of cheap cologne and loud, obnoxious laughter. They were exactly as I remembered them: aimless, loud, and carrying an air

smiling benignly as these louts tracked dirt onto my white rug. I saw

the fridge and flopping onto my designer furniture. Their conversation was

e shot me a look that was a mixture of triumph and contempt before flin

" she said, her tone im

"Thanks, Chloe. Gla

nity. Mike, a beefy guy with a fading high school haircut, started telli

cornered me by the balcony door. "Come on, Ava. You're always so

ng blanket in the air. They saw me as an object,

e was the loudest of the three, and had been drinking heavily sin

stop playing businesswoman and just be a good little wife for Liam?

nding nearby, let out

over, a flicker of panic in his ey

let my face crumble, a perf

e shaking with feigned anger.

n' t get your panties in a

ing at Liam. "Are you going to let your fr

what he truly was: a man who surrounded himself with lesser men to feel powerful, a man whose entire sense of self-worth was built on a founda

bsolute. My reso

s if to leave the room. "I' m do

the part of the hysterical girlfriend p