Avery's Pov

I stayed frozen in the hallway long after they left the conservatory, my heart pounding so violently it hurt.

The kiss won't leave my head. 

His hands on her waist, pulling her against him like she was the only thing keeping him alive.  

I should go to my room, pretend like I didn't see anything, be the good wife who swallows pain.

My legs began to move on their own, following the sound of their footsteps going towards the stairs.

I kept to the shadows, my pulse racing.

Laughter and whispers echoed, his voice lower than I ever heard it. 

They went towards the master bedroom, his room... the same one I was never allowed to step foot in.

I stood in the hallway for a moment, trying not to imagine what would possibly happen there. 

I walked toward the door when I heard moans. The bedroom door hadn't closed completely.

I crept inside, barely breathing as I looked through the gap.

Celeste pressed him against the wall, kissing him as if she'd been starving for him.

His hands slid into her hair as he pulled her closer, a low groan escaping him into the kiss.

"Fuck, I've missed you Nate." She whispered between the kiss, unbuttoning his shirt. "God, Nate I missed this."

"Celeste..."

He breathed her name like a prayer as his trembling hands found the zipper of her dress.

They stumbled towards the bed, her red dress pooled on the floor beside his jacket. 

Her hands in his dark hair, body pressed together like they couldn't get enough of each other.

My body went completely still. My lungs forgot how to work, and my feet refused to move.

He laid her on the bed, the same bed l'd never touch and kissed her neck down while she arched to him.

"Nate..." she moaned, arching into him.

A rough sound escaped him, one I'd never heard before, raw and hungry.

Everything inside me went cold.

They kissed again, slower this time, and his hand slid higher along her thigh.

I must have made a sound, gasped because his head jerked up. 

Our eyes locked across the room. For a few seconds, the room fell completely silent.

Her lipstick was smeared across his mouth, his hands were still on her body.

Then his face burned with anger.

"What the hell are you doing here?" He exploded off the bed, grabbing his shirt. "How long have you been standing there?"

"Long enough." 

"You're spying on me now?" He rushed toward me. "In my own house?"

"Your house?" My voice trembled. "I'm your wife, Nate!"

"Really?" He grabbed my arm, fingers digging into my skin.

"Nate, let her go." Celeste said, wrapping the sheet around herself.

But he didn't let go. He dragged me out of his room, into the hallway, his grip bruising.

"You had no right to be there," he hissed, finally releasing my arm.

"No right?" I jerked my arm free. "You brought another woman into our home! Into our bed!"

"My bed." He corrected, his voice cold enough to freeze the hair between us. "You've never been in that room, you've never touched that bed, you've never been my wife in any way that matters."

"We're married!" 

"On paper." He spat out. "That's all you've ever been. A signature, a name I had to say in front of cameras."

"I've been your wife for fourteen months!" Tears burned my eyes. "I've done everything right! Everything you wanted!"

"You've done what you were paid to do and you will be paid for." He stepped closer. "You played a role. That's it.

"I thought..."

"What?" He laughed coldly. "That I would fall in love with you?" 

"That if you smiled enough, cooked my favorite meals, wore the right dresses, I'd suddenly want you?"

Each word carved deeper than the last.

"I tried..."

"You tried to be someone you're not." He cut me off. "You tried to make me forget her but you could never be compared to Celeste."

"You could never be what she is to me, get that!"

I looked into his eyes and saw nothing. No guilt or regrets, just irritation that I was still standing there.

He looked at me for a long moment.

"You know what?" He finally spoke.

"I think it's time we get divorced."

My world tilted. "What?"

"You heard me." He crossed his arms. "It's long overdue."

"The contract we signed ended two months ago. This should have been over then."

"You're...you...not serious about this, are you?" 

My heart cracked open. Cold spread through my body until I couldn't feel my hands.

"I am completely serious about it." His eyes drifted toward the bedroom behind him, where Celeste was waiting. "I'll call my lawyer in the morning."

"When the papers are ready, I'll let you know. Until then, stay out of my way, stay clear from my sight!"

"That's it?" 

My hands shook beside me. "Fourteen months and that's it?"

"What did you expect?" He asked. "Tears? An apology? You knew what this was from the beginning."

"I thought maybe..."

"You thought wrong." He walked past me as though I wasn't even there. "Don't come near my room again. 

"Don't speak to me unless I speak to you first. And for God's sake, don't make a scene. I'll let you know when it's time to sign."

He walked away, back toward his bedroom, back to her.

I stood frozen in the hallway, tears spilling silently down my face.

A second later, I heard the bedroom door close... then the lock clicked into place.

Then she laughed, soft, quiet and victorious.

I staggered into my room, closed the door, and slid to the floor.

The sobs tore out of me, raw and violent. 

I pressed my hand over my mouth, trying to keep the sound in, but nothing could stop them.

Months of trying, all of it for nothing.

Then I heard Celeste laugh softly... A second later, her moan echoed through the wall.

I closed my eyes and cried harder.

Avery's Pov

The sounds from the other room continued for hours.

Her moans, his groans and the sound of his bed creaking.

I lay there, staring at the ceiling, hands pressed over my ears. But I could still hear everything. Every whispered word. Every sound of happiness I had never heard from him.

