Chapter 17
ROMAN
I t’s been seven days. Seven days since I had her against our kitchen counter, seven days since she told me it meant nothing, and every day was pure hell.
She's killing me slowly, and she knows it.
"Daddy, look!" Poppy holds up her drawing—a house with three stick figures. "It's you, me, and Mommy!"
I glance at Ava, who's braiding Poppy's hair with careful precision. She doesn't look up or acknowledge I exist. Her fingers work through the strands like she's done a thousand times before, and I remember how those same fingers felt in my hair just days ago.
"That's beautiful, baby." I sit on the couch beside them, close enough to smell Ava's shampoo. She shifts slightly, creating distance without making it obvious to Poppy.
"Mommy, can we go to the park today?"
"Of course, we can." Ava's voice is warm honey when she talks to our daughter. Whenever she looks at me, it turns to ice. "Go get your shoes, honey."
Poppy bounces off toward the hallway, leaving us alone.
I turn to Ava, desperate for any acknowledgement.
"Ava—"
"Poppy, do you have your jacket?" she calls out, standing and walking away from me like I'm invisible.
This is my punishment. No shouting or crying, not even anger. Just nothing. Complete and utter indifference, like I'm a stranger who happens to live in her house.
I follow them to the park like a lost dog. Ava pushes Poppy on the swings, laughing at something our daughter says. The sound cuts through me because I remember when she used to laugh like that with me. Now she looks through me like I'm a ghost.
"Higher, Mommy!"
"Hold on tight then." Ava gives the swing another push, her face bright with genuine joy. She's stunning when she's happy, and the fact that her happiness has nothing to do with me anymore makes my chest ache.
I try to join in, catching Poppy when she jumps off the swing.
"Did you see me fly, Daddy?"
"I did. You went so high." I grin at her, then look at Ava. "Remember when we brought her here for the first time? She was so scared of the baby swings."
Ava's expression doesn't change. She checks her watch instead. "We should head back. I need to make lunch."
Another dismissal. Another reminder that I mean nothing to her.
Back home, she moves around the kitchen like I'm not there. When I try to help, she sidesteps me. When I ask what she's making, she doesn't answer. When our hands accidentally brush reaching for the same glass, she yanks back like my touch burns.
The worst part?
She's still her —the woman I fell in love with, still the most incredible mother to our daughter. She hasn't changed—I'm just no longer part of her world.
"I'm going to have a bath," she announces after putting Poppy down for her nap.
"Ava, we need to talk?—"
"I don't think we do." She heads upstairs without looking back.
I hear the water running, hear her moving around in our—her bathroom. I know exactly what she looks like stepping into that tub, know how she sinks down with a soft sigh, know how her hair looks pinned up with those little tendrils escaping around her neck.
A week ago, I had her. A week ago, she was mine, even if it was just for those desperate moments in the kitchen. Now I can't even get her to acknowledge my existence.
I'm losing my mind.
The bath water stops running. I imagine her sliding down into the warmth, eyes closed, finally relaxed.
Does she think about me at all? Does she remember how we used to take baths together, how I'd wash her hair while she leaned back against my chest?
I'm halfway up the stairs before I catch myself. She made it clear—I'm not welcome in her space anymore.
Her phone buzzes on the kitchen counter. Without thinking, I glance at the screen.
Adam: Can't wait to see you tomorrow. x
My blood turns to ice.
Adam? Who the fuck is Adam?
The phone buzzes again.
Adam: Dinner was perfect last night. You looked incredible in that dress. x
Last night? She went out last night? While I was here with Poppy, thinking she was at Shannon's, she was having dinner with some guy named Adam? And what fucking dress?
I pick up the phone, scrolling through their messages before I can stop myself.
Ava: Thank you for a lovely evening.
Adam: Thank you for giving me a chance. I know the timing isn't ideal.
Ava: It felt good to be out with you.
