I didn't sleep that night.
The footage played in my mind on a cruel loop Liam's hands on Lily's waist, his lips whispering lies into her skin, the smug entitlement in his voice as he spoke to me while touching her. It wasn't just betrayal. It was a deliberate, humiliating display as if he wanted me to be there while he did that.
But now, I was ready. I had shed the skin of the obedient fiancée. My grief had cooled into something sharper. Purposeful.
I stood in front of the mirror in my apartment. My silk blouse was pristine white like armor for the soul I was reclaiming. My heels clicked with certainty as I walked out the door.
I didn't go to his office. That would have given him power. Instead, I summoned him.
Liam arrived thirty minutes late to the café I had chosen. It was public enough for restraint but private enough for war.
He entered in his usual navy suit, still wearing the polished arrogance of a man who thought he could have it all.
"Ava," he said, pulling out the chair across from me. "You look… stunning."
"Liam," I greeted flatly. "Sit."
He did, his hands resting casually on the table like we were just another couple discussing wedding colors. "You've been avoiding me," he began. "Is this about Lily?"
I tilted my head slightly. "You mean the part where she wore the lingerie I bought for our wedding night? Or the part where you told me to fix my family issues while groping my stepsister in my bed? Or the part where I would ask you why you were spending time with my stepsister and would say I was just being silly"
He flinched, just for a second. But I caught it. I wanted him to feel it, that piercing sting of exposure.
"I don't know what you saw, but…."
I raised a hand. "Spare me, Liam. I saw everything."
His jaw clenched, but he said nothing.
"So, let me make this easy for both of us," I said. "We're done."
He blinked. "What?"
"I'm breaking off the engagement and if you even think about trying to spin this to your advantage, I will burn every piece of your precious image to the ground."
"Ava.."
"No. Don't 'Ava' me." I gave you everything. My love. My time. My loyalty. And you spat on all of it like it was disposable."
His eyes narrowed, the entitled glint returning. "You think this is a smart move? Walking away from me?" He asked finally revealing he's true colors.
"I'm not walking away," I said. I stood up slowly, towering above him with my chin high. "I'm moving on to better things."
Liam laughed bitterly, his pride clearly wounded. "So what now? You run to your Daddy and cry about the big, bad fiancé?"
I smiled faintly. "No, Liam. It seems you've forgotten what I am capable of.
He stared at me, lips slightly parted, but the words never came. He wasn't used to this version of me. He never thought I'd have the strength to leave.
I pulled the engagement ring from my finger and set it on the table between us and walked out, not once looking back.