Chapter 8 

Michael had me moved back to the VIP suite. 

“Babe, wouldn’t it be better to recover at home?” he asked, acting like he cared. 

“Oh, I see.” 

“You want me to go home so Hailey can move in, right?” 

“Come on, Sarah, don’t do this.” 

“There’s nothing between us. I just want you to get better.” 

I scoffed. 

“Oh, sure. You care about my health.” 

“More like you care about your little girlfriend’s health.” 

“That’s not what I meant!” 

Michael was sweating now. 

“Listen, Hailey saved my life once.” 

“I only feel grateful to her, that’s all.” 

“This whole thing–our anniversary–I just wanted to take her shopping so I could buy you a gift.” 

“I had no idea the building would collapse.” 

“I didn’t know you were downstairs.” 

“I only brought her to the hospital to help.” 

“Sarah, I’ve had this gift ready for you all along.” 

He opened a sleek, gold–embossed box. 

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Donore 

Chapter 8 

Inside was a massive aquamarine gem. 

“Must’ve been expensive.” 

I barely spared it a glance. 

“A little over ten million,” he admitted. 

I shut my eyes for a second. 

Somewhere along the way, Michael started using money to patch things up between us. 

Designer bags, luxury perfumes, high–end clothes… 

He thought he could buy my forgiveness, my silence, my cooperation. 

Even now, when everything had fallen apart, he still believed a gift could fix it. 

“You always wanted to see the Northern Lights, right?” he said eagerly. 

“I’ve planned everything. As soon as you’re better, we’ll go!” 

Right. 

His “business trip.” 

He’d taken Hailey to see the Northern Lights. 

I slammed the box shut and threw it at him. 

“Get out.” 

Michael hesitated, but eventually, he left. 

He stood outside my room the entire afternoon. 

I ignored him. 

Whatever he did now didn’t matter to me anymore. 

The moment he ran to Hailey in that collapsed mall, he became a stranger to me. 

– the Divorce Papers 

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* 39 

Chapter 9