Chapter 1

Ava Miller knew her marriage was a shell.

Three years with Ethan Hayes, and the space between them in their king-sized bed felt wider than the Hudson River.

In public, Ethan was the perfect husband: charming, attentive, his hand always on the small of her back.

At home, in their sleek New York apartment, he was a ghost.

Work was his constant excuse. Late nights, early mornings, business trips.

When he was home, he' d blame stress for his lack of touch, his avoidance of anything more than a peck on the cheek.

Ava, an elementary school teacher, craved connection, warmth.

She felt a gnawing loneliness, a quiet desperation that settled deep in her bones.

Ethan was handsome, successful, an investment banker on the rise.

He was also related to Chloe Vance, Ava' s friend, or so she thought. Chloe was the younger sister of Ethan' s powerful business partner, Marcus Vance.

One evening, Ethan was supposedly at a late client dinner.

Ava couldn't sleep. She wandered into his home office, a place usually off-limits.

His laptop was open, asleep. She nudged the trackpad.

It woke to his email inbox.

A thread with Chloe Vance caught her eye. Subject: "Us."

Her heart hammered. She clicked.

The emails were a torrent of emotion.

Ethan, her Ethan, pouring out words she' d never heard him say to her.

"My dearest Chloe," one began, "this waiting is torture. I dream of the day we can finally build the future we talk about."

Chloe' s replies were just as intense. "Ethan, I can't bear Marcus's disapproval. He sees you with her and thinks that' s how it should be. These 'business complexities' are suffocating me."

Another from Ethan: "He' ll come around. Or we' ll make him. You are my everything, Chloe. Always have been."

Ava' s breath hitched. Her hands trembled.

The click of the apartment door. Ethan was home.

He found her there, staring at the screen, tears streaming down her face.

"What are you doing?" His voice was cold, sharp.

"Who is she to you, Ethan?" Ava' s voice was barely a whisper.

He saw the screen. His face hardened.

The argument that followed was brutal, raw.

"I' ve always had strong feelings for Chloe," he admitted, his tone flat, devoid of apology.

"Then why me? Why marry me?" Ava choked out.

"You were stable, Ava. Predictable. Right for my image at the time. Chloe... Chloe was always more complicated. Her family, Marcus."

He insisted, "Nothing physical has ever happened with Chloe. Not yet."

The words "not yet" hung in the air, a cruel promise.

Ava felt a profound, shattering pain. Her marriage wasn't just cold; it was a lie, a carefully constructed facade.

That night, she told him, "I want a divorce, Ethan."

He stared at her, surprised, then a flicker of something unreadable in his eyes. "If that' s what you want."

A week later, Chloe Vance had a "crisis."

Marcus Vance was suddenly under a high-stakes SEC investigation. His company, his reputation, everything was on the line.

Chloe was, by all accounts, a wreck.

And Ethan dropped everything.

He was at Chloe' s side constantly, days blurring into nights.

He offered her emotional support, logistical help.

He even dipped into their joint savings, substantial amounts, to "help the Vances navigate this."

Then he had the audacity to ask Ava, "Can you come to a dinner with the Vances? Show solidarity. It' s important for business, for Marcus to see we' re united."

Ava, numb and heartbroken, somehow agreed, still trying to be the understanding wife she thought she was supposed to be.

She saw Ethan with Chloe. The tender way he spoke to her, brought her favorite tea, held her hand when she cried about Marcus.

It was a stark, painful contrast to the years of neglect Ava had endured.

The pretense was too much.

"I can't do this anymore, Ethan," Ava said, her voice firm, after one such display. "I' ve spoken to a lawyer. I want a separation, then a divorce."

Ethan, already preoccupied with Chloe' s distress and perhaps seeing Marcus' s vulnerability as an opportunity, barely blinked.

"Alright, Ava. Whatever you think is best." He seemed almost relieved.

Then, Chloe collapsed.

The stress of Marcus' s investigation, combined with a pre-existing, rare kidney condition she' d kept quiet, had triggered acute renal failure.

She needed a transplant. Urgently.

Family members were tested. None were a match.

Ethan was frantic. Desperate.

He came to Ava, his polished veneer cracked, his eyes wild.

