The Divorce That Set Him Free

I' d just told my best friend I was divorcing Ava. My voice was flat, even to my own ears. I, Ethan Miller, a quiet architect, had secretly loved the dazzling heiress Ava Chen since college. When her fiancé Julian abandoned her at the altar, I stepped in, marrying her in a desperate hope for a love that was only real on my side.

For three years, our marriage was a sham, a constant competition against Julian Vance, her manipulative college flame. Every crisis, every whim, every late-night call – Julian always came first. My patience, my silent devotion, slowly eroded.