Chapter 13

"So Ethan?" Daniel asks as we drive back home.

After what happened in the bathroom, I couldn’t stand being near Ethan another second. I’d begged Daniel to take me home thirty minutes early.

"He’s my ex-husband," I reply flatly, and silence fills the car.

I still couldn’t believe Ethan had the audacity to corner me like that. As if that wasn’t bad enough, he’d nearly kissed me. Me! He’d never initiated a kiss before—not once in our entire marriage. Shocked didn’t even begin to cover it.

I almost let him. God, I’d wanted it so badly. But then I remembered Isabella. That he’d kissed her, touched her, probably done far more. That thought alone gave me the strength to shove him away. I refused to be his backup option. Not again. He had Isabella now. To him, I was nothing but the mother of his son.

Ethan had never been possessive over me. Not like he was with Isabella back in high school. I used to fantasize about him looking at me with that same intensity. But he never did. Until now.

He was jealous. It was written all over him—the clenched jaw, the white-knuckled grip on his glass, the way his eyes darkened every time Daniel touched me.

I didn’t understand it. Sure, I’d lied, let him think Daniel and I were sleeping together. But that was just to get him off my back. I never expected him to snap like that. Part of me wanted to revel in it—finally, some reaction from him. But the smarter part knew better than to hope.

Ethan didn’t love me. Plain and simple. I wouldn’t delude myself into thinking otherwise.

"I thought he was with Isabella? Your sister, according to the tabloids?" Daniel sounds genuinely confused.

"He is."

"So what’s the deal? He just hops between sisters?"

I flinch. Daniel was new in town. He didn’t know the mess I’d made nine years ago. As much as I liked him, I wasn’t ready to confess how my stupid choices had ruined three lives.

"It’s complicated. I don’t want to talk about it."

Honestly, I didn’t even want to think about it. I’d paid enough for that mistake. Rehashing it only brought pain.

"Okay, I won’t push. But if you ever need to talk, I’m here." His words soften something inside me.

No one had ever said that to me before. I’d always dealt with my problems alone—no safety net, no one to listen. Just me.

"Thank you, Daniel," I murmur, my throat tight.

Soon, we pull up to my house. True to his gentlemanly nature, Daniel walks me to my door.

My nosy neighbor’s curtains twitch.

"I had a great time, even if it was cut short," Daniel says with that easy grin. "Next time, dinner’s on me."

His smile is infectious. For a moment, thoughts of Ethan vanish. Daniel and Ethan were alike in some ways—both oozing confidence.

"You’re awfully sure of yourself," I tease.

"Hopeful, more like. So… is that a yes?"

I nod, already looking forward to it. This time, he meant it. Right?

"Good. See you soon, beautiful." He steps closer, pressing a kiss to my cheek.

Heat floods my face. I’m blushing like a teenager.

"You too, Daniel."

"Go on. I’ll wait until you’re inside."

He nudges me toward the door. I unlock it, step inside, and lock up behind me. Leaning against the door, I listen as his footsteps fade, then his car pulls away.

With nothing else to do, I head to bed, my mind tangled between Ethan and Daniel.

The doorbell yanks me from sleep. I groan, squinting at the clock—7:20 AM.

Sunday. Church day. Not that I was devout, but old habits die hard.

Grumbling, I throw on a robe and storm downstairs, ready to rip into whoever dared disturb me.

I wrench the door open—and freeze.

Isabella.

"What do you want?" I snap, too sleep-deprived for this.

"Stay away from Ethan. He’s mine. I won’t let you steal him again." Her eyes burn with fury.

I laugh hollowly. "You came here at dawn to warn me off? Wrong house, Isabella."

I wasn’t the naive girl she’d left behind. I wouldn’t let her walk over me now.

"Ethan is mine, Sophia! I lost nine years with him because of you. I won’t let you ruin this."

"I don’t want him! Keep him. Just leave me alone."

Couldn’t she see? The only tie between Ethan and me was Liam.

"I saw him watching you yesterday. Saw him follow you to the bathroom."

"And that’s my fault how?"

She looks ready to hit me. Even angry, she’s stunning. How does she do it?

"You’re trying to seduce him."

"We were married, Isabella. I don’t need to seduce him. He’s all yours—my sloppy seconds."

I regret it the second it leaves my mouth. Too harsh.

"He would’ve been my husband if you hadn’t obsessed over him. Now I have to—"

"Enough." I cut her off, guilt twisting my stomach.

She’d never believe how much I regretted it.

"Look at you," she sneers. "A nobody teacher with no money, no status. I’m a lawyer. I’m the perfect wife for a man like Ethan. You never were, and you never will be."

With that, she struts to her Tesla and peels away.

Her words don’t sting. I’d heard it all before—how Ethan and I didn’t fit. But I loved my job. That was enough.

I finish grading papers, then head to church, still rattled from last night and this morning.

The sermon blurs past. As I leave, my phone buzzes.

I answer without looking, digging for my keys.

"What the hell did you say to Isabella?" Ethan’s voice is ice.

Of course she’d run to him, leaving out her unhinged visit.

"Ethan—"

I hit the unlock button.

Then—

A deafening boom.

Heat slams into me, throwing me back.

The world goes black.

The last thing I hear is screaming.