Chapter 3

Lana:

"You lucky dog, Brandon! Chloe is incredibly devoted once she cares about someone."

Mia:

"Pfft, 'friendship,' my foot! Before Liam even met her, Brandon used to crash at her place all the time, hahaha!"

Brooke:

"Oh yeah! I forgot about that until you mentioned it. I even supplied them with condoms once."

Chloe:

"Stop spreading rumors, guys! That's all in the past! If my husband sees this, I'll kill you! Delete those comments!"

Someone replied:

"Who cares? He's already hit the jackpot. You married down, darling."

"You've already had a kid with him. What's wrong with helping Brandon with his skin hunger syndrome?"

Chloe and I had been together for years, and her friends had never liked me.

Whenever she wasn't looking, they'd openly mock me, saying they only acknowledged me out of respect for Chloe.

In their minds, only Brandon was good enough for her.

For Chloe's sake, I never argued with them. I wasn't a dollar bill; I couldn't make everyone like me.

But what Chloe didn't know was that I, sitting behind my screen, had seen all their comments.

My fingertips slowly reddened, and my chest felt so heavy it was hard to breathe.

Just as they were about to delete their comments, I quickly typed below:

"Don't delete them. Leave them up."

"As you wish, I'm divorcing Chloe."

After posting, I lit a bucket of fireworks, watching them bloom in the night sky. Then I took a photo of myself standing beneath them and posted it on social media.

Caption: "We're both free."

Not long after the message went out, Chloe's phone calls started pouring in frantically.

I watched the fireworks explode one after another in the night sky, smiling with a sense of relief I'd never felt before.

I'd always wanted to watch fireworks with Chloe, but her heart was only ever with Brandon.

I had let her go, but she couldn't let me go.

After the fireworks ended, she sent me a video call.

This time, I answered. But seeing her in a sheer nightgown, sitting on another man's bed, my heart still felt a pang.

"Liam, are you out of your mind?! Why did you post that comment under Brandon's Ins?! I was just helping him through an episode; do you have to be so petty?!"

"And take it as far as divorce?!"

"Yes, I do. When are you free to come back and sign the divorce papers..."

"Chloe, my skin hunger syndrome is acting up again!"

Chloe immediately grew anxious. She pulled Brandon onto the bed, then quickly untied her strap.

*Ha.* No wonder she was dressed so scantily. It was all so Brandon could get his "comfort" immediately.

I watched the deeply unsettling scene unfold, my heart strangely calm. The furious rage was gone.

"Is that enough?"

"Almost."

Brandon's hand roamed restlessly over her body, and she seemed to have forgotten she was still on a video call with me.

Whenever it concerned Brandon, I was always forgotten.

They murmured to each other, then both tumbled into the big bed.

Brandon's burning gaze – any man could tell it was a signal of his arousal.

I didn't need to see what happened next. I recorded their intimate moment as part of the divorce evidence.