Chapter Two

Yvette's POV

I didn't sleep.

At four AM, Edward's phone buzzed on the nightstand. He quickly silenced it and slipped out of bed. Muffled voices came from the bathroom. "I'll be right there... don't cry, Julia."

Julia. So his mistress was named Julia.

At seven, Edward kissed my forehead. "Site inspection today." He adjusted his tie. "I'll bring you those macarons you love tonight."

Before the sound of the closing door had faded, I was already grabbing my coat.

His car headed toward lower Manhattan, not the Brooklyn construction site. I flagged a taxi and told the driver, "Follow that car. Don't lose him."

The driver glanced at me in the rearview mirror and hit the gas.

Forty minutes later, the Mercedes turned into the underground garage of an upscale Chelsea apartment building. I paid the fare and stood across the street. Rain began to fall.

Twenty minutes. Thirty minutes.

Just when I thought I'd made a mistake, Edward emerged. He wasn't alone.

A woman was holding his arm—long hair, cream-colored trench coat. They stood under the awning waiting for a car. Edward leaned down to speak to her, his fingers tucking wind-blown strands behind her ear.

I knew that gesture too well. He did the same thing whenever my hair got messy.

A car arrived. Edward opened the door, and the girl looked up at him with a smile.

The moment that face turned toward me, my breathing stopped.

Rain struck my face, ice cold. But I felt nothing.

I staggered backward until my back hit the wet brick wall. My fingers fumbled frantically through my purse for my phone, shaking so badly I could barely hold it.

Impossible.

Absolutely impossible.

The screen lit up, and I pulled up the photo I'd secretly taken last night—a glimpse of Edward's phone showing a chat interface with the contact name "Julia" and a blurry profile picture. I zoomed in. Zoomed in more.

The same jawline. The same curve of the nose.

But not until I saw her with my own eyes did I understand why Edward would cheat.

How could it be her?!

I'd said Edward loved me so much he'd give up his own life for me.

How could he suddenly have an affair?

Because of her!

Seeing this scene, my breath caught.

Suddenly everything made sense.

Finally I understood why Edward would go to such lengths to make me donate bone marrow to her!

I couldn't bear to watch Edward and that girl's intimate scene any longer.

I practically fled home.

Once there, I sat on the couch, unable to calm down for a long time.

That girl's face kept flashing before my eyes.

Making me realize this was far more terrifying than I'd imagined!

I don't know how long passed before I dialed Chris's number.

Edward's sister, and my only friend in this city.

"Yvette?" Chris's voice was heavy with sleep. "What's wrong?"

"Chris." My voice was hoarse as sandpaper. "I need you to come over. Now."

"Where are you? What happened?"

"Edward... he..." I took a deep breath. "He's having an affair."

Three seconds of silence on the other end.

"That's impossible." Chris was emphatic. "Yvette, are you being paranoid? Pre-surgery anxiety is normal, but Edward would never—"

"I have proof." I cut her off. "I saw them together with my own eyes. In Chelsea."

A longer silence.

"Are you home?" Chris finally said. "I'll be there in twenty minutes."

Chris burst through the door with disheveled hair, wearing sweatpants and a jacket, clearly having rushed straight from bed.

"Photos." She held out her hand, no pleasantries.

I pushed my phone across. The screen showed the last picture I'd taken, rain blurring the lens but clear enough.

Chris stared at the photo, her face growing whiter by the second.

Her hands began to shake.

"This can't be happening." She whispered, fingers zooming in on the photo. "Now we're completely screwed..."