m. Liam and Scarlett, sitting at a sun-drenched table on the patio, looking like the perfect celebrity couple. He was laughing, leaning in close as

like a deliberate cruelty. It wasn't just a business a

er my simple dress with a dismissive glance. "So, you're the one who writes his little songs," she'd said, her voice dripping with condescension. "It must be so rewardi

ep numbness. It was as if I was watching a movie about someone else's life. The part of me that loved L

dow. A flicker of panic crossed his face. He immediately pulle

, urgent whisper as he reached my

I said, taking a s

the same tired line. "Scarlett and I were

who was now watching us with a smug, triumphant s

y voice flat. "You don't hav

n? Of course I do. We're just on a break. We'll get through this. Once this movi

desperate promises. It was a performance he had perfected over th

word soft but fi

ue this morning," I told him, the words tasting like freedom. "I have enough money to st

I had been his secret weapon, the source of his hit songs. He had t

he pleaded, rea

ture. "You don't need to make any more p

d Chloe would have married the 18-year-old aspiring musician Liam in a heartbeat. But I was 28 now. I had a life to build, a career to start. And th

nd walked out of the c