Chapter 4

Just the night before, Ava had finally remembered every moment she once shared with Rowan and, in remembering, she let him go completely. What she did not understand was why her heart still hurt so sharply she could barely breathe. She curled into herself on the hospital bed, but the image of Rowan abandoning her to run toward Lia replayed in her mind again and again. Each replay was another blade carving her heart inch by inch. She let herself cry with no restraint. When the tears finally dried, she put Rowan entirely behind her. A man who no longer loved her was not worth clinging to. When Ava steadied her emotions and turned her head, she saw a set of papers resting quietly at her bedside. A handwritten note was pinned on top. "Ava, something as small as getting Rowan to sign this shouldn't require my help." She understood immediately. He had been here before. Before she could think further, the door opened. Rowan stepped inside. "Ava." He looked at her pale face with a complicated expression and handed her a medical form. "Have these tests done this afternoon." Ava scanned the form. The words "fertility assessment" and "infectious disease screening" jumped out at her, and her stomach dropped. She tightened her grip on the divorce agreement in her hand and lifted her chin with a sharp, bitter smile. "Rowan, you want me to do these tests? You're questioning me?" "I trust you. But you heard what people were saying at the banquet. They have all sorts of suspicions about your three years away. This is the only way to prove yourself." His justification sounded righteous, but every word struck Ava like a slap. So, last night, he had heard the filth people threw at her, every vile insult, yet he chose to let them soil her. She had fought for her life at the bottom of a cliff because she had saved him, and all she carried back were wounds and sickness. Now, he was judging her for being dirty. She looked at the face she had once loved beyond reason and remembered how the Harborcrest tabloids had once tried to defame her. Rowan had smashed a reporter's camera and shielded her behind him, declaring, "Nobody knows my wife better than I do." And now the one leading the charge to doubt her, to tear her down, was him. Ava stared at him, her voice icy. "I don't need to prove anything to anyone. Not even to you. You're not worthy." She held out the divorce agreement. "Sign this, and we can walk away cleanly." Rowan's face darkened. He did not even glance at the papers. His lips curved with a humorless, mocking twist. "Ava! Finally losing patience? Dropping the act now? Ready to negotiate? Is this a settlement agreement or a share transfer? Did you scheme this whole thing just for money? "Money isn't a problem. As long as you behave." His tone shifted, revealing the weapon he relied on most. He revealed, "Do you remember Martha? After you disappeared, she cried until she nearly went blind. Her son, Caleb works for the shipping branch of the Sinclair Corporation. He just got promoted to supervisor. "If you want him unemployed tomorrow and the entire family starving in Harborcrest, feel free to refuse the tests." Ava froze. She had never imagined Rowan would one day turn such threats on her. "At two this afternoon, I'll send the doctor over." His voice was hard, indifferent to her burns and bandages. "Don't test my patience." At two, the doctor appeared with instruments in tow. When the cold metal entered her body, she closed her eyes, fists clenched so tightly her nails pierced her palms. She did not even feel the blood welling beneath her fingers. This wasn't a medical exam. It was an execution of her dignity and spirit, carried out by the man she had loved most in her life. When it was finally over, Rowan appeared with a black card in hand. "The tests are done. Everyone is reassured now." His voice carried a hint of relief. "Take this card. Buy yourself something. Make up for the styles you missed." Ava swallowed the wave of nausea rising in her throat and extended the divorce agreement again. "Even if this kindness is fake, if you really want to compensate me, then sign this." Rowan looked at her strangely calm face, and for a moment his heart skipped. He quickly reasoned with himself that she probably wanted equity or property. He took the agreement, ready to read it carefully. Just then, Lia burst into the room, panicked. Her hair was a mess, and a bright red scratch streaked across her cheek. She held a wrinkled note, tears streaming. "Someone stopped me in the parking garage. They shoved this at me and said if I don't leave you, they'll ruin my face!" Rowan snapped the folder shut and rushed to Lia's side. "Don't be scared. I'm here." The trembling woman in his arms made his thoughts scatter. He had no patience left to examine anything else. If it's only money she wanted, she could have it. He flipped to the last page and scrawled his signature. "Take it." He tossed the signed agreement to Ava, irritation sharpening his tone. "The title of Mrs. Sinclair is yours. You didn't need to be so impatient."