Austin's "punishment" had stripped me raw, peeled away everything I was, and rebuilt me into someone I didn't recognize.
My phone buzzed.
A message from Austin.
"Pearl, I'm being released in three days. Don't forget to pick me up."
My fingers tightened around the phone until my knuckles went white. A dull ache spread through my chest.
Even now, he was still playing his games.
He was already at his birthday party. I'd seen it with my own eyes.
He'd been holding Kathy, celebrating, surrounded by an enormous cake and beautiful decorations.
And yet he was still treating me like a fool.
I stared at those words until tears blurred my vision.
Then I blinked them away and read the message again.
I typed out a reply:
"Okay. I'll pick you up in three days."
Three days later, I went to the prison gates to collect Austin—without exposing his lies.
I spotted him from a distance, dressed in tattered clothes.
Playing the part of a man ruined by bankruptcy, living in squalor. He'd even used makeup to create a fake scar across his face.
The moment he saw me, he limped over, rushing toward me with exaggerated emotion.
"Pearl!"
He pulled me into his arms, eyes glistening with tears.