Chapter 2

After two grueling hours hooked up to an IV, I stepped outside to find no sign of Alice's car. I felt so awful I could not take it anymore and ended up hailing a cab home.

My phone had only been off for a couple of minutes.

So, it was clear—she had not come for me at all.

Alice used to be so attentive to me. When did she start growing so distant?

"You blocked me. I couldn't even call you."

Alice paused, the fire in her eyes dimming slightly. "I thought you might be hungry, so I brought you some French Onion Soup for a late-night bite."

I stared at the bowl she handed me. It was sprinkled with a few green onions but lacked any trace of beef—it looked more like someone's leftovers.

Just half an hour earlier, I had seen Yoel bragging on social media.

He had posted a photo of Alice in the kitchen, cooking soup.

[Who says there aren't any good women left? She's out here taking me for midnight drives in her slick car, and when I'm hungry, she's up making me delicious soup.]

I gave the soup a bitter stir, feeling a surge of nausea. "Just toss it. I'm not in the mood to eat."

Alice's expression darkened in an instant, her eyes turning icy. "What's gotten into you? I went out of my way to bring this for you, and you want to throw it away?

"Is this about me transferring the house to Yoel today? You're annoyed, aren't you? I never said you had to move out. The kid is just grateful he's got his education sorted, and he posted a thank-you. And you? You had to go and leave snide comments. Did I ever pick a fight over that?"

With fresh stitches pulling at my abdomen and my leg throbbing from a second injury, I was utterly spent.

"You've got me all wrong," said I, puzzled over how he could have posted a property deed with my address on it.

Alice cut me off, her patience worn thin. "Wrong about you? Yoel hit the nail on the head, you're exactly that guy!

"You're always on edge, no patience, no room for anyone else's mistakes. Anytime I talk to another guy, you see red! The problem is you, not me."

Before, I would have tried to argue, to get her to see the real me. However, at this moment, I just looked at her, ice in my gaze.

When her tirade finally ran out of steam, I asked, "Finished? Mind turning off the lights?"

She shot me a venomous look and stormed out, leaving the lights on. Seconds later, another door slammed in the living room.

I used to toss and turn all night if she stormed off to Yoel's after a fight. However, that night, I slept like a baby.

Come morning, I got a lawyer's number from a friend to talk about divorce.

Alice had been missing for three days since that door slam.

I saw her again in a vacation snap Jenny posted. There they were, all smiles, Yoel cozying up to Alice in matching outfits.

I gave the photo a silent thumbs-up.

Alice, back from the void, rang me up.

"I'll swing by later, take you to the beach, and introduce you to some friends." She hesitated, then said, "I didn't have to ask you, really. Consider it a reward for your decent behavior lately."

"Sure."

The divorce was in motion, no need to stir the pot.

True to her word, Alice picked me up, and there was no sign of Yoel, the human wrench in our plans.

At the beach, Jenny came up to me. "Sorry about the other night, my bad for not giving you a heads-up. I owe myself a few penalty drinks later."

Jenny stepped up to apologize, putting me on a pedestal in front of everyone.

I gave a half-hearted smile and said, "The office has been swamped lately. I've been up to my neck in work for days."

"I heard you've got some of your top people on board to set up a new branch in Greenwood. That's awesome news."

Jenny was doling out compliments like candy.

I gave a small smile. "Yeah, we're looking into it, but it's all up in the air right now."

Just then, Alice marched over, fixing me with a glare, "You're heading to Greenwood? And you didn't think to tell me? Since when do you make moves without my say-so?"

I turned to face her, taking in her angry expression in silence.

The tension in the air was palpable.

Alice kept grilling me, and Jenny, bless her heart, tried to smooth things over by suggesting we all hit the barbecue.

The server had the grill going in no time, and Alice took a seat next to me, her face showing a rare flicker of panic. "I've got a deal with Yoel. Once his kids are out of elementary school, he's transferring the house back to me.

"Don't get worked up. It's my house, after all. I didn't have to explain myself to you."

"Okay." I nodded, unfazed.

Before long, a familiar, dashing figure came into view, and my smile froze.

A girl I had never met, but who seemed chummy with Jenny and Alice, jumped up and waved frantically at Yoel, "Brother-in-law! Hey, Yoel, Alice is over here—hurry!"

Everyone around sucked in a breath of cold air.