Dumped and Divorced, Renew to be Exclusive

Chapter 8

Liora

The snow had started to fall harder by the time Ezra and I reached the quiet path behind the restaurant. The world around us was silent except for the soft crunch of our footsteps. My breath came out in small white clouds, the air so cold it stung my throat. I didn’t look back, not even once.

Then I heard her voice.

“Liora, wait!”

I stopped instinctively, my whole body going rigid. Ezra turned slightly, his hand brushing my arm, ready to step between us if needed. But I shook my head and faced her.

Helen was running through the snow in her boots, her coat slipping off one shoulder, her face flushed from the cold and the chase. For a second, I thought she looked different than she had inside the restaurant. Not polished or smug—just messy, almost human.

“What do you want, Helen?” I asked quietly.

She came to a stop a few feet away, her breath coming fast. “I just… I wanted to talk. Please. You don’t have to do this.”

My laugh came out sharp, brittle. “You mean, I don’t have to divorce my cheating husband?”

Helen flinched but didn’t look away. “You don’t understand, Liora. Ken and I… it’s not what you think.”

I folded my arms, the cold seeping through my gloves. “Then enlighten me.”

She hesitated before speaking again, her voice lowering almost conspiratorially. “I don’t love him. And he doesn’t love me either. We’re just… using each other. He wanted to feel wanted again, and I—” She looked down, brushing at the snow on her sleeve. “I didn’t want to feel alone.”

I stared at her, trying to find the right word for the emotion bubbling up inside me. Disgust? Pity? Maybe both.

“So what?” I said finally. “That makes it better?”

Helen shook her head quickly. “No, I’m not saying that. I just mean… you don’t have to throw everything away. Ken’s a good man deep down. He just needs space. Freedom. Maybe if you gave him that, things could be different.”

“Freedom?” I repeated slowly, tasting the word like it was poison.

She nodded eagerly, stepping closer. “You could make this work. Think about it. You keep your marriage, your family, your image. Let him have his fun, and you can have yours. That’s what people do now. Open marriages are normal. You could even—”

“Stop.”

My voice came out low but firm enough to make her freeze. Ezra moved closer, silent but steady at my side.

I stared at Helen, my heart pounding so hard I could feel it in my fingertips. “You’re telling me to share my husband. To pretend I don’t care. To live like none of this means anything.”

Helen shrugged helplessly. “It’s better than ending up alone, isn’t it?”

For a long moment, I couldn’t speak. The wind whipped between us, sending flakes spiraling through the air. My chest ached—not for Ken, not even for myself—but for how far I’d let things go before realizing what I was worth.

“Do you know what’s worse than being alone, Helen?” I said softly. “Being with someone who makes you feel like you are.”

Her eyes flickered, and for the first time, she didn’t have a response.

I took a step closer, my voice steady. “You can do whatever you want with your life. Sleep with whoever you want. Lie to yourself if it helps you sleep. But don’t you dare come to me and ask me to do the same. I won’t live small just to make him comfortable.”

Helen’s lip trembled slightly, though she tried to hide it with a laugh. “You’re so serious, Liora. Always were. Maybe if you lightened up, things wouldn’t have turned out this way.”

I smiled coldly. “Maybe if you had a conscience, you wouldn’t have to steal other people’s husbands to feel important.”

That shut her up. For a moment, she just stood there, breathing hard, eyes glossy in the falling snow.

“Does Karl know?” I asked quietly.

Helen blinked. “What?”

“Does Karl know what kind of person you really are?”

Her shoulders stiffened. “He loves me,” she said quickly. “He’s happy with us.”

My heart twisted painfully. “Yes. And that’s what breaks me most.”

I turned away before she could answer, my throat tight, vision blurring with tears I refused to let fall.

“Goodbye, Helen,” I said over my shoulder. “You can have him. You can have all of it. But you’ll never have my peace again.”

Ezra followed me without a word. When I finally reached our room, I shut the door behind us and leaned against it, my chest rising and falling like I’d run a marathon.

Ezra quietly poured two glasses of whiskey from the minibar and handed one to me. I didn’t usually drink, but tonight, I needed the burn.

The first sip scorched my throat, but I welcomed it.

We sat in silence for a long while, the fire flickering low in the corner, the storm outside howling like it was trying to match the noise in my head.

Finally, Ezra spoke. “She came after you, didn’t she?”

I nodded. “She said I should let Ken have his fun and get my own. That open marriages are… normal.”

Ezra frowned. “Normal?”

I laughed bitterly. “Apparently.” I took another sip, feeling the warmth crawl up my neck. “I just can’t believe Karl chose her. After everything.”

Ezra didn’t say anything at first. He just watched me, his expression soft but unreadable. “He’s a kid,” he said finally. “He doesn’t understand the difference between love and comfort. But he will someday.”

I swallowed hard. “What if he doesn’t? What if I never see him again?”

He leaned forward slightly, resting his elbows on his knees. “Then you’ll still be standing. You’ll still be you.”

That was the thing—I wasn’t sure who “me” even was anymore.

The tears came before I could stop them. Years of quiet pain, of pretending, of swallowing everything down so no one would see the cracks.

“I gave everything to that marriage,” I said through the tears. “I gave up my friends, my career, my confidence. I stopped painting. I stopped living. And for what? For a man who looked at me like I was a burden instead of a partner?”

Ezra didn’t interrupt. He didn’t tell me to calm down or that it wasn’t that bad. He just listened. His silence felt like a shelter, not a void.

I wiped my cheeks with the back of my hand, laughing weakly. “God, listen to me. I sound pathetic.”

“You sound human,” he said simply.

Something in me broke open at that. I set the glass down, my hands trembling. “I don’t even know what comes next. I don’t have a plan, Ezra. I don’t have anywhere to go.”

He leaned back, thoughtful. “Then come with me.”

I looked up, startled. “What?”

“Come to New York,” he said. “Work with me. You’re smart, organized, and you’ve always been good with people. You could help with the new office project. Get a fresh start.”

I hesitated, the words hanging in the air between us.

New York. A new life. No Ken. No Helen. No looking back.

“I don’t know…” I murmured. “It sounds like running away.”

Ezra smiled faintly. “Maybe it’s not running away. Maybe it’s just… finally running toward something better.”

I stared into the fire, the warmth reflecting in the glass of my drink. For the first time in so long, the thought of the future didn’t make my chest hurt.

“New York,” I said quietly, almost to myself. “Maybe that’s exactly what I need.”

Ezra raised his glass, his voice gentle. “To new beginnings.”

I clinked mine against his. “To freedom.”

The fire crackled softly, the snow continued to fall, and for the first time in years, I felt like maybe—just maybe—I could breathe again.