Chapter 3

Brooklyn's usually flat face suddenly filled with panic and nerves.

Which only made everything look more suspicious to me.

"It's just a bracelet. Why are you so worked up?"

"I'm not worked up."

She tugged at the corner of her mouth, a smile that came out forced and guilty.

"I just bought it. Haven't even worn it in yet, so I don't want anyone touching it."

"Is that so."

"Yeah."

She pulled the drawer open, shoved the bracelet inside, and shut it again.

Fast, like she was afraid I'd take another look.

"Come on, I've already done my makeup. What's the holdup? Let's go catch the movie."

Brooklyn practically shoved me out, as if she couldn't stand me staying in her room a second longer.

The whole time we were at the movie, my mind was somewhere else.

Brooklyn's was too. Her phone kept lighting up, and she kept texting.

"Chatting with your boyfriend?"

The second I leaned in to peek, she clapped her hand over the screen. "Stop it, let a girl have some privacy."

She covered it fast, but I still saw.

That guy's profile picture, the match to my couple photo, was Paddy.

When I got home, Paddy was in the shower.

His phone was on the coffee table, and the screen lit up.

A message popped up. The contact name read "Brooke."

"Paddy, I think Caroline's getting suspicious. Be careful for a while. We should stop meeting."

In that moment, my heart went completely cold.

For the next few days I still kept trying to get Brooklyn to come out.

"Where are you? Let's grab lunch."

"Ah… can't today, I'm stuck working late at the office, tons of stuff."

"Really?"

I glanced down at the time on my screen. "Then I'll come to you. Your office isn't far from me anyway."

Two seconds of silence on the other end.

"No, no need, I'll be done in a bit. Another day!"

"Brooklyn."

I said her full name, my voice going cold.

"Sneaking around with your best friend's boyfriend. Pretty exciting, isn't it?"

A few seconds of silence, then Brooklyn let out a cold laugh, done pretending.

"Caroline. Didn't think you'd actually figure it out."

"What, are you going to be like all those women and put on the whole scorned-wife-catches-the-other-woman act?"

Hearing her finally admit it, a chill ran through me.

"Brooklyn, we've known each other seven years."

"The year you got dumped, I climbed over the wall in the middle of the night to go drink with you, and the next day the counselor hauled me in to write an apology letter."

"When your cramps got so bad you couldn't get out of bed, I skipped class to go buy you brown sugar, and I came back to find you curled up in pain, and I held you and cried for ages."

"I always thought there was nothing we couldn't tell each other."

"But you knew Paddy and I had been together five years, you knew he was my boyfriend. Why did you have to go after him?"

"Brooklyn, tell me, it's not like every other man on earth is dead and gone!"

The more I said, the more I fell apart.

"Why did you have to go after Paddy?"

We were getting married next month. Everything had been moving toward something good.

And Brooklyn shattered it with her own hands, like a soap bubble.

Silence stretched on the other end.

Finally Brooklyn spoke.

"Caroline, don't you think you're wearing some seriously thick rose-tinted glasses when it comes to Paddy?"

"You think I'm the only one who seduced him, and he's completely innocent?"

She gave a cold laugh and sent me a hotel address, room 302.

"This hotel tonight. Remember to come take a look."

"For old times' sake,"

"I'll let you see your wonderful boyfriend's true face with your own eyes."

Unsettled, I waited until night.

I watched the sun sink bit by bit, watched the hour when Paddy usually got off work come and go, and still he didn't come home.

At eight, Paddy sent his check-in text.

"Sweet Caroline, working late again tonight."

Right after it came a transfer, 1314520.

"Buy yourself something to eat if you want. Be good."

I gripped my phone, looked up, and watched with my own eyes as Paddy walked into the very hotel Brooklyn had sent me.

When the light came on, I pulled down the brim of my cap and followed.

Through the door of room 302 came sounds, faint, blurred, impossible to make out.

Then a delivery guy knocked.

"Hi, your order of adult toys is here."

"Coming."

Paddy's voice. The handle turned, and I saw Paddy, bare from the waist up, come to take the delivery.

"Is this enough?"

My sudden voice froze him.

He looked up, saw it was me, and the color drained from his face.

"Caroline?! Why are you here?"

And me, I saw the hickey on his neck in one glance.

And through the gap in the door, I saw Brooklyn lying on the bed in nothing but a camisole.

I slapped him across the face.

"Paddy, is this how you treat me?"

"Caroline, don't do anything crazy!"

Paddy scrambled to grab my hands, but I'd already shoved past him, swinging my bag down onto Brooklyn.

"Brooklyn, you slut!"

"You made me come just so I could see the two of you like this, this filthy, this disgusting? You have no shame."

Brooklyn sat there calmly, a cigarette between her fingers, smiling at me.

"Caroline, how about it? Not disappointed, are you?"

I lost it completely.

I lunged to hit her, but Paddy caught my wrist.

"Caroline, can you calm down?"