He spoke with such earnest conviction, as though he honestly thought he had it all figured out.

Isabella pushed the door open just as I was placing the signed divorce papers in the drawer of Liam's bedside table.

"Well, finally figured it out, have you? Finally understand your place in this house?"

"Chloe has already moved into the master bedroom. I'm thinking of turning the study into a nursery."

"You can just sleep on the sofa. Or I can have my assistant book you a hotel."

Everything that had happened tonight had drained me completely. I had no energy left to fight, so I just fell asleep on the sofa.

I had hoped a little sleep would ease the exhaustion from my long journey, but the noises from the master bedroom were constant.

I rolled over, about to put in my earplugs, when I heard Chloe's coquettish complaint.

"Liam, is the baby uncomfortable? He won't stop crying."

"As long as you're comfortable, that's all that matters. You're my most precious baby. It's fine if he cries a little."

Their soft laughter followed, like newlyweds sharing a secret joke.

I pulled a cushion over my head, desperately trying to block out their cloying words.

At the edge of complete exhaustion, I think I finally drifted off.

I dreamt of when Liam and I had just gotten together.

Back then, he would stand in line for hours to buy me a limited-edition chocolate cake just because I mentioned it.

He would take me to the top of the World Trade Center to see the New York City Christmas lights.

Back then, his eyes shone like stars, and all they ever reflected was me.

Now, neither of us was the person we used to be.

The next morning, I called a moving company.

They hauled away all of my boxes.

I went to the proper agency and surrendered my residency, simultaneously filing the paperwork for my overseas deployment.

With official documents from the international NGO, the entire process went smoothly, and the staff didn't ask many questions.

Perhaps because I looked pale and worn out, the clerk smiled as I left and said, "Good luck. I hope everything goes well for you."

I gave her a grateful smile. Once I escaped the toxic mess of my former life, I knew there were still beautiful things in the world waiting for me.

But before I could experience that beauty, I had to feed myself.

I had barely eaten since yesterday.

Starving, I ducked into a random burger joint and devoured a burger and fries.

And just my luck, I ran into the last people on Earth I wanted to see, right when I was at my most disheveled.

Liam was laden with shopping bags, while Chloe and Isabella chatted happily beside him.

Through the restaurant's massive plate-glass window, I was completely exposed.

Chloe, with a Tiffany diamond bracelet on her wrist, looked radiant—nothing like a woman on her deathbed.

After spotting me, she pushed the door open and entered, wrinkling her nose in disgust.

"My God, Ava, have you really stooped to eating in a dump like this?"

"If you really can't afford a meal, you could have just come to us."

"Even if you and Liam are fighting, you don't have to punish yourself like this..."

I ignored her, my mind drifting to my time in the research lab, where just having enough food to fill your stomach was the greatest blessing imaginable.

But to them, my silence was an admission of guilt.

Seeing that I wasn't responding, just wiping a smear of ketchup from the corner of my mouth, the look of triumph in Chloe's eyes deepened.

"We're all family. We should help each other. When you're doing well, Liam and the baby have a future, and I can rest easy."

The restaurant door was still open, and she had projected her voice just enough for Liam to hear from outside.

I looked up and met Liam's gaze. A flicker of concern crossed his face, but it was quickly replaced by a dark scowl.

His jaw tightened, his thin lips pressing into a hard line.

"Help her with what? She made her bed, now she can lie in it. If she ends up on the street, that's on her."

"Ava, I can't believe you'd stoop this low just to try and force me to give up the baby. You're pathetic!"

Hearing that, I realized I didn't know this man who had slept beside me for five years at all.

I remembered when we were first married, I had considered giving up my dream because of the grueling and dangerous nature of my biological research.

I thought about returning to Liam's side to be a good wife and mother.

Liam had simply pulled me into his arms then, stroking my hair gently.

"We're family," he'd said softly. "Whatever you decide, I'll support you."

"But, honey, I want you to be able to chase your dreams. I'll take care of everything else."

But now, he was letting another woman trample all over my dignity.

He had forgotten his promises, and it seemed he'd forgotten our love as well.

Isabella, standing nearby, shook her head with a look of disdain.

"Ava, you brought all of this on yourself. A woman who spends her days with poison is nothing but an embarrassment to the Grant name."

The argument grew louder, and everyone in the restaurant turned to stare.

I bit my lip, my whole body trembling.

Just as I was about to fight back, Chloe suddenly stepped forward.

"We were just about to book a restaurant for the christening dinner. You should come help pick the menu, Ava. After all, I'll need your help taking care of Liam and the baby in the future."

I shot her a look but didn't respond.

A look of concern crossed Liam's face, but he kept Chloe tucked protectively against him.

"Chloe, I know you have a kind heart, but it's up to Ava."

"Ava, If you want to come, come. If you're not feeling up to it, just skip it. Chloe will handle everything at a high-end restaurant."

With that, he took Chloe's arm and led her toward the luxury restaurant across the street.

Just before they left, Chloe glanced back at me and flipped me off, a triumphant smirk plastered on her face.

