James didn't come home that night.
Chloe, however, reactivated her American social media account and posted for the first time in years.
It was a picture of a candlelit dinner.

The man's face wasn't visible, but you could see his wrist.
The spot where a wedding ring used to be was bare, but the skin was a shade lighter than the rest.
It was James.
Just as she wanted, I liked the post.
Then I turned off my phone and packed the few belongings I had left.
The next morning, James's assistant delivered a gown for the evening's dinner.

I opened the box.
It was an old design from last season.
By the time I arrived at the Johnson family estate that evening, Liam Johnson had just finished his welcome speech.
He announced that Chloe would be taking full charge of all business partnerships between the Johnson and Smith families.

The room was buzzing with envy.
Everyone was saying how lucky Chloe was, to have the two most powerful young men in the city wrapped around her finger.
The moment I appeared, the hall fell silent. Every eye was on me, waiting for the show to begin.
James was busy networking with the heads of various families and didn't have time for me.
So Chloe played the hostess and pulled me aside, up to the second-floor terrace.
With no one else around, she dropped the act.
Her face was twisted with mockery and venom.
"Olivia Taylor, after all these years, you're still so pathetic."
"Thanks to your husband, I spent the last three years in the Caribbean living better than in paradise. You didn't really think James married you because he loves you, did you? Let me tell you the truth. If he hadn't needed you to sign that treaty, he wouldn't have even looked at you twice!"
"Olivia, you're a fucking joke!"
Rage burned inside me. I couldn't hold back any longer.
I slapped her, hard, across the face.
A cold smirk played on her lips.
She took a few quick steps back. And then, she threw herself down the stairs.
Screams erupted from the grand hall. James was the first to reach her, pulling her tightly into his arms.
He looked up at me, his eyes filled with a fury I had never seen before.
"Olivia Taylor, what the hell are you doing? Are you insane?"
"Chloe was being nice to you, and you push her? Didn't you promise you wouldn't bring up the past? What is this bullshit tonight?"
My face was a cold mask, my voice devoid of any emotion.
"Me? Causing bullshit?"
"James, don't you think you both owe me an explanation for what happened back then?"
His brow furrowed, a flash of panic in his eyes.
"An explanation for what? Hasn't Chloe paid the price for the last three years? What more do you want?"
"That was then, this is now! No matter what happened in the past, it doesn't give you the right to attack her today!"
"Olivia, right now, apologize to her!"
Before I could speak, Chloe started crying pitifully in his arms.
"Don't… don't be hard on Olivia. It was all my fault back then, I'm the one who wronged her… Just let today be another apology for the mistake I made…"
"Since she hates me so much, maybe we shouldn't see each other anymore. I don't want to make things difficult for you."
My nails dug into my palms, drawing blood.
Watching them walk away together, I knew.
It was completely and utterly over between us.
I was "escorted" out of the estate by Johnson family security.
Two hours later, a text from James finally came through.
"Chloe just got back, she's still unstable, don't blame her. I only made you apologize for the Johnsons' sake."
"I'll make it up to you when I'm done here tonight, okay? I told you I had a gift for you, don't be upset."
But I knew that show wasn't for the Johnson family.
It was for me.
He had played the part of a loving husband for three years.
Now, it was time for the performance to end.
I sat at home with the severance papers, waiting until dawn.
He never came.
I only saw the news online—the heir to the Wilson family had caused a scene at the hospital for his beloved.
Chloe only had a few scrapes, but he had summoned the best surgeons in New York to consult on her case.
He had cashed in years' worth of favors to do it.
In the photo, he held Chloe in his arms, his eyes filled with a tenderness I had never seen.
When the sun came up, I called him.
He didn't speak right away. On his end, I could hear him giving orders to his assistant.
"Boss, are you really transferring the Caribbean hotel to Miss Smith's name? That will cost the family hundreds of millions in assets!"
"Please, reconsider this."
"No need. Do as I say. I owe her this. Also, draw up another contract. Transfer 50% of our family's shares in the Las Vegas casinos to Chloe."
After the assistant left, James finally remembered he was on the phone.
"Olivia? Sorry, I kept you waiting. I'm heading home now. By the way, what did you call for?"
I looked down at the documents in my hand.
"It's nothing. You're busy. I won't disturb you."
"Okay. You be good and wait for me at home. I'll be right back."
I didn't wait any longer.
I signed my name on the papers.
With my luggage in hand, I left the "home" I had lived in for three years.
I mailed a copy of the fraudulent "peace treaty" to James's office.
Timing it perfectly, he would receive it just as my plane was taking off.
I was gone for a full day and night.
He never went home either. The countdown on my phone hit zero.
The moment I stepped onto the plane, a message from him arrived.
"Olivia, I had my assistant drop your gift off at the house, but no one answered."
"Are you still mad?"
"Stop pouting. Be good. I'm coming home right now."
I glanced at the new post Chloe had just uploaded from the hospital.
In the photo, a man was gently feeding her porridge.
I didn't reply.
After receiving the confirmation that my identity had been successfully erased, I deleted every trace of him from my life.
At the hospital, James's assistant burst in, clutching a mailer envelope, his face white as a sheet.
"Boss, it's bad! The madam… she found out about the peace treaty you forged three years ago! And I can't reach her!"