"Ava, please. They tested you when you did that charity drive blood test last year. You' re a potential match for Chloe. A very strong one."

Ava stared at him. "A match for Chloe?"

"Please, Ava. She' ll die. I' ll do anything. Anything you ask." He was begging, on his knees before her.

The irony was a bitter pill. He' d destroy their marriage for Chloe, and now he needed Ava to save her.

Ava looked at this desperate man, the husband who had never truly been hers.

A cold thought formed. A test.

"Anything, Ethan?"

"Yes, anything!"

"I want you to sign the final divorce papers now. No contests, no delays. And a full settlement, the one my lawyer proposed, giving me the downtown condo outright and half our liquid assets." It was more than fair, considering his duplicity.

But the most personal condition: "And I want you to stay away from me after this. Completely. No contact, unless it' s about the final legalities."

Ethan didn' t hesitate for a second. "Done. Yes. Anything. Just save her, Ava. Please."

His immediate acceptance, his sheer terror for Chloe, told Ava everything she already knew. His heart belonged entirely to Chloe.

Ava underwent the surgery. The kidney donation.

It was painful, draining.

When she woke, groggy and sore, the first thing she saw was Ethan in the hallway, hovering outside Chloe' s private room, his face pressed to the glass.

He glanced at Ava' s room, saw her awake, and gave a curt nod before turning back to Chloe.

He didn' t visit. He didn' t call.

A nurse mentioned he' d been by Chloe' s side non-stop.

Days later, as Ava recovered slowly, Chloe was already showing signs of improvement.

Chloe sent flowers to Ava' s room. A nurse brought them in.

"Mr. Hayes has been so devoted to Ms. Vance," the nurse chirped. "He barely leaves her side."

Ava felt a deep, hollow ache.

One afternoon, a recovering Chloe, looking pale but radiant, was wheeled into Ava' s room by a nurse, Ethan hovering behind.

"Ava," Chloe said, her voice soft, "thank you. I don' t know how to repay you."

"Just get better, Chloe," Ava said, her voice flat.

"I worry, though," Chloe continued, glancing at Ethan, then back at Ava. "That you' ll... resent me. Resent Ethan."

Ethan finally spoke, stepping forward. "Don't be silly, Chloe. Ava understands. She wouldn' t hold a grudge. She loves me too much for that."

He said it with such confidence, such arrogance.

Ava looked at him, at his handsome, oblivious face.

And in that moment, something inside her finally, irrevocably, snapped.

The lingering embers of love, of hope, of pain, all extinguished.

There was nothing left but a cold, clear certainty.

Her love for Ethan Hayes was dead. Stone dead.

The day she was discharged, she went home to their apartment. It felt alien.

She found the divorce papers on Ethan's desk, already signed by him, just as he' d promised. He hadn't even waited for her to present them again. He must have signed them right after her surgery, eager to fulfill his side of the bargain to save Chloe.

She picked them up.

He was due back from the hospital, where he was escorting Chloe home.

He walked in, looking tired but relieved.

"Ava. You're back."

He tried to pull her into an embrace. "We need to talk. About us. Now that Chloe is okay..."

Ava stepped back. "There's nothing to talk about, Ethan."

She held up the papers. "These are signed. My lawyer will file them tomorrow."

He looked confused. "But... I thought... the donation... Chloe..."

He genuinely seemed to think his devotion to Chloe, and her sacrifice, would somehow make Ava forget everything. Or that she wanted more money.

"Are you sure you don' t want to renegotiate the settlement?" he asked, as if that was the issue.

Just then, his phone rang. It was Chloe. Her voice, panicked, drifted from the phone. "Ethan, I don't feel well. Can you come back?"

Ethan' s attention snapped to the phone. "I' m on my way, Chloe. Don' t worry."

He looked at Ava, distracted. "We' ll talk later." He grabbed his keys.

He paused at the door, looked at the papers in her hand. "Just... make sure your lawyer sends everything to mine."

And he was gone, rushing back to Chloe.

Ava stood alone in the silent apartment.

She looked at the signed divorce papers.

A slow smile spread across her face. Not of joy, but of pure, unadulterated relief.

Freedom.

She was finally, blessedly, free.