Chapter 101

Chloe stood watching Ruan watch TV with Chris, sprawled out on the living room couch where he usually slept, noting how quickly Chris drifted off to sleep in his father's arms. She still replayed his earlier words in her mind.

After that day, they stopped talking completely. He was always gone when she got home from school, and he returned late at night. Chloe didn't even bother to find out what Ruan was up to.

“Maybe he's searching for a place of his own,” Grace said, shrugging. “I told him he could stay, but he seems obsessed with fixing up the house. I heard he hired a construction company for the remodel.”

“Are you sure about that?”

“I work at city hall; I know everything that happens in these Phoenix houses,” she bragged about her position, but Chloe didn't care. She just sat there, digesting the information, lacking the courage to ask Ruan if it was actually true.

“The police are still hunting for Megan's husband,” Grace mentioned, sending a sudden chill down Chloe's spine. “He fell completely off the radar; I doubt he'll ever show his face in this town again.”

“I highly doubt it too,” Chloe exhaled sharply. “But that's not my problem. I only need to worry about my move.”

“You have absolutely no consideration for me,” Grace snapped, grabbing the coffee mug from the table and tossing it into the sink—a dead giveaway of how much she hated discussing this. “Do you think Ruan is still sleeping with Megan?”

Grace's question completely froze Chloe; she actively avoided thinking about it. Seeing Ruan with Megan didn't cut as deep as it used to. Somehow, she had learned to live with the pain.

“I'm only asking because I literally saw them together,” Grace leaned across the kitchen island, getting as close to Chloe as possible while checking the door to ensure Ruan wouldn't surprise them. “I was heading back from a meeting when I saw him hugging Megan right outside Josephine's house.”

Chloe never imagined her heart could shatter all over again because of Ruan, but Grace's words did exactly that. One minute he swore he'd do anything to keep her from leaving, and the next he was wrapping his arms around Megan again? What kind of sick game was he playing?

“I wouldn't doubt it if they're back together,” her throat burned as she forced the words out. “He couldn't get over her for more than five years; is he really going to get over her now just because she cheated?”

Grace's sudden silence unnerved Chloe, and when she looked up at her expression, she realized something was terribly wrong. Turning her head slowly, she spotted Ruan standing right by the doorway. His face confirmed he had overheard every single word.

“Could you give us a moment, Grace?” he asked, his voice rough, sounding like a man who had just awoken from a total nightmare. “I need to talk to Chloe.”

“I have absolutely nothing to say to you,” Chloe snapped, spinning around to push past him and end a conversation that hadn't even started. Ruan blocked her path, putting his body right in front of her.

He didn't even have to touch her to make Chloe's knees buckle, instantly draining all her courage to run. Why did he still hold this kind of power over her? Why did she feel so entirely defenseless around him? When she looked back, Grace had already vanished, leaving Chloe with absolutely nowhere to escape.

“I haven't gone to bed with Megan a single time since she came back to Phoenix.” Ruan's words made her slowly turn her neck to stare at him. “We slept in separate bedrooms. Keeping that distance was my choice.”

“That makes absolutely no sense.” Chloe let out a weak chuckle that carried no real weight.

“I couldn't bring myself to touch her after being married to you,” he continued. “It makes perfect sense because every single time I thought about it, I remembered you. I just couldn't do it.”

“Are you seriously telling me you didn't touch Megan because of me?”

“That's precisely what I'm telling you,” Ruan took a step back, maintaining a not-so-safe distance between them. “I'm only sharing this because you think she and I still have a thing going on. You must really think I'm a total idiot.”

The unexpected truth stunned Chloe. She used to lie awake in bed, imagining Ruan screwing Megan all night long, whispering in her ear how desperately he had wanted it. The memory brought hot tears spilling from her eyes all over again.

“Nothing has existed between Megan and me for years. I thought things would go back to how they used to be, but reality didn't match my imagination,” he confessed, while Chloe found herself unable to move an inch. “I thought I still loved her. I had all these great memories of us and mistook that for love, but now I know for a fact it isn't love.”

“You're just confused and hurt by what she did to you,” Chloe argued, trying to shut out his words, trying to convince him he was mistaken. “You loved her for years; how could it just vanish like that?”

“Why are you trying to dictate my feelings to me?” He took a step closer, but Chloe stood her ground. “Did you actually want me to be in love with Megan instead of you?”

Chloe felt her face burn. She raised her hands and attempted to shove him away, but Ruan grabbed her wrists, stopping her instantly. The heat from his body set her own ablaze. She was burning up, with no idea how to put out the fire.

“I never wanted you to love me. I don't recall ever saying I loved you back either.”

“But I remember,” he countered, pinning her even tighter against his chest. “I remember your love when you took care of me, when you worried if I had eaten right, when you were a fantastic mother and a wonderful wife. We barely ever fought; you were so understanding and loving. I was always the mistake in this marriage.”

“Why are you saying all this, Ruan? Are you just trying to trick me into staying?”

“I am confessing my mistakes,” he murmured, bringing his face dangerously close to hers. “I'm confessing my regret. I never should have signed those divorce papers. I never should have gone back to Megan. Not only that, but I should have stayed right here with you, with my family.”

Chloe's legs trembled violently. For the longest time, she had starved to hear those exact words, but she had never prepared herself to actually hear them because she never believed it would happen.

“I'm sorry, Ruan, but you made your choice,” a thick lump choked her throat as the words flew from her lips. "We don't have a family anymore, and I don't want to be with you anymore."

She shoved him, breaking free from his arms without facing any resistance. She sprinted down the dark hallway and locked herself in her bedroom as her knees gave out once more. Chloe wept bitterly in the darkness, where nobody could see her tears, nor the crushing regret of having spoken a lie.