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The scenery outside blurs past me, numb inside. The events of the past day replay on a loop—the joy and wonder of my time with Elijah, his proposal, and the confrontation with Oliver that shattered everything.

My fingers curl into fists, nails biting into my palms. I should have told Elijah the truth from the beginning. He deserves so much better than the half-truths and lies I fed him. I’m a fucking hypocrite.

Fresh tears start pooling in my eyes. Elijah is gone, and I have no one to blame but myself. Not even Oliver.

When we pull up outside my building, Oliver halts at the street.

“So, relax a bit. I’ll call you,” he says.

“What do you want me to do after that?”

“Told you. Go to a few meetings with me, and you’ll get your precious divorce. Be patient and ready when I call.”

“You’ve already destroyed my chance at happiness twice. Isn’t that enough for you?” I fixate on the car in front of us.

“Not nearly.” Oliver’s eyes gleam. “I need you to do a few more things. You can get out now.”

After taking out my suitcase, he drives off, leaving me alone with the ruins of my life. I sink down onto the steps of my building, tears rolling down my cheeks.

Elijah’s face flashes in my mind, twisted in anger and betrayal, those stormy eyes accusing me. Tears sting my cheeks, blurring the city lights outside our apartment window. The knot in my stomach won’t undo itself.

I’m sorry, Elijah. Will you be able to forgive me?

How did everything even go so wrong?

There has to be another way. And then I will make sure Oliver signs those damn divorce papers and suffocates on them.

After calming down a bit, I get up to our empty apartment. Mary is still in Italy, and Lil is on her wellness trip. I’m alone.

I lie on the couch for what feels like hours until the door bursts open. Mary and Lil rush in, dropping their bags.

“Gem, what happened?” Mary sits beside me, concern etching her features and gathering me in her arms. Lil kneels before me, a comforting hand on my knee.

I take a shaky breath and choke out the story. “He’s threatening to ruin everything if I don’t help him. I’m responsible... and then Elijah was there, and Oliver told him about our marriage, as the divorce didn’t go through yet, and now... Elijah hates me.”

“Why does he need your help? What does he want?” Lil asks.

I wipe my eyes with another tissue. “I don’t know exactly. Meetings. All I know is that I have to pretend we’re back together, or he’d go through with it.”

“That bastard,” Mary says. “But Elijah, didn’t he do something?”

I nod, wiping away fresh tears. “He did. But I couldn’t… I lied to him so he would let me go. I’m so stupid. I should’ve been honest from the start. Then it would’ve been different...”

Lil smooths my hair. “It’s gonna be okay.”

“Why are you guys even here?”

“Connor and I took the next flight back,” Mary says.

Lil averts my eyes. “Sebastian told me about what happened, so we came back together. Gem… you should tell them the truth.”

“No. You know how protective Elijah and Bash are. If I tell them, they’ll go after Oliver, and it’ll only escalate.”

Mary squeezes my hand. “They can help. You don’t have to do this alone.”

“No,” I say. “I won’t put them in danger. Oliver is unhinged, and there’s no telling what he might do.”

Lil’s gaze is piercing. “But what if he tries to hurt you?”

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