Chapter 1

At the engagement party, my fiancé Eustace Cobb smiled that gentle smile of his and drank three rounds on my behalf.

My whole family said I'd married well.

After the banquet broke up, I rubbed my aching shoulder and went to the restroom.

My phone slipped to the floor, and somehow, on its own, it connected a FaceTime call.

The woman on the screen had a shaved head, sharp collarbones jutting out, and beneath the collar of a hospital gown, a PICC line for chemo.

"It's me. You, three years from now."

I nearly dropped the phone into the toilet.

She didn't give me time to react.

"Tonight at eleven-thirty, Eustace will show up at that woman's place in Building 7 at Azure Cove. Remember when he said he was away on a three-month business trip? Their child is already eight months old."

"The day after tomorrow, your dad goes to his company to demand an explanation, and he has security push Dad down the stairs. Fractured tailbone. Six months flat on his back."

"And you don't know any of it. You're still there waiting on his parents for him."

The hand holding the phone wouldn't stop shaking.

She wiped her face with the hand hooked to the IV.

"Tonight, take people to Azure Cove and gather evidence. Bring your cousin. Bring a lawyer."

"Then call off the wedding, and go take the exam you always wanted. Next March the state broadcaster is hiring reporters. One spot. That position was made for you."

"Madge Sullivan, I'm begging you. Don't walk the road I walked."

"Don't be like me, only waking up when it's already come to this."

……

The call cut off on its own. The screen locked, and my reflection stared back at me, white as paper.

I braced myself against the cold wall and started to gag.

"Knock, knock, knock."

Someone rapped on the restroom door.

"Madge, what's wrong? Did you have too much to drink?"

It was Eustace's voice, gentle as ever.

I steadied myself against the wall, stood up straight, and opened the door.

His eyes met mine, and his brow creased at once, all tenderness and concern.

"Why are you so pale?"

He reached out, that familiar warmth settling onto my aching shoulder, kneading it for me.

I flinched before I could stop myself.

His hand went still on my shoulder, and he studied me.

I forced down the churning in my chest and made myself smile.

"Might be low blood sugar."

I looked up and asked, as if it were nothing, "Oh, that place at Azure Cove, did we rent it out recently? My friend's looking to rent a big flat in the area and asked me about it."

Not a flicker crossed his face. He pulled me easily into his arms, chin resting on top of my head.

"Silly. That place is way out from the city, sitting empty and gathering dust. Why would I rent it out?"

My fingernails dug deep crescents into my palms.

He lied without so much as a hitch in his heartbeat.

"If it's not rented, that's fine. I'll tell her later."

I pushed him away gently, and the last thread of hope in me shattered completely, right along with his easy lie.

"I'll drive you home."

"No need." I stepped back out of his arms. "Didn't you say you had something urgent to handle back at the office? I'll just grab a cab."

Without a hint of hesitation, he pressed a kiss to my forehead. The warmth of it made my stomach turn.

"Then go straight home, and text me when you get in."

I watched him get into that black Bentley, its taillights vanishing into the night.

I called my cousin right away.

"Are you free right now? Find me a lawyer friend, the best one you've got for divorce cases, and get to the gate of the Azure Cove complex to wait for me. Now."

I hung up and flagged down a taxi.

"Azure Cove, please. Quick as you can."

The door opened.

What I saw in the entryway drove straight into my eyes.

A pair of men's leather shoes I'd bought, polished to a shine.

And beside them, snug against them, a pair of soft-soled slippers that were unmistakably a woman's.

Every sound around me went blurry.

My cousin and the lawyer saw it too, their faces darkening in an instant.

The bedroom door stood half open, warm yellow light spilling out.

A man's low, coaxing voice came through, clear as anything.

"Come on, stop fussing."

"Playing along with that block of wood Madge all day nearly killed me."