After He Humiliated Me I Sold Our Wedding House

Chapter 2

At 8:00 a.m., I got dressed and was about to leave for work. Outside, the rain was coming down in sheets.

Ethan walked over with his car keys and tossed a black umbrella onto the entryway table. "I'm taking Maddie to Mercy General for her follow-up today. It's not on the way, so get yourself an Uber to the office."

It was usually a 40-minute drive to my office, and Mercy General was in the opposite direction.

I picked up the umbrella. "Fine."

I walked to the bus stop at the entrance of our complex. The rain got heavier, and the Uber app showed more than 80 people waiting.

A white Land Rover pulled out of the underground garage. It was Ethan's car.

It didn't slow down as it passed the bus stop. Instead, it sped up and plowed through a puddle, drenching me from head to toe.

The window was halfway down, and I could see Madeline leaning back in the passenger seat while Ethan reached over to tear open a pastry wrapper for her. Neither of them so much as glanced out the window.

I looked down at my beige work suit, now spattered with mud. I bought wet wipes at a convenience store nearby, cleaned myself up, and squeezed onto a packed bus.

At lunch, I got a call from our interior designer. "Ms. Sinclair, I'm so sorry, but Mr. Lowell just called and said he doesn't want the embroidered curtains for your master bedroom anymore."

Those curtains had taken me 6 months. I'd tracked down a veteran embroiderer in Linden Falls to make them by hand—every stitch a wish for a happily ever after.

I took the afternoon off and hurried back to the condo. The moment I walked in, I saw workers taking down the curtain rods.

Madeline pointed at a pile of pink fabric on the floor, her voice cloying. "Ethan, I think this pink is so much cozier. It's perfect for a girl's room.

"Besides, that embroidery is way too dark. It's so depressing to look at."

Ethan stood next to her with a cup of coffee in his hand. "Sure, we'll swap them out like you said. What matters is that you like it."

I walked over and looked down at my embroidered curtains, tossed in a heap in the corner.

When Ethan saw me, he twisted his engagement ring, clearly impatient. "What are you doing back here?

"Maddie's taking the master bedroom for a while, and that embroidery isn't helping her get over her depression.

"They're just curtains. Don't make such a big deal out of it. I'll send you $50,000. Go buy something else."

I looked at the cheap pink fabric. "Fine. Whatever she wants."

Ethan actually froze for a second, caught off guard by how easily I'd given in.

Madeline stepped forward and hooked her arm through Ethan's. "Thanks, Audrey.

"Ethan, my doctor says I've been under a lot of stress lately. I need to get away somewhere by the ocean."

Without a second thought, Ethan pulled a black card out of his wallet and gave it to her.

It was the VIP card for an island resort. I'd been on the waiting list for 6 months and had only gotten it the week before, all for our honeymoon after the wedding next month.

"Take this and relax yourself out there," he told her.

Then, he turned to me. "Maddie needs to unwind more than you do.

"I'll make it up to you with an even better honeymoon later. Be a grown-up. Don't throw a fit now."

I glanced at the card, then turned for the door without hesitation. "Do whatever you want."

I'd barely made it out of the complex when Kevin called. "Ms. Sinclair, the buyer's already here at the office, and the money's ready. Please bring your deed and come sign."

I flagged a taxi. "On my way."