Chapter 2
When I arrived at the coffee shop, Joshua was feeding Mila a piece of egg tart. She saw me and shot me a triumphant, mocking smile. “Vivienne, look at him. He just insists on feeding me.”
“I was going to come find you, but it’s just so hard to get around now that I’m pregnant. Joshua said you wouldn’t mind running
over.” She paused, her smile widening. “Oh, silly me. I forgot. You’ve never been pregnant. You probably can’t understand how diffi-
cult it is.”
The old me would have exploded. But now? Her words were just… noise.
I looked at Joshua. “What is it?” I asked, my voice flat.
He fed Mila the last bite of her tart, gently wiped her mouth, his eyes full of adoration. Then he looked at me, and the warmth vani-
shed, replaced by a familiar, chilling indifference. “Vivienne, let’s get a divorce.”
“Mila’s baby is coming soon. As the father, I can’t have people gossiping.” He let out a cold laugh. “Besides, you can’t have ki-”
He stopped mid–sentence, clutching his head with a sharp hiss of pain. He shook his head, a look of confusion on his face. “Can’t
have kids? Why… why would I say that?”
I knew what was happening. The seventeen–year–old Joshua had taken the knife for me. My body was whole again, my fertility
restored. And that new memory was now fighting for space in the thirty–year–old Joshua’s brain.
But the confusion was fleeting. He looked up, his eyes once again cold and distant. “Vivienne, I don’t think you’re as good as Mila.
So let’s get a divorce.”
He said it again. The same words, a different reason.
My fingers tightened around my hot coffee cup, the heat a stark contrast to the ice in my veins. You see, a person who wants to
leave will never be short of reasons.
“Fine. A divorce. On one condition.” I pushed the journal across the table. “You have to write it in here, yourself. ‘Joshua Sterling
does not love Vivienne.“”
Joshua looked at the journal, then at me, his expression a mixture of surprise, curiosity, and ridicule. “So this is your grand plan to
win me back?” he sneered. “Vivienne, have you been watching too many rom–coms? Everyone makes empty promises when they’re
young. I was just running my mouth, telling you what you wanted to hear. You actually believed it? That’s hilarious.”
A self–deprecating smile touched my lips. I tapped the journal. “If that’s the case, then write.”
Joshua hesitated for a second, then snatched the pen and scribbled the words with a flourish: Joshua Sterling does not love Vivie-
nne.
“If you’re still not convinced,” he said, his face a mask of cruel finality, “I can write it again.”
Before I could reply, he wrote it twice more, the words clean and sharp.
I glanced at the journal. Nothing happened on my end. But I knew the boy on the other side could see it.
I picked up the pen and signed the divorce papers he’d so thoughtfully prepared.
Chapter 2
1602
As I stood to leave, Mila stopped me. “Vivienne, wait. I want to talk to you.” She then sent Joshua off to buy her a snack, claiming
the baby was hungry.
Joshua nodded tenderly, shot me a warning look, and left.
The moment he was gone, Mila snatched the journal from my hands and started flipping through it, a cruel smirk on her face. “Is this Joshua’s diary? I heard he used to write about how much he loved you in here. What a shame…”
Her voice dripped with venom. “So what if he used to love you? If he really loved you, what am I? Do you know how obsessed he is with me? Every year, on your birthday, on your wedding anniversary, he’d come to me after sleeping with you. He’s insatiable. We’d go through boxes of condoms. His legs would be jeily the next day. We’ve done it everywhere–his Maybach, his office, even your
marital bed.”
My hand flew up, ready to slap her.
But in the next second, Mila was on the floor, letting out a blood–curdling scream.
The sound was so loud that Joshua came running back, his face a mask of panic. “What happened? What’s wrong?”
Mila squeezed out a single, perfect tear. “It’s all my fault. I stole your place as Mrs. Sterling, so she… she accidentally pushed me.”
She looked up at him, her eyes wide and innocent. “Joshua, please don’t be mad at her.”
Joshua’s head whipped around to face me, his eyes bloodshot with rage.
I opened my mouth to explain, but he was already on his feet, his hands closing around my throat. “I should have known you were a vindictive bitch!” he roared, his face contorted with fury. “I never should have taken that knife for you! I should have let you die!”
A bitter laugh escaped my lips. There it was. See, Joshua? Even when I tell you what you’ll do, you still do it.
