Chapter 3The 24-Hour Marriage

When she saw it was me, a triumphant smirk flickered across her lips before she replaced it with a look of feigned surprise.

"Oh, Audrey! What are you doing back at this hour?" she chirped. "I'm so sorry, I was already asleep. I hope I didn't keep you waiting long."

I looked past her into the house. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, Gary got a little drunk last night, so I brought him home. I just ended up crashing here for the night. I hope you don't mind," she said with a breezy confidence.

"And the password?"

"Oh my gosh, that's my fault!" Lily smacked her forehead dramatically. "Gary said it wasn't safe for me to be here alone with the old password, so he changed it to my birthday. I honestly didn't think you'd be coming back…"

Her face was a picture of apology, but her eyes danced with mockery.

I gave a noncommittal nod and pushed past her. I could hear the frantic scratching of my dog, Buddy, on the sofa.

"Hey, you didn't take off your shoes!" Lily called after me.

I ignored her. The sight that greeted me made my heart clench. My little furball was a mess of anxiety, visibly thinner than when I'd last seen him. He looked up at me with wide, pleading eyes.

This wasn't the time to deal with Lily. I scooped Buddy into my arms, ready to leave.

But then I heard the shattering of ceramic.

A shard from a broken bowl flew past me, nicking my calf and drawing blood. But Lily was far more ruthless. I watched in disbelief as she took another piece and deliberately dragged it across her own forearm, creating a much deeper, more dramatic gash, before dropping the shard at her feet.

At that exact moment, the front door opened again. Gary walked in to the sight of Lily, clutching her bleeding arm.

"Audrey, what the hell are you doing?!" he roared.

He rushed to Lily's side, pressing a hand to her wound to stop the bleeding, then glared at me with pure fury. "Lily is just staying here temporarily! Did you have to hurt her like this?"

Lily grabbed his hand. "Gary, don't blame Audrey. She was just upset. It was my fault, I should have moved faster."

Her words only fanned the flames of his anger. He picked up the shard from the floor and hurled it at me. "I can't believe you're so petty, so consumed by jealousy that you'd stoop to this!"

I dodged, but a piece still grazed my cheek, leaving a small, stinging cut.

Fine. If this was the game he wanted to play, I wouldn't bother explaining myself. "Believe whatever you want. I'll see you in court."

For a second, Gary’s eyes widened in genuine shock.

I continued, my voice steady. "You're not willing to part ways peacefully, so I'm suing for divorce. You can expect a summons from the court."

Lily looked indignant. "Audrey, Gary keeps giving you chances, and you just keep pushing him. Have you completely lost your mind?"

"Shut up!" Gary snapped, pulling Lily back without even looking at her. He turned his pained gaze on me. "Audrey, do you really have to take it this far?"

Hearing the hurt in his voice, Lily looked as if she'd been slapped, frozen in place.

I just looked away, stroking my trembling dog to calm him down.

Gary's eyes finally fell on Buddy, noticing how thin and frail he looked. A new wave of disbelief washed over his face. "You're really set on this divorce?"

"What do you think?" I said, turning and walking toward the door.

"Audrey, this is your choice! Don't you dare regret it later!" he shouted after me, his voice raw with rage.

I didn't look back.