Chapter 3

We spent the night tangled together.

At dawn, the man sat up in bed. Sunlight filtered through the sheer curtains and spilled over his muscular chest.

“You’re so much better than my husband.” I cast myself as a shameless woman and savored the thrill of revenge.

Noticing his troubled expression, I lifted an aching arm.

“What? Regretting it?” I sat up, looking at the scattered red marks on my pale skin.

“Then why were you so rough last night?”

“I’m not regretting it.” He lowered his eyes.

I got dressed and handed him a business card.

“Call me if you need anything. Don’t worry. I’ll make it worth your while.”

After he left, I added him on Snapchat and sent him some money.

So his name was Noah Carter.

With looks like his, it seemed a shame he’d stuck to stealing valuables instead of selling a little pleasure.

Daniel and Chloe’s messages kept flashing across my screen.

Tomorrow was Valentine’s Day.

As his actual wife, how could I not stop by?

I stood outside Daniel’s apartment, watching the elevator numbers climb, and casually knocked on the door.

Ding.

“Forgot your key?”

The elevator and apartment doors opened at the same time. The man on one side and the woman on the other both stared at me in shock.

“Honey?” I smiled sweetly and slipped off my heels, listening as the person behind me hurried back into the elevator.

“Didn’t expect to see me, did you?”

Daniel had already recovered his composure.

“If you hadn’t come, I would’ve gone to get you. It’s Valentine’s Day. I was worried you’d forgotten. Do you like the decorations?”

The apartment was covered in girlish pink decorations that couldn’t have been further from my taste. How could he stand there and tell such a shameless lie?

“Honey, do you still think I’m some little girl?” I sat down as he brought out a cake, stretching my legs across the couch.

“That girl must’ve gotten off on the wrong floor. She was all dressed up. Probably going on a date with her boyfriend.”

His hand paused over the cake.

“Probably.”

That night, Daniel said he still had some work to do. I lay in bed, watching the messages between him and Chloe light up my screen.

Chloe: “Why did she come today? You promised you’d spend the whole day with me!” Her voice message was slurred. She’d clearly been drinking.

She sent a photo of a bar. “Can you come stay with me? I feel awful. Please come.”

Daniel: “I really can’t leave right now. Can you get a cab home?”

I found the location of the bar and made a call.

Since she liked playing around so much, I might as well play along.

Half an hour later, I opened the bedroom door to find Daniel anxiously searching for clothes.

“Honey, are you going out? I’ll come with you.”

“No. I’m just picking out what to wear tomorrow.” He changed his story quickly.

“Then come to bed. We have to get up early.”

Daniel lay down stiffly. His phone kept lighting up, though he’d put it on silent.

“What client is bothering you this late?” I asked.

“Probably that appliance company. More revisions.”

“How annoying.” I sat up, took his phone, switched it off, and tucked it under my pillow.

“Forget them. Let’s get some sleep.”