---- Chapter 9 They left a few minutes later, their laughter echoing down the hallway. | waited until | heard the front door close and the sound of a car driving away before | stumbled out of the closet. | leaned against the doorframe, my legs shaking too much to stand. The air in the room was still thick with her perfume. My home, my bedroom, my life, had been invaded and conquered. Liam came back that evening, after | had returned to my own apartment. He called me, his voice full of the usual fake concern. "Hey, honey. Just checking in. How are you feeling?" | took a deep breath, forcing my voice to be steady. "I'm okay, Liam. Just tired." "| miss you," he said. "It's not the same without you." A bitter laugh almost escaped my lips. "| miss you too," | lied. The words tasted like poison in my mouth. "Liam, I'm sorry I've been so distant. | love you. You know that, right?" My words were a test, a final confirmation of his depravity. His voice softened, filled with relief and a touch of smugness. "Of course, | know that, Ava. And | love you more than ---- anything. Things have been stressful, but it's all going to get better. | promise. Once we're married, everything will be perfect." "| know," | whispered. "It will be." While he was feeding me his empty promises, an email notification popped up on my laptop screen. It was from my lawyer. The subject line read: "Final Documents Attached." | opened it. Inside were the scanned copies of everything. The signed papers dissolving Ross & Kane Architecture. The title transfer for my half of our shared properties. And a new passport, under a new name, with a new life waiting for me. It was all done. All the pieces were in place. Later that night, he came over to my apartment. He wanted to stay the night, to "reconnect." | let him. | played the part of the loving fiancée, letting him hold me, letting him kiss me. Each touch felt like a violation, but | endured it. It was the last time. As we lay in the dark, he turned to me. "You're not going to leave me, are you, Ava?" he whispered, a strange note of insecurity in his voice. "Sometimes | get this feeling... like you're slipping away." | turned to face him, tracing the line of his jaw in the dim light. "You promised to take care of me forever, remember? The day my parents died. You promised you'd never leave me." He pulled me closer. "And | never will," he said, his voice firm. "Never." ---- The lie was so familiar, so comfortable. | closed my eyes and pretended to sleep. An hour later, his phone, which he'd left on the nightstand, buzzed. He shifted, thinking | was asleep, and quietly got out of bed. He took the phone and went into the living room to take the call. | knew who it was. | didn't have to guess. | lay in the darkness, listening to the muffled sound of his voice. He was trying to be quiet, but | could hear the gentle, soothing tone he was using. The same tone he used with me when | was upset. Then | watched his silhouette as he walked past the bedroom door and out of the apartment. He was gone. My own phone lit up on the nightstand. A text from that same unknown number. Clara's number. It was a picture of her, pouting, in a silk nightgown. The caption read: "I'm lonely. Come home." He had left my bed to go to hers. On the night he promised he would never leave me. | stared at the dark ceiling, no tears left to cry. It was over. All of it. He had made his choice. Now, it was time for me to execute mine.