---- Chapter 8 | heard Michael call after me, "Liv! Don't be like this! We can talk!" But his voice lacked genuine urgency. It was the tone he used when | was "overreacting" to one of his minor deceptions. Later, Elizabeth would tell me what happened after | left. Michael, according to Richard who called Elizabeth in a rare moment of conscience, had shaken his head with a sigh. "She's just being dramatic," Michael told Serena and their audience. "She'll cool off. She always comes back." Serena had nodded sympathetically. "Poor Olivia. Pregnancy can be so difficult." His associates had murmured agreement. They saw my decisive departure, fueled by profound betrayal and a dawning understanding of my own strength, as a childish tantrum A manipulative tactic. His arrogance was astounding. His underestimation of my resolve, complete. He genuinely believed his charm, our history, my love for him, were unbreakable chains. He thought my pregnancy, our unborn child, was his ultimate trump card, ensuring | would never truly leave. He couldn't conceive of a world where | wouldn't forgive him, ---- where | wouldn't eventually accept his terms, his lies, his other family. The dramatic irony was a bitter pill. He was so confident in his control, so dismissive of my pain. He had no idea that the ground beneath his carefully constructed world was about to crumble. He thought | was predictable. He was about to find out just how wrong he was.