Chapter 2

I let out a ragged laugh, hot tears streaming down my face.

Everyone knew. I was the only pathetic fool kept in the dark!

"Nora, please..."

"How long have you two been together?"

"Three years."

I jerked my head toward him in horror.

My eyes caught a blue tassel hanging from the rearview mirror. It had appeared two weeks ago. When I asked, he brushed it off, saying he bought it on a whim.

Now I knew Maya bought it.

If her trinket was hanging in this car, did that mean she had ridden in this very seat? Was she laughing right here where I sat?

Nausea hit me like a freight train. I clutched my mouth.

"Pull over. Let me out."

"Babe, can we please just talk at home?"

"Pull over! Stop the car! Let me out right now!"

I slammed my fists against the window, sobbing uncontrollably.

I was terrified I would throw up all over myself.

Or worse, that I wouldn't be able to stop my hands from jerking the steering wheel to end both our lives right then and there.

Julian didn't let me out.

Once we stepped inside our house, I stopped crying.

Julian went straight to the kitchen and cooked an entire spread of my favorite dishes.

I sat across from him without touching a fork.

He looked at me with soft, affectionate eyes. "Nora, I promise I'll end it cleanly. Maya was just a distraction. She can't hold a candle to you."

He placed a piece of glazed meat onto my plate. "Whatever you do, don't starve yourself."

I stared at him with venom in my eyes.

"I'm not eating that. It disgusts me."

Who knew how many times he had cooked those exact dishes for Maya?

Julian's face went completely pale. He stood up. "Fine. What do you want? I'll have the staff order from any five-star restaurant you like."

Afterward, Julian went upstairs to shower.

By this point, he seemed disturbingly composed. He clearly didn't think he had done anything unforgivable; in fact, he probably thought I was blowing things out of proportion.

When he walked out of the bathroom smelling fresh and clean, he tried to wrap his arms around me.

"Babe, don't stay mad. She’s not worth it."

I pulled back sharply and spat out each syllable: "Shower again."

He blinked, taken aback, but complied and went back under the water.

After doing this three times in a row, Julian finally snapped.

"How many times do you want me to scrub?!" he roared. "I slept with Maya! It happened! Scrubbing a hundred times won't change that!"

I looked at him. His chest was raw and red from the scalding water and coarse sponge.

No matter how many times he scrubbed, Julian would never again be the boy who held me in his arms and swore he would cherish me for the rest of his life.

He walked out.

In our seven years of marriage, outside of business travel, this was the first night he ever slept somewhere else.

The massive king-sized bed felt icy and hollow. I sat at the edge until dawn broke.

When I unlocked my phone, a celebrity gossip headline caught my eye:

"[Billionaire Heir Julian Vance Spotted Setting Off Fireworks with Mystery Brunette]"

In the pictures, Maya leaned adorably into Julian’s embrace.

The glow of the fireworks illuminated her youthful, glowing face. It captured everything I was rapidly losing—youth, beauty, and health.

Julian was punishing me for my reaction last night.

Once something is tainted, no amount of washing can ever make it clean again.

I pulled the medical diagnosis from my purse, hailed a cab, and headed to my mother's house.

Even though she had remarried years ago and built a whole new family with her husband and golden son.

Even though in her eyes, I was just a useless daughter who could never match up to my younger brother.

A mother was still a mother.

When a child is broken and hurting, where else can she run to?