Adam: You deserve to be worshipped. Your husband is an idiot.
Ava: Soon to be ex-husband.
The words hit me like a physical blow.
Soon to be ex-husband.
The phone rings in my hand—Adam is calling. I stare at his name on the screen, rage building in my chest like a wildfire.
"Roman?" Ava's voice comes from upstairs. "Is that my phone ringing?"
I hear her getting out of the bath, wet footsteps on the bathroom floor. She'll be down here in seconds, wrapped in that white towel that barely covers her thighs, hair damp and skin flushed from the heat.
The phone stops ringing, then immediately starts again.
Keen, isn’t he?
"Roman, can you?—"
She appears at the top of the stairs, exactly as I imagined. Towel, damp hair, pink skin. Beautiful and untouchable and apparently dating other men.
"Who's Adam?" The words come out low and dangerous.
She freezes on the stairs. "What?"
"Adam. The one who took you to dinner last night while I was here with our daughter. The one who thinks I'm an idiot. The one who can't wait to see you tomorrow."
Her face goes pale, then flushes red. "You went through my phone ?"
"You left it here. It kept buzzing. Messages from your boyfriend."
She comes down the stairs slowly, hand trailing on the banister. "You have no right to go through my phone."
"I have every right. You're my fucking wife . Not for much longer, apparently." I hold up the phone, reading her message. "Soon to be ex-husband. Is that what I am now?"
She reaches for the phone, but I pull it back.
"Who is he, Ava?"
"Someone who treats me with respect."
The simple words hit harder than any slap. " Respect ? You've known him for what, five minutes, and you're already planning your next date?"
"I've known Adam for two years. He's a parent at Poppy's school. He's been asking me out since?—"
"Since what?"
"Since he found out about your affair." Her chin lifts defiantly. "Turns out I had options all along. I was just too loyal to see them."
"Loyal." I laugh, but there's no humour in it. "Right up until you fucked Kieron."
"And right up until you fucked Annie. The difference is, I waited until you destroyed our marriage first."
"So what, this is revenge? You're going to work your way through every man who's ever shown interest?"
That will be a long fucking list, and I will kill every fucking guy that touches her, I swear to god.
"This is me moving on." She reaches for her phone again, and this time I let her take it. "This is me remembering what it feels like to be wanted by a man who doesn't see me as his boring wife."
"Boring wife? Ava, you were never?—"
"I was exactly that to you ." Her voice is quiet but deadly. "I was also the safe choice. The good wife at home while you went out and played with your exciting little girlfriend."
"That's not true?—"
"Isn't it?" She adjusts her towel, suddenly looking tired. "Adam doesn't see me as his consolation prize, Roman. He sees me as the prize itself."
The words twist in my gut like a knife. "You can't seriously be thinking about starting something with him."
"Why can't I?"
"Because you're married to me !"
"A marriage you destroyed." She turns toward the stairs. "I'm getting dressed. When I come back down, I don't want to discuss this anymore."
"Ava, wait?—"
"No." She stops, not turning around. "You made your choice when you chose her. Now I'm making mine."
I watch her walk upstairs, towel clutched around her, and feel something break inside my chest. Not just my heart—my whole fucking world.
Adam. Some guy who's been circling my wife like a vulture, waiting for his chance. And now he has it because I handed it to him on a silver platter when I decided to think with my dick instead of my brain.
Her phone buzzes in her hand as she reaches the top of the stairs.
"Oh, and Roman?" She looks down at me, and for a second, I think I see sadness in her eyes. "Next time you want to snoop through my phone, remember that I could do the same to yours. But I don't, because I already know everything I need to know about your relationship with Annie."
She disappears into her room, leaving me standing in the hallway, hands shaking with rage and something that feels dangerously close to panic.
I'm losing her.
Not just to my own stupidity anymore, but to another man. A man who never betrayed her, never hurt her, never made her feel like she was second best.
A man who's everything I should have been and wasn't.