Chapter 3

On the other end of the phone, my mother's voice suddenly went shrill.

"What? The wedding's off?"

I said helplessly,

"He cheated on me. He's already got another woman pregnant."

My mom flew into a rage on the other end.

"I told you all along he wasn't good enough for you. Oh, my girl..."

I gripped my phone and gave a bitter little smile.

Some people won't turn back until they hit a wall. Well, I'd hit it now, and it hurt.

In the days that followed, Denise updated her social media every single day, right on schedule.

Afternoon tea at a five-star hotel, jewelry-store cases full of rings, even fireworks at the beach with a nine-photo grid caption.

Every word of it was showing off how in love they were.

These were all things Lambert had once promised me.

Now that he had money, he'd made good on all of it—only the person beside him wasn't me.

I scrolled through them one by one, and my heart grew calmer and calmer.

On the day I went to get the divorce certificate, the clerk at the records office looked over my paperwork and tried to talk me out of it.

"You two only got legally married a little while ago, and now you're already divorcing?"

"That's awfully quick. People do things they regret when they act on impulse. Why not think it over some more?"

My face stayed blank.

"He slept with another woman. She's already pregnant."

The clerk went quiet at once, and as she lowered her head to stamp the papers, her eyes held a faint trace of sympathy.

Lambert took the divorce certificate at the door, then turned around and went in to get a marriage license with Denise.

The two of them struck all sorts of poses, smiling so sweetly.

I gave it one flat glance from the doorway, then looked away.

As I came out of the records office, it suddenly started pouring, and I couldn't get a cab.

Then Lambert's Porsche pulled up in front of me.

The window rolled down. It was Denise.

Her face was flushed and glowing, and she smiled at me.

"Manager Fox, we're just on our way to sign the home purchase contract. It's raining so hard—let us give you a lift."

I opened my umbrella.

"No, thank you."

I walked out into the rain without looking back.

Once I got home, I called the wedding planner and canceled everything I'd booked.

On her social media, Denise posted a set of nine photos.

"Got our marriage license. Looking forward to the baby's arrival."

In the pictures, they were standing in the huge open-plan apartment I'd once envied, city lights glittering beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows.

The two of them, fingers laced tight together.

A few days later, a young woman I'd trained at the company called me.

"Doris, you left so suddenly, I wasn't ready for it... Are you ever coming back to the company?"

I was cleaning the house.

"No, I'm not."

The girl chattered away on the other end.

"Doris, back when I first joined I didn't know a thing. I owe it all to you for teaching me so much."

"It's my birthday tonight—you absolutely have to come. It's all young people our age, we'll have some fun."

I hesitated a moment, then said yes.

But when I got to the private room and pushed the door open, something felt off right away.

Several men were sitting inside—all people from a company that used to be our competitor.

I recognized the one leading them. I'd snatched a contract out from under him back then, and he'd nursed the grudge ever since.

He saw me and split into a grin.

"You little bitch, you stole a big contract from our boss a while back. Time you learned your lesson today."

I took a step back.

"What do you want? Don't do anything rash."

Just then my phone rang. It was Lambert.

I hit answer as fast as I could, like I was grabbing at a lifeline.

"Hello! Lambert, I'm trapped at a bar by some guys from a rival company—hurry, call the—"

But the voice that came through was Denise's.

"Miss Fox, Lambert's asleep. Whatever it is can wait until tomorrow."

It felt like someone had dumped a bucket of cold water over my head.

"You set this up? What exactly do you want? Tell them to let me go!"

Denise let out a little laugh.

"What are you talking about? I don't understand you. Have fun. I'm hanging up now."

The moment the call cut off, the last flicker of light inside me went out.

The man in the lead raised his hand and slapped me.

He pointed at the row of hard liquor lined up on the table.

"Today you either drink all of this, or you spend the night with me and the boys."