The next day, after lunch, I went to the old Frost estate.
I brought with me the heirloom imperial-green jade jewelry set Ethan’s parents had given me when we married. They had called it part of the family line.
Unfortunately, they had flown to Bali that morning.
The housekeeper told me they would not be back for another month, so I left the jewelry with him and walked away.
After that I got a spa treatment, bought myself a ridiculous number of earrings, and returned home feeling lighter than I had in months.
Ethan was waiting in the living room.
The coffee table was stacked with gift boxes.
He looked up when I came in. “The housekeeper said you returned the family heirlooms.”
“Mm.”
He patted the space beside him. “Still mad? Don’t be difficult. I bought you all this. Forgive me this once, okay?”
Even after I returned the heirlooms, his first thought was still that I was throwing a tantrum.
Not that I was done.
That was how sure he was of me. Of my love. Of my inability to leave.
That certainty was exactly why he had dared to suggest an open marriage. Why he had dragged woman after woman through our home and our lives. Why he had broken my heart and expected me to stay put afterward.
I looked at the logos on the gift boxes and almost smiled.
I recognized one from a luxury boutique Sophie loved.
“I only want things that are one of a kind,” I said.
Ethan stilled.
He had, of course, bought her matching gifts.
“Lily, you’re misunderstanding. I really wanted to apologize. Sophie just helped me pick them out, and when she said she liked some of them, I bought two sets. Don’t make a big issue out of little things.”
Little things.
I was so tired of that phrase.
I swept the gift boxes off the table. They crashed to the floor.
“Gifts can be bought in endless copies. Your love can be split into endless pieces too, right?” My eyes burned. “The only thing I regret is believing you. Regretting why I ever married you in the first place.”
That got to him.
He stood so quickly the sofa shifted and grabbed my wrist. “Lily, listen to me. You know the only one in my heart is you. Otherwise why would I have married you? Just wait a few more years. Once I’m done playing, I’ll come back to you.”
The same garbage. Again and again.
I gently pulled my hand free.
“Then wait,” I said.
He misunderstood completely. Thought I meant I would wait for him.
He bent to pick up the bags, relieved, and passed them back to me.
I took them and went upstairs.
What I was waiting for had nothing to do with his awakening and everything to do with the end of the cooling-off period.
My birthday was approaching.
Even from overseas, Ethan’s parents had remembered. They sent an extraordinary gemstone crown from Europe, addressed to Frost Group headquarters.
I briefly considered telling them the truth about the divorce, but they were on vacation, and I no longer wanted to be the woman who delivered bad news to preserve everyone else’s peace.
So I went to Ethan’s office to pick it up.
He was in a meeting.
I pushed open the office door and found Sophie already there.
She had removed the outer packaging and placed the crown on her own head. It glittered under the lights. When she saw me, she immediately switched to that timid little act.
“Mrs. Frost. Why are you here?”
I walked forward. “To take what belongs to me.”
I reached for the crown.
She refused to let go.
Then, right before my eyes, she deliberately pressed one finger into the sharp edge of the setting.
Blood welled instantly.
She gasped and fell sideways onto the couch. “Mrs. Frost, I only thought it was beautiful and wanted to admire it a little longer. Why would you do this to me?”
The performance was so quick, so practiced, I almost admired it.
Then the door flew open.
And a force from behind shoved me hard enough that I slammed into the corner of the coffee table.
Pain burst across my forehead.
I looked up, dizzy, and saw Ethan rushing past me straight to Sophie.
He didn’t spare me a glance.