Chapter 2

I didn't sleep a wink that night. When Justin finally came to bed, he wrapped his arms around me from behind. Hearing his breath by my ear only made my stomach heave with violent nausea.

I shoved his arm away and moved to the guest room.

Early the next morning, I left the house.

Staying under the same roof with him made me feel like I was going to throw up at any second.

When Justin called, I was sitting across from a divorce attorney, reviewing the separation agreement. I took a breath and picked up.

"Where'd you go so early?"

"My leave is over. I came into the office to sort through some pending work."

I surprised myself with how smoothly and calmly I could lie. Justin breathed a sigh of relief.

"Alright. I've got a lot on my plate today too, so I won't be home for lunch. I ordered a surprise for you, make sure to pick up the delivery."

After hanging up, the lawyer across the table gave me a concerned look. "Are you alright?"

My face must have been pale. He pushed a glass of warm water toward me. I managed a polite smile, thanked him, and pointed at the contract. "Add a clause. All of this belongs to me. He is entirely at fault, so I want ninety percent of our marital assets."

"He's been cheating on me for years. Compared to what he's done, these are just material things. He won't dare refuse. Just draft it the way I asked."

Justin and I were done, and I would make sure he paid for every second of it.

Perhaps sensing that I was in a foul mood, Justin’s "gift" arrived soon after—a luxury handbag worth over three thousand dollars.

Right on cue, Rachel’s call lit up my screen. "God, I'm so jealous of someone. All he did was send me a stupid letter yesterday during an emergency, and today he turns around and drops thousands on a designer bag for you. Honestly, Natalie, don't be so dramatic. Just forgive the poor guy!"

Listening to Rachel cover for him—even subtly blaming me for making a fuss out of nothing—I found it almost laughable.

She was painting me as the petty, unreasonable wife.

When she realized I wasn't responding to her chatter, she hesitated. "Natalie? What’s wrong? Why aren't you saying anything?"

"I don't really feel like talking. Jet lag, probably. I'm exhausted."

"Oh, get some rest then! We'll catch up later!"

As soon as the call disconnected, I moved fast, scouring every social media platform for Rachel’s accounts.

We had known each other for years, but we only became tight-knit best friends over the last five—mostly brought closer by Justin.

Her public profiles were clean. No trace of anything suspicious.

Then I dug through her following list and spotted an avatar featuring a chubby cartoon girl in vintage aesthetics—exactly Rachel’s taste.

I clicked in. It was her secret burner account.

Every post was a meticulously documented archive of her life with Justin.

Even though the guy’s face was never fully shown, I had known Justin for eight years. A blurry back, a quick glance of his jawline—I recognized him instantly.

Behind my back, they had built a secret little love nest of their own.

I watched every single video. Her bio read: *Eight years and three months of Miss Fox and Mr. Rabbit.*

*“July 13, 2017. Met Mr. Rabbit for the first time. Love at first sight! I worked up the courage to get his SnapChat, only to find out we go to the same college. I shamelessly joined his club just to see him.”*

*“October 1, 2017. My roommate became friends with my crush. She’s honestly so manipulative, acting all soft and helpless the second they met. Do all men fall for that baby-voice routine?”*

*“She beat me to him after all! My heart is breaking!”*

*“December 25, 2017. Things are turning around! He says he’s so torn, but he feels like he connects with me on a deeper level!”*

…