Chapter 7
His breathing was rough, still not fully recovered from the explosion, but that didn’t soften me at all.
“You heard something at the hospital,” he said.
It wasn’t a question.
I folded my arms. “You should be grateful I only heard enough to ask for a divorce.”
His throat moved. “It’s not what you think.”
That line.
The oldest, cheapest lie in the world.
I smiled. “Then what is it, Cole? Enlighten me.”
He took a step closer. “Selena is in the past.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“Then why did you hand her the dress from my hands?”
His voice hardened. “It was just a dress.”
“And that was just one humiliation.”
“Ava—”
“At dinner, your mother insulted me. Selena mocked me. You said nothing. In the store, you chose her without hesitation. At the hospital, you admitted you married me to spite your family.”
His pupils contracted.
So he wasn’t denying it anymore.
I nodded slowly. “I see.”
Cole ran a hand through his hair, suddenly looking more frayed than I had ever seen him. “I married you because I thought you were different.”
I stared at him.
“That’s your defense?”
He clenched his jaw. “You weren’t like the other women they pushed at me. You didn’t care about my name, my rank, my family. You were simple. Quiet. Real.”
I laughed, and the sound startled even me. It came out thin and sharp as broken glass.
“You mean ugly.”
His silence was answer enough.
I nodded again. “Thank you. That actually makes this easier.”
I turned away.
This time he didn’t stop me.
The next morning, I posted the selfie.
Not because I wanted revenge.
Not because I wanted attention.
Not even because I wanted to prove anything to Cole.
I did it because I was tired.
Tired of hiding. Tired of shrinking myself. Tired of carrying around my mother’s fear like it was my own destiny. Tired of pretending ugliness could protect me from betrayal when all it had done was hand me to a different kind of predator.
I washed off the last traces of the dark foundation. Took off the thick black-rimmed glasses. Brushed out my hair. Put on a simple white sweater, stood by the window of my new apartment, and took one clean photo in natural light.
No filters. No edits.
Just my real face.
Then I posted it with a caption: Newly divorced. Accepting applications for a date.