The Cat That Couldn't Be Tamed

I had taken care of Liam’s cat for five years.

Yet, tonight, the second I stepped inside, it lunged at me, drawing blood.

Sitting in the Uber on the way to the ER, it suddenly hit me.

Some cats just can't be domesticated.

Cats, and people, for that matter.

So, when I got home, I told Liam I wanted a divorce.

He frowned, looking baffled. "Is this really about the cat biting you?"

"Yeah, it is," I said. "It really is."

1

"You're sure about this?"

Liam was holding the cat, absentmindedly stroking its tail. "Our five-year anniversary is next month."

It was weird, Liam was barely ever home since we got married, and rarely ever even saw the cat. I was the one who fed it, but somehow, it still only liked him.

I pulled my gaze from the cat, and spoke calmly. "I'm sure. I'll leave with nothing. You sign this, and we can get this divorce finalized tomorrow."

I slid the divorce papers across the table to him.

Liam glanced at the papers, then looked up, frowning. “Riley, you want to call it quits after five years because Misty bit you? Seriously?”

Misty was the name Liam had given the cat.

Hearing its name, Misty tilted its head and meowed up at Liam, soft and sweet. Not at all like the low growl it usually reserved for me.

"Yeah," I said, meeting his gaze. "Because of her."

It was true. Misty was the final straw that gave me the courage to end things with Liam.

Yesterday, I got the news that I was replaced on set. The actress who replaced me was someone who'd been popping up with Liam's name a lot in the gossip blogs lately. Plus, Liam's family was backing the film. It wasn't a difficult puzzle to piece together.

I had immediately called Liam. "Was it your decision to get me replaced?"

Liam sounded nonchalant. "It was."

He was cold. His reasoning? "My family doesn't need you to be out there working. You should just be here at home taking care of Misty.”

One careless sentence was all it took for all of my hard work to go to waste.

My assistant practically had to drag me back home.

As I was taking off my shoes in the foyer, Misty suddenly attacked me.

Looking down at the wound on my arm, I just lost it. I had taken care of Misty for five years, and she still treated me like an enemy. She hated me, wouldn’t let me near, and would attack me if I wasn't careful.

Just like the cat, Liam couldn't care less.

Five years of marriage, and he was still cold to me. He still wouldn't acknowledge our marriage publicly.

To the world, he was the unmarried heir to his family's fortune and I was an actress barely scraping by.

We had nothing to do with each other. The only time anyone even thought to connect us was when we were accidentally photographed together. It got me labeled as the other woman by Liam's rumored girlfriend.

I was so done with all of it. I was done being a live-in nanny to a cat that couldn’t stand me, and a wife in name only to a man who didn't see me.

2

We had no kids, and no assets to divide. The divorce was simple.

Jus...