---- Chapter 13 13 Chloe pouted prettily. "| missed you." She ran her hand down his arm, her touch light, possessive. "You shouldn't be alone. Not when you have me." Then she saw the papers. "Divorce papers?" Her eyes widened, not with shock, but with a flicker of something else. Triumph? "Oh, Ethan," she cooed, feigning sympathy. "She actually did it? Poor darling. You must be devastated." She put herarms around his neck, pressing herself against him. "But don't worry. I'm here for you. I'll always be here for you." Ethan felt... nothing. Her touch, usually a spark, was now just pressure. He couldn't speak. The words were lodged in his throat, choked by guilt and grief. His mind was a maelstrom of Ava's pain, their lost baby, the damning ledger. Chloe, misinterpreting his silence, pulled him towards the bookshelves. "Remember this, Ethan?" She reached behind a row of his father's legal tomes and pulled out a small, velvet-covered box. ---- His secret stash. Mementos of him and Chloe. From before. Old photos. Ticket stubs from concerts. A dried rose. A silly valentine she'd made him in college. He'd kept them. Hidden them. Even from Ava. Proof of his lingering obsession. His divided heart. He looked at the box, then at Chloe's triumphant smile. He'd cherished these trinkets, these ghosts of a past love. While Ava, his living, breathing wife, had starved for his affection. His neglect hadn't just been passive. It had been an active choice. A choice to keep Chloe alive in his heart, at Ava's expense. Chloe's eyes shone. "You kept them all, Ethan. | knew you still loved me." She leaned in, her voice a seductive whisper. "She's gone, Ethan. Ava's gone. It's just us now. Like it was always meant to be." She tilted her head, waiting for his kiss, for his embrace. For him to confirm her victory. But he couldn't. All he could see was Ava's face. Pale. Heartbroken The image of the final entry in her ledger. "-50 points. Our baby is gone because of him." He gently pushed Chloe away. "Not now, Chloe." Her smile faltered. Confusion, then annoyance, flickered in her ---- eyes. "What do you mean, 'not now'? Ethan, this is our chance!" He shook his head. "I... | can't." He couldn't explain. He didn't have the words. All he knew was that the thought of being with Chloe, of continuing this charade, filled him with a profound sense of revulsion.