When it finally went quiet, I turned away from the door and cried into my pillow until exhaustion finally took over.

The doctor arrived once the guests had gone home. Richard and his wife had also left. 

Dr. Matthews examined me in my room. The result was simple. I wasn't pregnant. I was exhausted and severely stressed.

He'd recommended I should rest and he left within twenty minutes.

Nate never asked about the results, never came to check on me.

He'd been too busy with her.

Three days had passed and Nate didn't come home.

I knew where he was. At her hotel. Somewhere he could finally live the life he had always wanted without me in it.

Even the house felt different. Bigger and colder as if every room reminded me I no longer belonged there.

I stopped going down for meals. The staff brought trays I barely touched. 

Richard came to the house, knocked on my door twice. I pretended to be asleep. I guessed the staff had told him what was happening.

That day, I walked past Nate's study. His coffee cup still sat on the desk from three days ago I had brought to him the morning after that night,  cold and abandoned , just like me.

I picked it up with shaking hands. His scent still lingered faintly on the cup, and that hurt more than I expected

The cup shattered against the wall before I realized I'd thrown it in anger.

I sat on the floor, watching coffee drip down the expensive wallpaper, and laughed.  

This was what I had become. A woman breaking cups because her husband chose someone else.

I pulled my knees to my chest and let the emptiness swallow me whole.

I heard his car in the driveway the next day, my heart jumped despite everything.

I sat on my bed, shaking, waiting.

His footsteps stopped outside my door. He knocked once before entering without waiting for permission.

"The papers are ready." He held up a folder. 

I looked at him and hated that I noticed the difference. He looked lighter, happier as if being with her had returned something I could never give him.

"Already?" I said, arms wrapped around myself.

"I told the lawyer to make it a priority." He said, dropping the folder on my dresser. "Sign them today."

"Just like that." 

I let out a small laugh that sounded hollow even to me.

"Just like that." He looked at his watch like he had somewhere better to be. "There's a settlement inside. Five million plus the Manhattan penthouse, more than fair."

Five million dollars, the number hung in the air between us.

That's what fourteen months of my life was worth. What sleeping in a cold bed was worth. What loving him was worth.

More than fair, really?

I wanted to laugh again or scream. Instead, I just stared at the folder like it might bite me.

"Sign them, Avery." His voice left no room for discussion. "Let's end this."

I moved to the dresser and picked  up the folder with steady hands.

I opened it and I saw the divorce papers,  clean and official. The end of everything I had hoped for was sitting in front of me, printed neatly in black and white.

"Okay." 

His head snapped up. "What?"

"I said okay." I looked at the papers. "I'll sign."

Genuine surprise crossed his face. "You will?"

"Yes." I traced my name. "Right now if you want."

He just stared at me. "No fight? No tears?"

"Why would I fight for someone who doesn't want me?" I met his eyes. "You've made yourself very clear, Nate."

Something flickered in his expression, confusion or discomfort maybe.

"I didn't think you'd agree to this easily."

"What did you expect?" I asked. "Me begging? Crying? Throwing myself at your feet? Would that have changed anything?"

"No." He said firmly. "It wouldn't have."

"Then what's the point?" I set the folder down carefully. "You want this. I'm giving it to you."

He nodded slowly, still looking uncertain like he'd prepared for a battle and I'd just surrendered without firing a shot.

"Good." He said.

"On one condition though."

His jaw tightened immediately, shaking his head. "No...no! No conditions."

"One night." I said calmly. "Sleep with me, just once then I'll sign it."

"Absolutely not." He stepped back like I'd suggested something obscene. "That's insane."

"Then I won't sign." I crossed my arms. "Your choice."

"Avery, don't be ridiculous..."

"Fourteen months, Nate." I tried to keep my voice steady. "I was your wife for fourteen months."

"You didn't kiss me, not to talk of sleeping with me. You owe me one night, one real night, that's all I'm asking."

"I don't owe you anything." He snapped. "The contract is over."

"Then this divorce will take months." I sat on the edge of the bed, keeping my expression calm even though my hands were trembling.  "Lawyers, negotiations, court dates."

"How long do you think Celeste will wait while we drag this out?"

His face darkened. "You wouldn't."

"Watch me." I held his stare. "I have nothing left to lose. You and your family already took everything."

Silence stretched between us. I could see the war happening behind his eyes. The calculations.

"Why?" He asked. "Why do you want this?"

"Because I need to know how it feels." I muttered. "To be touched by you, to be seen by you. Just once, one night then I'm gone."

"You get everything you want."

He turned away, I saw his jaw working. I waited and let the silence do its work.

"One night." I pressed. "Compared to months of legal battles. What's worse?"

His shoulders were tensed. I could see him weighing options from Celeste's impatience to public court proceedings. Time wasted.

Finally, he turned back. "Fine. One night then you sign after and leave. No more games."

"I promise, no more games."

"Tomorrow night." He said. "I have meetings all day. We'll do this tomorrow."

"Tomorrow." 

He moved toward the door, hand on the knob ready to leave, ready to go back to her.

I stood up. "Tomorrow night, Nate. In your room, on your bed."

He stopped to look back at me. Something flickered in his eyes. 

"That's where I want it." I held his gaze."The room I was never allowed to enter. The bed I was never allowed to share."