Chapter 2

My sleepiness vanished. I sat there in the dark, my heart hammering against my ribs.

On the screen, the host scolded her for a bit before kicking her off the live stream.

I immediately searched for her username. It was clearly a burner account, and it was set to private.

I requested to follow her, but she didn't accept it right away.

Rachel was a night owl; there was no way she was asleep at this hour.

I changed my Snapchat display name to "Team True Love," and a second later, she accepted my request.

Rachel's profile had dozens of private videos. Every single one of them showed her and Ethan in incredibly intimate poses.

As I scrolled down, I realized that every time Ethan claimed he was working late, he was actually with her.

My hands shook so violently I could barely hold my phone.

"Did you see that live stream? Do you think we actually have a future together?"

A message from Rachel popped up. Reading those two short sentences felt like a physical blow to my chest.

I bit my lower lip hard, typing back:

"Yeah. When did you guys start seeing each other? Aren't you afraid your best friend will cut you off?"

Rachel replied almost instantly:

"We've been together for over a year. He confessed to me first."

"Of course I'm scared. But I can't control my heart. I think once she finds out, she'll understand."

My fingers froze. The phone slipped from my hand and fell onto my lap, but I couldn't even feel the impact.

Ethan and I had been engaged for exactly one year and two months. Rachel had met him for the very first time at our engagement party.

Rachel sent a few more messages after that, but I couldn't bring myself to read them.

Just then, a notification popped up at the top of my screen.

"Ethan, who you follow, just shared a new post."

I tapped into Ethan's Instagram.

It was a new photo. I recognized the background instantly—it was Rachel's bedroom.

One of our mutual friends had commented: "You spent the night at Rachel's and actually dared to post it on Instagram?"

"Aren't you afraid Chloe will find out?"

Ethan replied: "She hasn't logged into Instagram in ages. She won't notice."

With trembling hands, I scrolled through Ethan's Instagram feed. I discovered that he had soft-launched his relationship with Rachel a year ago.

He had even posted a picture of them kissing passionately in the dark.

I stared at the photo, zooming in over and over again.

But no matter how hard I tried to deny it, the man in the photo was indeed my fiancé, Ethan.

And the woman was my best friend, Rachel.

In the three years I had been with Ethan, I had asked him countless times to post about us on Instagram.

He had always refused, giving me all kinds of excuses.

Yet, he had no problem declaring his love for my best friend on his secret account.

I didn't sleep a wink that night.

The next morning, Ethan came home. He walked into the bedroom as usual, leaning down to kiss my forehead.

As he drew closer, a heavy scent of perfume washed over me. It was Rachel's signature scent.

I opened my eyes, startling him.

"Chloe, why are you up so early?"

I subtly pulled back, creating some distance between us.

"Couldn't sleep. Were you out drinking with clients again? The perfume smell is overwhelming. Go take a shower."

A flash of panic crossed Ethan's eyes. He let out a forced laugh and quickly headed to the bathroom.

Once I heard the shower running, I carefully picked up his phone. I automatically entered his birthday.

"Incorrect Password."

My fingertips trembled. In all the years we had been together, he had never changed his passcode.

Suppressing the lump in my throat, I tried entering Rachel's birthday. It unlocked.

No matter how careful Ethan thought he was, he had left traces.

I opened his hidden photo album. It was filled with photos of him and Rachel—taking selfies in different countries, hugging on beaches.

Every time his company had a business trip that allowed a plus-one, I had asked to go. But he had always turned me down.

"Chloe, I'm going there to work. Having you there will only distract me."

I had genuinely believed he was just keeping his professional and personal life separate.

But now I knew. He had been taking another woman with him, letting her live the life that belonged to me.

The sound of the running water began to fade. Realizing Ethan was about to come out, I quickly put the phone back and pretended nothing had happened.

"Chloe, come back to bed. I'm exhausted."

Ethan pulled me into his arms as he lay back down.

Just thinking about how these hands had held Rachel in the exact same way made me want to throw up.

As he drifted off to sleep, I went to push him away, but then I heard him mumble:

"Rachel... don't leave me. I love you."

I felt like I had been struck by lightning. I couldn't move.

Ethan was a reserved man. He had never said "I love you" to me. Even at our engagement party, he had only whispered:

"Chloe, you're finally mine."

I turned my head away, wiping my tears silently. I slipped out of bed, walked out of the room, and dialed a number.

"Hi, this is Chloe. Regarding the wedding in two weeks... I'd like to change the bride's name on the program to Rachel."