Billionaire, Let's Divorce! by BELLA

EMILY'S POV

I stared at Adam's text, all of a sudden beginning to laugh, a bitter one. It started as a scoff, then grew into a full-blown, slightly hysterical cackle that had a few passersby giving me concerned looks. The audacity and ridiculousness of this needed to be studied, really. Here was Adam, playing the role of doting husband, completely unaware that his house of lies had been bulldozed by his very own mistress. In another life—the life I'd been living just hours ago I would have been thrilled by this text. I would have smiled at his thoughtfulness, maybe even felt a flutter of excitement at the prospect of a romantic dinner. I would have rushed home to get ready, agonizing over what to wear, how to do my hair. The thought of how close I'd come to being that oblivious, happy wife made me feel sick.

For some reason, I kind of felt a perverse sense of gratitude towards Mia. As much as I hated her for her part in this betrayal, I couldn't deny that her desperate need to hurt me had inadvertently done me a favor. Continuing to live in blissful ignorance while my husband made a fool of me would have been quite pathetic to contemplate.

At least now I knew the truth, as ugly as it was.

I stared at the text for a while longer before I shook my head and dropped the phone back into my purse without responding.

Let him wonder. Let him squirm.

I slid into the driver's seat of my car and turned on the engine, then I pulled out of the parking lot. Nothing I tried to do made me forget what was happening, even for a second. I blasted some music even, and it didn't work-only made it worse.

As if answering my unspoken wish, a neon sign for a bar flickered into view up ahead. I started bringing the car to a slow down, almost immediately, also now recalling Olivia's earlier offer to go out. Maybe I should have taken her up on that drink after all. I was about to get my phone to ask her to join me, but I changed my mind. She'd already done so much for me today. I didn't want to be a burden or continue dragging her into my mess any more than I already had.

Before I could talk myself out of it, I pulled into the bar's parking lot.

The bar had a haze of smoke hanging all around it despite the no-smoking signs on the walls. Country music twanged softly from unseen speakers. As I made my way to the bar, I felt eyes on me. Glancing to my left, I caught a man watching me and his gaze was a little too intense for comfort.

I looked away quickly, pretending I hadn't noticed.

"Whiskey, neat," I told the bartender.

He nodded, returning moments later with a glass of amber liquid. I knocked it back in one go.

pushing the

in my chest had dulled to a manageable ache,

was contemplating a fourth when a shadow fell beside

seat taken?" a

earlier, the one who'd been watching me. Up close, I could see he was handsome in a rugged sort of

turning back

next to me anyway, flagging down

said, jerking a thumb

My head was starting to pound and the whiskey was sitting uneasily in my stomach. I just wanted to be left alone with my misery. Was that too

Apparently, it was.

jerked upright, nearly

the man

now stumbling to my

No, I'm not fucking okay! You want to know why? Because men are

gone quiet; all eyes seemed to

I was beyond

just waltz over here with your... your face," I gestured wildly at him, nearly losing my

staggered forward and jabbed a finger into his

same, you know that? Creepy, lying, cheating bastards who

held up his

I

was on a roll now, since all the years of pent-up frustration and newly discovered

a total cliché? To remind me that I can't even go to a bar without some guy thinking he