There were too many things going on in my mind. I refused to believe a lot of them. But everything was pointing to one truth. He was lying to me.

Callum suddenly grabbed my wrist and closed the door behind him, leaving us out in the hallway, while that woman was still inside. All the words I wanted to say got stuck in my throat. So, I waited for him to explain. To tell me that it wasn’t what it looked like, and maybe, I’d even believe him.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” he snapped, jaw clenched, gaze sharp and cold.

“Me?” I asked in disbelief. “You’re asking me? You lied to me, Callum. What the fuck are you doing here?” My voice trembled from the anger and pain brewing in my chest.

Callum sighed heavily as he ran his palm over his face. “You know what? It doesn’t matter how you got here. I want you to go home. Now.”

I scoffed in disbelief, my mouth parting slightly. “Go home? You’ll send me home after I found out that you’ve been lying to me? That you’ve been with another woman while I was waiting at home?”

“We’ll talk at home,” he firmly said. “Now, you’re going to listen to me and go home and wait. Or I’ll have the guards drag you out.”

“Are you… hearing yourself right now? You’d really talk to me that way? Treat me that way? What happened to you?” I asked, my tears flowing freely now. “Or is this who you really are? Was everything you showed me a lie? Am I really just someone you were toying with just because you can?”

“Think whatever you want, Yvonne. I just want you out of my face right now. I have more important things to deal with.” Callum opened the door and went back inside, slamming it shut.

I stood frozen in my place, staring at the door in front of me as my world crumbled. My lips quivered with the urge to yell, demand, and even beg. But with the last of my dignity and strength, I dragged my feet away from the hotel room.

My mind was a mush of questions and emotions. I could barely think straight. I wasn’t even sure how I got back to the house without getting myself into an accident. I walked into the front door like a ghost with nowhere to go.

I kept thinking back on the questions I had when I was younger. About how my mother fell in love with such a cruel man. All I remembered about my father was that he’d let us suffer in poverty when he had the world in the palm of his hand. While my mother and I barely had food on the table.

I never blamed my mother. But I only understood her now. Love was always a choice that anyone could fake or stop making. No matter how much someone showed you that they were genuine and sure, they could still change their mind. No matter how much you thought you knew someone, they’d still be able to surprise you. In the end, you only know yourself. It was foolish of me to trust him with my whole heart.

Now, the stupid little thing still crawled to him even after he stomped on it. So, I forced myself to pack my things while I still could. Because I knew this little strength could slowly run out, and I’d find myself unable to leave him.

Just as I finished packing my clothes, I heard the front door and Callum’s voice.

“Yvonne, where are you?” he called out from the hallway.

I took a deep breath before leaving my luggage in the room. I went out to face him, my heart still secretly hoping he’d explain and make me understand.

“Come with me,” he said as he turned to his home office.

I felt empty at that point, so I quietly followed behind him. He sat in one of the couches in the room, and I took the seat in front of him.

A scoff escaped my lips as I eyed the divorce papers he placed on the table, but my expression remained cold and resigned. I looked back at him without giving him the benefit of seeing the emotions he was toying with.

“So, that’s it? You’re done with me, so I don’t even deserve an explanation or an apology? Is that how this goes?” I asked while keeping myself composed. “We’re just going to pretend that everything we had and who I was to you were all pretend because that’s just fucking convenient, right?”

“We got carried away,” Callum said as he poured himself a drink. “It was infatuation and convenience that we mistook for love. But you’re not who or what I need anymore, Yvonne. My parents were right, I need someone who could actually bring something to the tabl–”

“Oh? So, you wasted both our time to prove to your parents that they can’t control you… only to give in eventually?”

Callum’s jaw clenched, but he didn’t try to snap back. Instead, he leaned back in his seat before saying, “I’ll transfer the money and property we agreed on when we signed the contract marriage. I won’t be home for three days. Take that time to pack your things and go over the documents. I want you gone when I’m back.”

“I thought you were different, Callum. But you’re just another rich boy who has too much time and too little care in the world.” I took out the envelope containing the money and papers his mother had left earlier. “Tell your mother I don’t need her spare change. I only want what I’m owed for my services,” I added with emphasis on the last word.

Callum’s brows furrowed as he looked at the envelope I placed on the table. He slowly picked it up and looked inside, pulling out the paper that contained his flight and hotel details. His hand clenched it as he looked back at me, “What else did she do?”

“Ask her yourself,” I said as I stood up. “I don’t need three days. I have everything packed already.” My hands were starting to tremble, and I knew my eyes were already bloodshot.

I stood up, ready to leave, when he called out.

“It’s raining. You don’t have to leave so soon.” His voice was just a tad bit softer, but my heart immediately wavered. It was strange. He was like switching between two different people.

I wanted him to tell me that this was all a joke… that everything we had was real. If he’d explain everything. From his behavior to the woman he was with at the hotel, I knew I’d believe him even if they were lies. But this was what he chose.

“I believed you, Callum… I still don’t understand how you could change so much. What we had. What you showed me. It wasn’t something as trivial as infatuation or convenience. I don’t know if it’s just my foolish heart talking, but I still haven’t completely bought your reasoning for all this.”

The familiar warmth left his voice once again as he scoffed. “My mother's right. You're delusional.”

“I really hope this is all your decision, and I hope you don’t ever regret it,” I said as I walked out of the room.