chapter 2

Tyler finally came home that night.

His face was scratched up—looked like my brother had gotten some good hits in. He walked over to the couch looking completely drained, sat down, and lit a cigarette without saying a word.

I was still wearing my wedding dress. I turned to look at him and asked, "Are we still getting married?"

Tyler blew out smoke, and it clouded his face so I couldn't read his expression. "After everything that happened today, you still want to go through with this?"

I smiled a little, "Yeah, I do."

Tyler shot up from the couch and grabbed my shoulders. "Did you really threaten Maya to stay away from me? Did you send her pictures and videos of us together just to hurt her?"

I had done those things he mentioned, but I was just sharing normal stuff with my sister.

After Tyler and I started dating, Maya got a boyfriend too. She kept asking me about my relationship, and I thought she'd moved on. I never realized she was using everything I told her for her own plan.

He shouted at me, "Is that true?"

"Maya doesn't learn boundaries. Was I wrong to point that out?" I lifted my chin and stared right back at him.

Tyler shoved me away hard. The disgust in his eyes made me feel like trash. "You're still the same person—paranoid, bitter, jealous. You haven't changed at all these years! Why can't you be more like Maya? Warm and kind?"

His yelling made my ears ring. When the noise stopped, I asked calmly, "So because I don't live up to your expectations, that gives you the right to cheat on me in front of everyone?"

Tyler's face went pale. He clenched his fists so tight his knuckles cracked.

Then, his phone rang. Maya's panicked voice came through the speaker.

"Tyler, someone's trying to get into my car. I'm so scared..."

Tyler turned around without hesitation. I grabbed his arm.

"Tyler, if you don't leave, I'll forgive you."

He looked at me with ice-cold eyes. "Today happened to teach you a lesson. You can't steal things that were never meant to be yours."

So marrying me was just another way to teach me a lesson.

I sat in the living room until sunrise. All those things I couldn't understand suddenly made perfect sense in those few hours.

If he actually liked me, he wouldn't have watched me pine after him for eight years without ever saying "I like you too."

It was never about love. It was about what our families thought was "suitable."

I packed my bags and left Tyler's house that morning. Thank God we had the wedding before we got legally married. Now that it was over, there were no divorce papers to deal with.

I didn't go back to my dad's place. I went to my own little apartment instead.

Amanda kept texting me, asking how I was doing. I texted back, "We broke up."

Then I posted "Wedding's canceled. Your girl is officially single again."

Someone liked it within seconds. I looked closer—it was Blake Harrison.

He and Tyler absolutely hated each other. They'd get into it every time they were in the same room. Blake lived for seeing Tyler fail or look stupid.

I blocked him immediately.

But then he created a group chat and asked me why I blocked him.

I texted, "I'm blocking everyone connected to him."

Blake replied immediately, "I'm not connected to him. The enemy of my enemy is my friend. Add me back."

I thought about it for a minute. He had a point. I added him back.

The next day, I met Amanda at this bar downtown. The second I walked in, I ran into Maya's whole crew.

I saw this woman coming over with her drink, ready to start trouble.

"Well, well, if it isn't the brand-new Mrs. Wilson. First day of marriage and you're already out drinking at bars? Let me guess—hubby ran off with someone else already? Ha!"

I grabbed the drink out of her hand and threw it right in her face. "Do I even know you?"

The woman was dripping wet, looking like a drowned rat. She started screaming her head off and glaring at me like she wanted to kill me.

"You actually threw a drink at me?"

Amanda stepped in front of me and went off on her. "Got nothing between your ears but air, huh? If you don't have anything useful to say, keep your mouth shut. You're dumber than a box of rocks."

When she finished tearing into the woman, I started clapping

Then I heard this soft, pathetic voice behind me. "Olivia..."