Chapter 1: The Roses Were Never for Her
“I knew you would come crawling back.””
Vanessa's voice was loud enough to make three nearby tables fall silent.
She rose from her green velvet chair, stretched out her perfectly manicured hands, and snatched the enormous bouquet of red roses from my husband's arms.
Then she smiled at me.
The kind of smile a woman gives when she believes she has finally won.
“Some women just can't compete.””
I sat frozen.
My name is Nia Bennett.
I'm thirty-two years old.
And until that moment, I had believed my marriage was already falling apart.
Marcus stood beside our table in a cream polo shirt and dark trousers, looking handsome, confident, almost painfully calm.
The bouquet he carried must have contained fifty roses.
Vanessa held them against her champagne-gold dress as though they were a trophy.
“I told you he'd come back to me,” she whispered.
My stomach twisted.
But before I could answer, Marcus reached forward.
He took the flowers from her arms.
“Vanessa.””
His voice was cold.
“Those aren't for you.””
Her smile disappeared.
“What?””
Marcus didn't repeat himself.
He walked around her.
Stopped directly in front of me.
And placed the roses in my trembling hands.
“Happy anniversary, baby.””
I stared at him.
“Anniversary?””
His expression softened.
“Ten years.””
“You remembered?””
“I never forgot.””
For six months, I'd convinced myself that my husband had forgotten everything that mattered.
Our anniversary.
Our first apartment.
The little diner where we'd shared pancakes because neither of us could afford a proper date.
The night he proposed with a ring he'd bought using money from three months of overtime.
I had watched those memories disappear one by one while Vanessa slowly inserted herself into our lives.
And now Marcus was standing in front of me with roses.
Not looking guilty.
Not looking ashamed.
Looking like a man who had finally reached the end of a long road.
Vanessa laughed.
“Oh, please. Marcus, don't embarrass yourself.””
He ignored her.
Instead, he touched the bouquet.
“Look inside, Nia.””
I frowned.
“Inside?””
He nodded.
My fingers parted the roses.
Something black rested between the stems.
I pulled it free.
A luxury car key.
I stared at the silver emblem.
Then at Marcus.
“What is this?””
He smiled.
“Your new car is parked outside.””
My mouth fell open.
A car?
I hadn't owned one in almost a year.
Not since I'd sold my old sedan to help Marcus save his construction company.
I looked down at the key.
“Marcus…”
He crouched beside my chair.
“You shouldn't have had to sell your car.””
“We needed the money.””
“I know.””
“You said it would save the company.””
“It did.””
His eyes held mine.
“And you saved more than the company.””
My throat tightened.
Vanessa shifted beside us.
“Marcus, this is ridiculous.””
He finally looked at her.
“No. What's ridiculous is that you still think tonight is about you.””
Her face hardened.
“You promised.””
Marcus's jaw tightened.
“I promised you six months.””
My heart began beating faster.
“What did she promise you?””
Neither answered.
Marcus reached into his pocket.
He removed a tiny white envelope.
My name was written across the front.
I took it.
“What is this?””
“For you.””
Vanessa stepped forward.
“Nia, give me that.””
I pulled it against my chest.
“Why?””
She forced a smile.
“It's probably something private.””
Marcus stepped between us.
“It is private.””
He looked at Vanessa.
“But it belongs to my wife.””
Vanessa's eyes flashed.
“You can't do this.””
Marcus's voice dropped.
“You've had six months to tell the truth.””
The restaurant seemed to grow quieter.
I could hear the faint clink of silverware from another table.
Then Vanessa whispered something that made the blood drain from my face.
“You promised you wouldn't tell her.””
I looked at Marcus.
“What did you promise her?””
He didn't answer.
Instead, he looked at the envelope.
“Open it.””
My fingers shook as I slid one finger beneath the flap.
Inside was a folded document.
And a photograph.
I pulled out the photograph first.
My stomach dropped.
Vanessa was standing beside a man I recognized immediately.
Richard Hale.
The businessman who owed Marcus's construction company almost two million dollars.
The man whose sudden disappearance had nearly destroyed our lives.
The man Marcus had spent six months supposedly trying to find.
I turned the photograph over.
There was a handwritten date.
Six months ago.
The exact week Vanessa had first started sending me pictures of Marcus.
I looked at her.
“Why were you with Richard?””
She didn't respond.
“Vanessa?””
Her lips parted.
Nothing came out.
Marcus took the document from my hand.
“You want to know why your marriage looked like it was falling apart?””
He placed the paper in front of me.
“Because somebody worked very hard to make you believe it was.””
I unfolded it.
The first line made my entire body go cold.
*CONFIDENTIAL TRANSFER AGREEMENT*
Underneath it was Vanessa's name.
And Richard Hale's.
I read the next line.
Then the next.
My eyes widened.
“No.””
Marcus reached for my hand.
“Nia.””
“No.””
I pushed the document toward him.
“This can't be real.””
“It is.””
Vanessa suddenly grabbed her purse.
Marcus stepped toward her.
“Don't.””
She stopped.
“You said you loved me,” she whispered.
Marcus's face was expressionless.
“I loved my wife.””
Vanessa's eyes filled with tears.
“You never even gave me a chance.””
“You had six months.””
“I did everything you asked!””
My head snapped toward her.
“Everything he asked?””
She looked at me.
And I saw it.
Fear.
Real fear.
Not embarrassment.
Not jealousy.
Fear.
I stood.
“What exactly did my husband ask you to do?””
Vanessa stared at me.
Marcus closed his eyes briefly.
Then he said the words that changed everything.
“Tell her about the night you broke into our house.””
Vanessa's purse slipped from her hand.
The sound of it hitting the restaurant floor seemed louder than a gunshot.
And suddenly, I remembered something I'd spent months trying to forget.
The night I thought someone had entered our bedroom.
May you like
The night Marcus told me I was imagining things.
The night my wedding ring disappeared.
