In the bathroom drawer, I found a pack of
feminine pads that weren’t mine. Just then, Chloe called Liam again. “Liam, I just got my
period at the hospital, and I don’t have any
pads for teens. I think I left a pack at your
house? Could you bring it to me?”
Liam went into the bathroom. He saw the open
drawer, his eyes darting to it before looking
away. He went out and told Chloe, “I can’t find
it, I’ll go buy new ones.”
“Hurry, please. If I get blood on the bed, the
nurses will get mad! And I’ll be so
embarrassed.” Liam’s patience for Chloe
seemed endless. He was all about the details.
After he hung up, I finished packing.
He glanced back at me, awkward. “Don’t read
into it, she just changed clothes here once.”
“Okay,” I said, flatly.
Liam looked annoyed. “Why are you being so
cold? If you really care, I just won’t go.”
I just laughed a little and said it was fine. Liam
watched me to see if I was really okay, and
then hesitated before leaving. He stopped at
the door, then came back in. “Where are you
going with all this luggage?”
I replied, “Paris.”
Liam looked relieved. “Next week then, I’ll make
time, and we can go to Paris for a honeymoon.”
On my last day in town, Liam suddenly
remembered our old agreement. It was too late.
At the airport, I saw Chloe’s Instagram post.
She was lying in a hospital bed with foam on
her hair, while a pair of man’s hands washed it. I could hear Liam’s voice cooing, “Don’t wiggle.”
Chloe added a bunch of hearts: [“My hands hurt and I can’t get them wet, so my man had to
wash my hair for me, I’m so shy, I’m covered in
grease, but he doesn’t care. He said he will
take care of me.“]
Then Liam’s text came: [“Something came up
next week. I’ll cancel the tickets and we can go
next month.“] He didn’t know that I never
booked his ticket. Right before my flight took
off, I sent the divorce agreement to Liam, and
went airplane mode.
Chapter 2
- 7.
>
- 7.
3:32
On the plane, I felt light and free for the first
time. I had the best sleep despite the
turbulence. I met the artist at the gate – the
new artist, Matt, was there to greet me. He’s
made quite a name for himself lately, giving
Liam some real competition.
“I’ve been waiting for you, Ashley!”
84
“I just know that with you as my manager, I will reach the next level.” He gave me a hug, and a
friendly European kiss on both cheeks. It was
just a gesture of welcome, but I couldn’t help
but blush. Liam had stopped touching me years
ago. He’d told me, “Ashley, you know, we’re
like family now, it’d be weird for me to touch
you.” I stopped feeling like his wife, and just
felt like his unpaid manager and free
housekeeper.
Matt drove me to the apartment he’d got for
く
- me. A luxury apartment, all furnished, with a
live–in housekeeper. Matt was paying for it all,
and he told me that it was an investment, it
saved me time, so I could focus on work. He
said he didn’t want me to worry about mundane
things. The different treatment was like night
and day to Liam, it made me happy I’d left.
Matt took me to meet everyone at his studio.
They were all so warm and welcoming, I even
had a few fans who wanted to know how I’d
made Liam so successful. I had no idea that
outsiders gave me so much credit. At Liam’s
studio, he was always criticizing me, never liked
being told I was good at something. I was
treated like a robot, something he could use to
prop him up. Here, I could just be me. I
accepted all the praise and shared all my
secrets with my new colleagues.
They threw me a welcome dinner, and everyone
had a great time. When I got back to the
apartment, I saw a huge load of messages and
- 8.
<
They were all from Liam.
[Ashley, what the hell? You filed for divorce
through a lawyer?]
[How dare you? I made you successful! Without
me, where would you be?]
[This is a joke, right? Why aren’t you here in
person?]
[And what’s this new profile picture? You’ve
always wanted my attention, I know it. I’m busy
with work so I missed it, so you pulled this stunt
to get my attention?]
The messages just made me feel cold. When
did Liam turn into this person? I didn’t even
have anything to say. I just replied: [You should
check the divorce documents carefully. You’ve
<
3:32
He was quiet for a few minutes, then he called again. I was too tired to answer, so I put my
phone on silent and went to bed. I slept until midday. When I turned my phone on, Liam was
calling me again.
I took it, so he wouldn’t bother me at work. He sounded exhausted and angry. “Ashley, do you know I’ve been calling all night? I didn’t sleep at all, how could you do this?”
“I can’t paint when I’m like this! What about my
next show? Can you take the blame?”
“Do you even want to come back to the
studio?”
