The End of Our Sham Marriage

A man and a five-year-old boy were sprawled across my couch.

The rich scent of roasting meat drifted from the kitchen.

Chloe walked out carrying a platter, her hands dusted with flour. In the two years we had lived together, she hadn't even microwaved a cup of ramen for me.

Bryce is divorced and has nowhere to stay, she said, setting the food on the table. "He's crashing here for a few days. Don't be a jerk."

Bryce.

The college obsession she had thrown herself at, the one who never gave her the time of day.

I didn't waste a single breath.

I crossed the room and drove my foot straight into Bryce's gut.

I spun around, snatched the plate she had just set down, and smashed itfood and allstraight into the trash. I pointed at the front door.

Chapter 1

I pulled into the driveway just as the sun set, exhausted from a long day at work. The second I pushed the front door open, the unfamiliar scent of dinner hit my face. My footsteps stopped.

Chloe never cooked dinner.

The answer presented itself a second later. Two strangers occupied the living room couch. A man sat there with a four- or five-year-old boy, casually watching TV.

My eyebrows pulled together, my gaze locking onto the man.

Bryce.

Chloes college obsession. The one who got away. I heard he got married a few years back. What the hell was he doing in my house?

A dozen bad scenarios flashed through my head.

Bryce heard the door, turned, and immediately stood up. He plastered a deliberately warm smile on his face and reached out a hand to greet me.

"Declan, hey."

I ignored his hand. I swept a cold glance over him and shifted my attention to the kitchen doorway.

Chloe heard the commotion and walked out. Flour dusted her hands, her expression stiff.

"Declan, you're home. Let me introduce you. This is Bryce, and his son, Hayes." She kept her voice low, her fingers twitching slightly at her sides.

I stared straight at Chloe, dropping any pretense of politeness. "Chloe, what exactly is the meaning of bringing another man into this house without running it by me first?"

The air in the living room froze.

Faced with my question, Chloe took a deep breath, like she had rehearsed this. She closed the distance between us and lowered her voice. "Declan, Bryce hit a rough patch. He has nowhere to go. He's just crashing here for a few days. Don't be a jerk."

"A jerk?" A harsh laugh escaped my throat. I didn't bother keeping my voice down. "Jerk my ass. I own this house free and clear."

"You brought another man into my home without my permission. And you want him to crash here. Were you dropped on your head as a baby? The nerve you have to stand in my house and say that to my face."

"Declan, youyou you bastard." Her chest heaved, her neck flushed bright red, and her lips trembled.

Bryce stepped in, arranging his features into a picture of innocence. "Declan, don't talk to Chloe like that. I came to her. This isn't her fault."

"She knew I got scammed in my marriage and didn't have a place to stay, so she offered to take me in for a few days. If it bothers you this much, I'll pack up my son and leave right now."

He made it sound like he was defending Chloe, but the subtext was loud and clear. He was framing me as the aggressor, pouring gasoline on the fire.

The anger I had been pushing down flared. "Cut the bullshit. A marriage scam? What kind of third-rate soap opera do you think this is? What kind of scammer wastes her youth giving you a son?"

"More like you're a useless, spineless loser who drove his own wife away. And now you're crawling back to a brainless idiot like Chloe to be your backup plan. What, are both your parents dead, or do they just not want you either to let you end up homeless?"

Seeing me rip into Bryce without an ounce of mercy, Chloe's posture stiffened. She pointed a finger at me. "Declan, can you stop being so unreasonable!"

Chapter 2

"Bryce is my friend," Chloe snapped. "He hit a rough patch. What's wrong with me helping him out? And you actually cursed his parents? You're so toxic."

I slammed my hand down on the counter. "Shut up. You stupid bitch."

The blood roared in my ears. My wife in name only was standing shoulder-to-shoulder with another man to attack me. My jaw clenched so hard my teeth ground together.

I lunged forward, grabbed Bryce by his collar, and slammed him into the wall.

A heavy thud echoed through the room.

Bryce coughed, curling inward as if trying to shrink away. "Declan, how can you be so violent?" he wheezed, looking toward Chloe as if trying to shield her.

I stared at his hypocritical face.

I threw him to the floor and drove my boot straight into his ribs.

"You piece of shit," I spat, kicking him again. "You thought I wouldn't touch you? You should have done your homework before you crawled in here. This house is my independent asset."

"Chloe and I aren't even legally married. Who gave you the balls to trespass on my property?"

"Don't hit my daddy!" a thin voice piped up.

I glanced over. The kid, Hayes, a miniature version of Bryce, stared at me with wide, trembling eyes.

But I was done playing the nice guy.

I pointed a finger straight at the boy. "You little brat. Take one step closer and I'll lay you out too."

Chloe opened her mouth to argue, but she took one look at the murder in my eyes and snapped her mouth shut. She grabbed Bryce and the kid and scrambled out the front door.

Once the door clicked shut, I walked down the hall to the master bedroom. My daughter, Celeste, was still fast asleep in her crib. I leaned down and pressed a kiss to her soft cheek.

I stood up, grabbed black garbage bags, and shoved every single piece of Chloe's clothing and makeup into them, hauling the trash straight out into the hallway. I reset the smart lock code and wiped her fingerprints from the system.

I was done.

Chloe and I went to the same college. Honestly, I originally went after her just because she was gorgeous. She had this quiet, girl-next-door vibe. We were from the same hometown, which meant we wouldn't have to deal with the long-distance crap after graduation, so I pursued her.

But Chloe couldn't take her eyes off the campus golden boy, Bryce.

Life is a clichd joke sometimes. Bryce wasn't into the sweet, innocent vibe. He liked his women flashy and striking. So he rejected Chloe and went straight for the campus queen, Bianca.

He got the girl, and they tied the knot right after graduation. And me? Despite having plenty of girls interested, I just didn't register on Chloe's radar.

I thought I'd never see her again after we got our degrees. But fate has a sick sense of humor, and we ended up working in the exact same corporate park. Since Bryce was married and Chloe was single, I figured I'd shoot my shot again.

I didn't expect her to lose her mind when she saw a picture of Bryce's son's first birthday on social media. She dragged me to a dive bar and got wasted.

What I expected even less was that a blacked-out Chloe would mistake me for a male stripper and drag me into bed.

I thought finally crossing that physical line would be the breakthrough we needed. Instead, she started avoiding me like the plague.

Then, exactly one month later, she dropped the bomb.

She was pregnant.

Talk about a massive plot twist.

Chapter 3

After that melodramatic mess, I asked her what she wanted to do. Chloe originally wanted to get an abortion. But after I went with her to the clinic, the doctor told her she had a naturally thin uterine lining. Terminating the pregnancy could cause habitual miscarriages in the future.

She had no choice but to keep the baby. Because of the kid, Chloe suggested we get married.

Even though she was the one who dragged me to the bar that night and threw herself at me, I hadn't exactly pushed her away. Plus, it had been her first time. I didn't turn her down.

But before we made it official, things blew up. I figured since we were getting married, we should act like a real couple. I leaned in and kissed her one day.

She shoved me back. "Declan, don't think for a second that just because you used some dirty trick to knock me up, you can do whatever you want with me."

She basically accused me of taking advantage of her.

I pulled out my phone and played the video from that night right in her face. "Tell me again who used a dirty trick."

I recorded it specifically so she couldn't spin the story the next morning. Guys have to protect themselves too.

Chloe watched the screen, her face draining of all color.

We got into a massive fight. She called me a creep; I called her a hypocrite