Chapter 6

A sharp ache in my chest pulls me back to reality.

Sebastian is still bent over me, his long lashes brushing against my collarbone.

I push him away and quickly fix my clothes.

“I don't want to do this. It's already late.”

I get off the bed barefoot.

Sebastian suddenly grabs my wrist.

His voice comes out slowly, each word tight.

“Do you not want to do it... or do you just not want to do it with me?”

His eyes darken.

“Do you really like that fluffy guy that much?”

I frown and pull my hand back.

“What are you talking about? This is between you and me. What does anyone else have to do with it?”

Sebastian's eyes turn red.

In the end, he says nothing.

As I walk away, I hear him mutter under his breath.

“So the guy she grew up with really does win in the end... She still likes that fluffy bastard more. They dated before, after all...”

The door closes behind me before I can hear the rest.

Wait.

The guy I grew up with?

Is he talking about Ryan?

Why would I like Ryan?

I go back to the guest room and take a shower.

But once I lie down, I toss and turn for hours.

This is the first time Sebastian and I have slept in separate rooms since we got married.

Actually, I knew Sebastian long before our marriage.

Two years before we got married, I had just graduated from college.

Ryan dragged me to a racetrack a few times.

That was where I first saw Sebastian.

A fitted racing suit hugged his body.

His sharp features looked even more striking under the sunlight.

And those pale gray eyes...

One look was enough to make me fall for him.

I immediately wanted to go over.

Ryan grabbed me before I could.

“What are you doing?”

He stared at me like I'd lost my mind.

“That's the heir to the Vapenti family. If you piss him off, even I won't be able to save you.”

I pause.

So that was Sebastian Vapenti.

The famous heir to the Serpent Clan.

I swallow.

“He comes here often?”

Ryan plays with the helmet in his hands and shakes his head.

“No. That's the weird part. He never used to race.”

He looks toward Sebastian.

“No idea why he suddenly started coming here.”

I nod, disappointed.

I roll over in bed.

So maybe this is what happens after seven years.

Maybe love just wears out.

Late that night, my phone keeps buzzing.

I pick it up.

Ryan.

He starts by sending me several messages insulting Sebastian.

Then a few photos come through.

They're from an event at Noah's preschool.

Claire is crouching down with a drawing in her hand.

Noah is looking at her with a smile in his eyes.

Sebastian stands beside them with one hand in his pocket.

Even his usually cold face looks gentle.

The other photos are the same.

The three of them doing different family activities together.

I turn off my screen.

My eyes start burning.

A bitter smile pulls at my lips.

Noah rarely smiles like that around me.

And the last time his preschool had a family event, he didn't want me to go.

Right now, I want nothing more than to storm into Sebastian's room and throw these pictures in his face.

But I don't.

I don't want to destroy the last bit of dignity left in this marriage.

I open Ryan's chat.

“Find me a lawyer and have them draft a divorce agreement.”