Chapter 2

The room fell completely silent.

Then came an even bigger uproar.

Those words were captured by countless cameras and spread across the entire internet.

I became what everyone was talking about — a worthless woman who could only survive by clinging to her husband.

I slowly lifted my head and looked up at Rowan on the stage.

He was basking in the spotlight, not sparing me a single glance.

He thought I would swallow every humiliation and injustice, just like I had for the past five years.

I took out my phone. The screen's glow lit up my face.

I found a number — one I had saved a long time ago but never once called.

Elias Thorne.

Rowan's biggest rival in the literary world.

I opened the email attachment. Inside was a complete document.

The file was titled: Light in the Dust.

Recipient: Elias Thorne.

I hit send.

Then I stood up and walked out of that place that made me sick to my stomach.

My phone buzzed. A new email.

From Elias.

Just one word.

"Yes."

I went back to the place that was supposed to be called "home."

It was quiet.

Our wedding photo hung on the wall. The woman in that picture was smiling — genuinely happy.

Back then, I believed I had married for love.

I pulled out my suitcase and started packing my things.

I didn't have much.

A few clothes, some books, and an old laptop.

That laptop held every single word I had written over the past five years.

Every word had been published under Rowan's name, turned into the halo that crowned his head.

I placed the laptop gently into the suitcase.

I didn't cry. I wasn't angry.

My heart was calm.

When a person has been completely let down, there's nothing left to feel.

The door opened.

Rowan walked in with Elara. He'd been drinking — the smell of alcohol clung to him.

Elara had her arm around him. When she saw me packing, her eyes went wide with exaggerated surprise.

"Evelyn, what are you doing?"

Rowan shoved Elara aside and stormed over to me. He snatched the clothes out of my hands and threw them on the floor.

"Evelyn, what the hell is wrong with you?"

His voice was full of rage.

"You already embarrassed me at the launch. Now you're pulling some dramatic walk-out?"

I ignored him. I bent down, picked up the clothes, and folded them again.

"I'm not being dramatic, Rowan. I want a divorce."

My voice was steady.

Rowan looked at me like I'd just told the funniest joke he'd ever heard.

"Divorce? Evelyn, do you even know what you're saying?"

He jabbed his finger at me.

"You eat my food, wear clothes I pay for, live in my house. If you leave me, where are you going to go? What are you going to do?"

"Don't forget — without me, you're nothing."

He said it again. The same words.

Elara walked over and tugged at his arm, putting on a show of trying to calm him down.

"Rowan, don't say it like that. Evelyn's probably just not thinking straight right now."

She turned to me, her eyes full of gloating dressed up as pity.

"Evelyn, I know you're hurting. But you can't force feelings. Rowan loves me now. You should let us be happy."

"Besides, a woman needs stability. Throwing a fit is one thing, but don't throw away your whole future over it."