Three days after the beach photos surfaced, I was still walking through our penthouse like a ghost. I'd barely eaten, barely slept. The silence between Rayden and me had crystallized into something hard and sharp. We moved around each other with careful precision, like dancers afraid of collision.
My phone buzzed on the marble countertop. Unknown number. I almost ignored it, but some instinct made me reach for it.
A photograph filled my screen. My breath caught.
It was Avani, standing in a bridal salon, wearing the most exquisite wedding gown I had ever seen. Ivory lace cascaded down her slender frame, hand-embroidered with tiny pearls that caught the light. The bodice hugged her figure perfectly, transitioning into a dramatic cathedral train that pooled around her feet like spilled moonlight. Her face glowed with triumph as she posed before a three-way mirror.
This was no off-the-rack dress. This was haute couture, custom-made—the kind of gown that required multiple fittings and cost more than most people's cars.
The kind of gown I had dreamed of wearing someday.
A text message appeared beneath the photo: "Rayden has excellent taste, doesn't he? I guess some women never even get to wear a wedding dress. It's a shame."
The phone nearly slipped from my trembling fingers. Heat rushed to my face—not embarrassment, but rage so pure it made my vision blur. Four years of marriage, and Rayden had never once mentioned the wedding ceremony he'd promised me. Yet he'd bought this... this stranger a dress that embodied everything I'd ever wanted.
I hit Rayden's number before I could think twice.
"Hannah?" He sounded annoyed at the interruption. "I'm in the middle of something."
"Did you buy Avani a wedding dress?" My voice was surprisingly steady.
A pause. "Who told you that?"
"Answer the question, Rayden."
He sighed, the sound of a man dealing with an unreasonable child. "It's for a charity fashion show she's helping organize. You're making this into something it's not."
"A charity fashion show," I repeated. "And it had to be custom Marchesa? With a cathedral train?"
"How do you—" He stopped himself. "Look, the company is sponsoring the event. It's good publicity. I don't have time for this right now."
"Four years, Rayden." My voice finally cracked. "Four years we've been married, and you never once followed through on your promise to give me a real wedding. But you buy her this?"
"I have to go," he said flatly. "A client is waiting."
The line went dead. I stared at the phone in my hand, then back at the photo of Avani in her perfect dress.
Something broke inside me.
I moved through the penthouse in a daze, rode the elevator down to the parking garage, and walked with purpose toward the reserved space where Rayden's metallic blue sports car gleamed under fluorescent lights. His pride and joy—the six-figure status symbol he'd bought to celebrate our latest funding round.
Our storage unit was nearby. I punched in the code, retrieved Rayden's golf club, and returned to stand before his car. I ran my fingers along the smooth hood, remembering how he'd caressed it the day he brought it home. How he'd spent more time waxing this car than he'd spent talking to me in months.
The first swing sent a jolt up my arms. The satisfying crunch of metal giving way released something primal in me. I struck again, and again, methodically creating a constellation of dents and scratches across the perfect surface. With each impact, I felt lighter, clearer.
I was still swinging when security arrived, alerted by the garage cameras. I didn't run. I didn't argue. I simply handed over the bent club and walked calmly back to the elevator.
An hour later, Rayden stormed into the apartment. I was sitting on the couch, hands folded in my lap, waiting.
But instead of the explosive rage I'd expected, he looked at me with something worse—cold pity, as if I were a stranger having a breakdown.
"I'll have it fixed," he said dismissively, loosening his tie. "You need to get yourself together, Hannah. This isn't you."
His condescension hit harder than any shout could have. In that moment, I realized the truth: the man I'd married was gone. Perhaps he'd never existed at all.
That night, I made two calls. The first to a private investigator recommended by a friend. The second to Marcus Coleman, a divorce attorney known for representing betrayed spouses in high-profile cases.
It was time to document everything.
