hear me? Come back to me…”
The woman’s answers were broken, interrupted repeatedly by impacts, murmuring sweet nothings while begging with a tearful whine.
As if to completely steel my heart, I never pressed hang up. I listened, self-torturing, until past midnight.
I heard Serena’s tearful voice, feigning anger, asking Liam:
“Liam… What exactly am you taking me for? Your dirty little secret, or a convenient outlet for your desires, used and discarded at will?”
Liam’s rough movements faltered. After a long moment, he spoke in a pained, tender voice.
“Serena, how can you say that about yourself… Only those who aren’t truly loved are disposable tools.”
“The first time I saw you, you were already the only wife in my heart.”
I faintly heard something shatter inside me.
I stubbornly refused to hang up, determined to hear it all, secretly holding onto one last ridiculous sliver of hope.
But now, the naked truth lay before me.
This hadn't happened in my previous life. Serena must have seen me, and that emboldened her to stake her claim.
Tears streamed down my face as I thought back.
When Liam first pursued me, he was just an unknown photographer.
Back then, I was smart and beautiful, never lacking for powerful, wealthy suitors. But I never gave any of them a second glance.
Liam worked hard, but with no connections, he constantly ran into dead ends.
I, on the other hand, had received a top offer from a company in another city. I wrestled with the decision for three days and three nights.
Finally, with bags under my eyes, I deleted the email. I put on a brave face and lied to Liam, telling him I didn’t get accepted, so I could stay and help him build his career.
Later, when Liam found out the truth, he drank himself into a stupor, holding me and swearing over and over that he would only love me his entire life.
“Aubrey, once I make a name for myself, I’ll marry you. I’ll spend my whole life proving my love to you!”
That vow still seemed to echo in my ears.
Six months ago, we officially married. At our wedding, Liam gently took my hand, like a precious treasure, pressed a solemn kiss to it, and then loudly announced to all our family and friends that I was the love of his life.
All those grand promises, those vows of eternal love, now twisted into a cruel mockery of my existence.
The same Liam who made such solemn promises now told another woman that only those who aren't truly loved are disposable tools.
Not only that, but to get rid of me, he would plan a fake death, completely abandoning this burdensome wife, and run off into the sunset with his true love.
I lay awake all night, curled up in the darkness, hugging myself tightly.
The chirping of birds at dawn pulled me from my scattered thoughts, and the first rays of sunlight brought a flicker of hope.
Without hesitation, I called my childhood best friend, Chloe, who lived overseas.
“Chloe, I need to come to you… Can you help me with something?”
“Just say it. We don’t need to be formal.”
“Help me stage my own death. I need to leave Liam for good.”
This time, Liam won't have to go through the trouble of staging *his* death to escape *me*.
I have my own two feet. My heart is cold, and I'll walk away myself.