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.

I said, pushing the empty

The pain in my chest had dulled to a manageable ache,

a shadow fell beside me where

seat taken?" a deep

earlier, the one who'd been watching me. Up close, I could see he was handsome in a rugged sort of way, with stubble shadowing his jaw and eyes that might have been green or blue in

shortly, turning back

settled into the stool next to me

she's having," he said, jerking a

and the whiskey was sitting

Apparently, it was.

my shoulder and jerked upright, nearly toppling off my stool in the

you okay?" the man

slurred, now stumbling

I'm not fucking okay! You want

had gone quiet; all eyes seemed

I was beyond

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

forward and jabbed

you know that? Creepy, lying, cheating bastards who think with their dicks

up his

I

was on a roll now, since all the years of pent-up frustration and newly discovered betrayal had already began pouring out

can't even go to a bar without some guy thinking