It was the very same look of smug, greedy satisfaction I had seen on her face once before.

That was not long after Liam had moved Chloe into the apartment. I'd only come back to grab a file I'd left behind.

The apartment was pitch-black, but I heard a sharp voice coming from the terrace, laced with an excitement she couldn't contain.

It was Chloe, on the phone.

"Relax, brother," she said, her tone laced with a playful cruelty I'd never heard from her before.

"Liam? Oh, I have him completely wrapped around my little finger. He believes anything I tell him. He's naive enough to think this baby is about him helping me fulfill my dream."

I stood there, frozen, not even realizing she'd come back inside until she was standing right in front of me.

Seeing me in the shadows, Chloe didn't even flinch.

"You heard all of that, didn't you?"

When I said nothing, a smirk spread across her face. "So what if you did? Go on, tell Liam. Tell him I couldn't care less about being a mother, that this was all for the Grant family money."

She leaned in closer. "Who do you think he'll believe?"

At that time, my accidentally stumbling upon Chloe's scheme only seemed to fuel her defiance toward me.

But now, watching their retreating figures, I felt nothing.

If this was the life Liam wanted, who was I to stand in his way?

With only three days left before I was gone for good, my phone buzzed with a text from a friend of mine who's a pediatric neurologist.

She told me a world-renowned specialist in infant neurological disorders—the very one I'd asked her to keep an eye out for—was in New York for a conference, and he had a last-minute opening.

Liam had mentioned offhand that the baby had been having these strange, inconsolable crying fits. Their pediatrician brushed it off as colic, but with my medical background, I couldn't accept such a quick dismissal. That's why I'd asked my friend to keep an eye out.

I wasn't doing it for them; I was doing it for an innocent child. It felt like the only decent thing to do, so I sent the specialist's info to Liam.

But when Chloe found out I'd suggested a specialist, she exploded.

She stormed up to me, her eyes bloodshot. "What the hell is that supposed to mean? Are you saying there's something wrong with my son?!"

I tried to explain calmly, "Chloe, I just heard he wasn't feeling well, and a top specialist happens to be in town today—"

"Shut up!" Chloe cut me off, her voice laced with venom. "You'd love it if there was something wrong with my son, wouldn't you? Mind your own damn business!"

Before I could get another word out, she snatched a crystal ashtray off the table and hurled it at me.

"A top specialist?" she sneered, her face twisted in rage. "Save your phony concern! I've already taken Finnian to the best pediatrician on Park Avenue, and he said Finnian is perfectly healthy! What's your game? Are you trying to hurt my son?!"

When Liam found out what had happened, he said nothing. He just silently cleaned up the shards of glass from the floor. Clearly, he was on her side.

I understood. No matter what I did, it was wrong. No matter how hard I tried, I could never measure up to Chloe.

I pushed down the sting of hurt and forced myself to speak calmly. "Fine. If you don't need my help, then forget it."

Soon, it was the day of the baby's christening. It was also the day of my final departure.

I didn't go. My phone had been buzzing nonstop since morning.

Texts from Liam.

At first, he just asked where I was, saying the ceremony was about to start.

When I didn't answer, his tone shifted, growing impatient, edged with a panic he couldn't quite hide.

"Ava, don't do this. I know you're hurting. Once the christening is over, we'll go back to how we were together. Just like before, okay?"

Just like before?

Reading that, the tears I'd been holding back finally broke free, streaming down my face.

It was impossible. We were impossible. We could never go back.

There was no 'us' anymore.

I wiped my eyes, grabbed my suitcase, and took one last look at the city that held so many of our memories.

Meanwhile, at the church.

The event was even grander than my own wedding to Liam. At the main entrance stood a giant, framed portrait of their family of three.

Without me.

Liam stood beside Chloe, a tightness around his eyes betraying his anxiety. He kept glancing at his phone, then toward the church entrance, waiting.

Guests whispered among themselves, their eyes shifting between Liam and Chloe, who was holding the baby. They sensed something was wrong.

Just then, the priest, Father O'Connor, walked calmly to the front of the altar.

He began to speak, his voice echoing gently through the sanctuary.

"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today in the house of the Lord to celebrate the baptism of this child, a precious gift from God."

"In this solemn moment, we witness this child joining the family of Christ."

"Now, will the parents of this child please come to the altar to receive God's blessing?"

The air in the church grew thick with tension.

All eyes were fixed on Liam and Chloe, but Liam was frozen to the spot, his face growing paler by the second.

Just as he was about to grit his teeth and step forward with Chloe, the heavy church doors were thrown open. The family's old butler rushed in, breathless and frantic.

He pushed past the stunned guests, heading straight for Liam. "Mr. Grant!" he stammered, his voice trembling. "It's terrible! I was tidying the master suite… I found this in your nightstand!"

The butler held a trembling hand high for all to see. In it was a stack of papers: the signed divorce forms.

The blood drained from Liam's face. He was seized by a raw, absolute panic.