Chapter 1

The day before Valentine's Day, I was covering flower deliveries for my best friend's shop, and I picked up an interesting order.

Same man. Two orders. Two bouquets.

The first: 999 air-freighted Blue Iceberg roses, sixty-eight hundred dollars.

Note: Every single one has to be the freshest. Make sure the thorns are stripped clean. My baby's skin is delicate.

The second: a $1.99 clearance mystery bundle.

Note: For my wife. Whatever's fine. Nothing special.

I arranged those 999 roses, laughing coldly to myself the whole time.

Sixty-eight hundred to sweet-talk his precious. A dollar ninety-nine to fob off his wife.

A cheating dog like this. If his wife ever found out, wouldn't she lose it right there on the spot?

I finished wrapping the flowers and looked down to check the delivery details on the second order.

The address was my home.

The number on the order belonged to my husband, Oliver Harding.

Half an hour ago, he'd kissed my forehead and told me he had to fly overseas for work, that he couldn't spend Valentine's Day with me.

"You're the sensible one. You always understand me, right?"

I stood there holding that dollar-ninety-nine clearance bundle.

So the wife I'd spent all that time pitying.

From start to finish, that wife was me.

I peeled off my gloves and dropped the dollar-ninety-nine bundle into the trash.

As for the sixty-eight hundred, I'd deliver it myself.

I wanted to see this "delicate baby" who'd be receiving the flowers.

And that husband of mine, off on his business trip.

I wanted to see their faces when the delivery rider at the door turned out to be me.

1

I wheeled the shop's folding flower cart to the door of the big penthouse unit at Starhaven Estate.

When I flipped the lid open, 999 Blue Iceberg roses nearly buried the entire doorway.

The door opened.

Oliver stood behind it in silk pajamas, an indulgent smile on his face.

"Baby, your flowers—"

His gooey little line caught in his throat before he could finish it.

Oliver froze where he stood, his pupils blowing wide.

Every trace of color drained from his face.

I looked at him, expressionless.

Five years married, and this was the first time I'd ever seen that look on him.

A sugary female voice floated out from inside.

"Honey, who is it? Did my surprise arrive?"

A woman in the matching silk pajama bottoms leaned half out the door.

It was Renee Pruitt.

The younger sister of Oliver's company vice president, and his college first love.

She'd been all sweetness a second ago, but her eyes landed on me and she paused.

Then she covered her mouth and gave a delicate little laugh.

"Well. Isn't this Jessica Fox, the campus beauty from our med school days?"

"What's this, then. Didn't make it as a big-shot doctor, so you're running deliveries now?"

Oliver came back to himself with a jolt and gripped Renee's shoulders, trying to steer her back inside.

"Renee, go back in. I'll handle this."

He kept his voice low, and there was no hiding the panic in it.

Renee took the chance to hook her arm through his.

Pressing half her body against him, she looked at me, taunting.

"Handle what? The campus beauty brought delivery right to our door. Shouldn't we thank her properly?"

As she said it, she reached out to take the flowers from my arms.

I didn't move.

Renee wasn't the least bit embarrassed. She leaned in on purpose to smell them, the smugness on her face practically spilling over.

"Honey, you're so thoughtful. I only mentioned it in passing and you actually had them air-freighted in."

"Miss campus beauty, how much is a bouquet like this? Could you afford even one stem on a month of delivery wages?"

I didn't bother with her. I kept my eyes on Oliver.

Fine beads of sweat were breaking out on Oliver's forehead, and the look he gave me was pure pleading.

"Jess, let me explain. I was reviewing a project proposal with Miss Pruitt—"

"Reviewing a proposal requires matching couple's pajamas?"

I cut him off.

Oliver choked, his face ugly.

Renee let out a snort of laughter.

She still hadn't caught what Oliver had called me. She just took it for jealousy.

"Jessica, you're a flower delivery girl. Bit nosy for the job, aren't you?"

With that, she lifted a hand and pushed her hair back.

In one glance I saw the diamond ring on her ring finger.

A three-carat pink diamond.

I'd seen it in Oliver's phone browsing history.

At the time my heart had been full. I'd thought it was the gift he was preparing for our fifth wedding anniversary.

Later he'd complained to me that the company was laying people off.

He was under so much pressure, his bonus had been docked, he could barely make this month's mortgage.

And I'd felt so sorry for him that I quietly transferred him the fifty thousand I'd been saving, told him not to wear himself out.

So this was where all his pressure had gone.

"The ring's lovely."

My voice came out so calm it surprised even me.

Renee grew smugger, deliberately holding her hand up and waving it in front of my face.

"It's gorgeous, isn't it? Oliver insisted on buying it for me. Six hundred grand."

"I told him it was too expensive. He said his woman deserves nothing but the best."

I turned to look at Oliver.

"Didn't you say you could barely make this month's mortgage?"

Oliver's face changed in an instant. Frantic, he grabbed for my hand, dropping his voice almost to a beg.

"Jess, go home first! I'm begging you, go home and I'll tell you everything!"

I shook his hand off.

"Go home to collect my dollar-ninety-nine trash, you mean?"

Renee sensed something was off.

She frowned, sizing me up, then looked back at Oliver.

"Oliver, what does she mean? You two know each other?"

Oliver swallowed, unable to look at her, even less able to look at me.

I took a step forward and stared Oliver down.

"Of course we know each other."

"After all, we've had a marriage license for five years now."