Chapter 1

When I got home, my daughter was lying on the floor, drawing something with my lipstick.

"Mommy, look! Is it pretty? Daddy said this is the most important thing in our family."

As I walked closer and saw what she had drawn, my face went instantly pale.

It was the butterfly tattoo on my lower back—a deeply intimate secret known only to me and my husband.

He had sworn never to tell a soul. So how did our daughter know about it?

"Coco, honey, who taught you to draw this butterfly?"

"It’s on Daddy’s phone! He has so many photos of you, Mommy! But I was a good girl, I only copied this one."

I looked at the lipstick my daughter proudly held up like a trophy. My stomach churned with pure nausea.

"Coco, sweetie, how about Mommy buys you a whole new set of real paintbrushes tomorrow?"

On our way to the store, my daughter looked up at me, confused.

"Mommy, why did Daddy send your photos to a man named Mr. Vance?"

...

The city skyline blurred past the car window, but my world had completely ground to a halt.

Coco sat in her booster seat, swinging her little legs and humming a song she learned at preschool.

Meanwhile, my hands gripped the steering wheel so hard my knuckles turned stark white.

Vance. Arthur Vance.

At Julian's startup, there was only one Vance—their primary venture capital investor.

A billionaire I had only ever seen on the covers of business magazines.

When we got home, the entryway light was on. Julian had already laid out my slippers, attentive and caring as always.

He took my bag and asked gently, "Tired today, Nora? I made your favorite lasagna."

I looked at his smiling face. The face of the man I had loved for five years now felt utterly alien.

I didn't even change my shoes. I just stood by the door, staring at him.

"Julian, can I borrow your phone for a second? Mine died, and I need to reply to a text."

His smile faltered for a split second, so fast it was almost imperceptible.

"Why use mine? The charger is right by the couch. Go plug yours in."

As he spoke, he smoothly slipped his phone into his pocket.

That instinctive reaction was all the proof I needed.

"I just need it for a second. It's urgent."

Julian's face darkened.

"Nora, why are you starting an argument? I've had a long day at work, and I'm exhausted."

He was getting defensive, immediately turning it around on my "emotional instability."

It was his classic gaslighting tactic.

"I'm not starting anything," I said, cold and deliberate. "Coco drew a butterfly with my lipstick today."

Julian's pupils instantly dilated.

I took a step closer, locking eyes with him. "She said Daddy's Snapchat has lots of photos of Mommy. And she said you sent those photos to a man named Mr. Vance."

A suffocating silence filled the living room.

The truth was out in the open, undeniable.

The panic in his eyes quickly morphed into defensive rage.

"Did you go through my phone?" he snapped, his voice rising.

In that moment, I found it almost laughable.

"Do I even need to?" I sneered. "Your own daughter is the perfect witness."

Julian took a deep breath, trying to regain his composure.

"Fine, I sent them," he admitted, devoid of any remorse. "Nora, they're just a few photos! Vance admires you. This investment will save my company, which helps our family!"

"Admires me?" I repeated, the nausea returning in full force. "He admires me so much that he needs to see highly private photos of my tattoo?"

"That was an accident! It was just in the background! Why do you always have to make everything so dirty?" he yelled, cornered like a trapped animal.

"An accident?" I stared at his flushed face, my heart turning to ice. "Then tell me, Julian. What other 'accidents' are on there?"

I lunged forward, reaching for the phone in his pocket.

He reacted instantly, grabbing my wrist with bruising force.

"Nora! Enough is enough!"

Pain shot up my arm, but I barely felt it.

I stared at him. There was no love left in my eyes, no trust. Only deep, soul-crushing disappointment.

We locked eyes, frozen like two predators ready to tear each other apart.

Finally, he let go, sighing as if he were the one making a grand compromise.

"Fine, look." He unlocked his phone and shoved it into my hands, his voice dripping with warning. "But after you see it, I expect you to stop acting so crazy."