Chapter Three

Briar's POV

After Declan left, I went back to the bedroom to pack. Walking down the hallway, my arm knocked into a potted plant. It crashed to the floor, spilling dirt everywhere.

As I crouched to clean up the mess, I saw the camera.

Two years ago, Beckett had an episode of sleepwalking and hit his head on the coffee table. Worried it might happen again, I'd installed several security cameras around the house. When the sleepwalking stopped, I forgot about them.

But the cameras were still there.

My heart started racing. With trembling hands, I opened the surveillance footage.

The moment the video loaded, I stopped breathing.

In the living room, a woman straddled Declan, her long hair loose, body moving. She was wearing my nightgown—pale blue silk. I'd been looking for it last month, thought I'd lost it in the laundry.

It had been on her.

"Declan, this is so thrilling..." Her voice came through my phone, trembling with excitement. "Wearing your wife's clothes, fucking your wife's husband, in every room of your wife's house..."

She leaned down and kissed him. He didn't push her away. He pulled her closer.

Then Declan lifted her and pressed her against the floor-to-ceiling windows—exactly where Lillian said she'd seen them.

Fighting nausea, I scrolled to the last video. The timestamp showed the morning before I came home, 7 AM.

Declan stood by the door in loungewear while the woman got dressed. She pulled a small remote from her bag and pressed it into his hand.

"This is for you," she whispered in his ear, standing on her toes. "The vibrator is inside me right now. Even when your wife comes home, we can keep playing..."

Declan smiled, wrapped an arm around her waist, and kissed her lips.

I paused the video and zoomed in—it was the same remote control I'd found in the nightstand.

I closed my phone and mechanically continued packing. As I dragged my suitcase out of the bedroom, Beckett was on the sofa playing his new game. He looked up, saw the luggage, and blinked.

"Mom, are you going somewhere?"

"Yes," I kept my tone light. "Thea's bringing Ivy to Valen City. I promised to stay with them for a few days. Ivy's only ten—it's hard for Thea managing a child alone."

Beckett nodded, completely convinced. "How long will you be gone?"

"About a week." I said. "I'll take them shopping. You and Dad stay home and be good. Mom will be back soon."

"Okay," Beckett said, returning to his game.

I dragged my suitcase toward the door. Before I even left the living room, I heard his voice.

"Dad! Dad!"

He grabbed his phone and quickly dialed.

I stopped at the entrance, pretending to organize my shoes.

"Dad, Mom's going to stay with Thea for a few days, so you don't have to rush home!" Beckett's voice dropped, but I heard every word. "Dad, remember to thank Anastasia for me! I love the gaming console she gave me! When Mom's gone, you can bring her over. I want to thank her in person!"

Anastasia.

Finally, a name.

My fingers gripped the suitcase handle so hard my knuckles turned white.

"Don't worry, Dad, I'll be good! You and Anastasia have fun—don't worry about me!" Beckett's voice was sweet as honey.

My eight-year-old son had become so skilled at playing matchmaker between his father and his mistress. He'd even accepted gifts from her and wanted to thank her face-to-face.

I turned to look at Beckett. He hung up and flashed me a brilliant smile.

"Mom, Dad says to be careful on the road. He'll take good care of me!"

"Good." I nodded and walked out with my suitcase.

The moment I closed the door, I leaned against the hallway wall and took a deep breath. Bone-deep cold. My eight-year-old son was helping his father cheat on me, even enjoying it.

I booked a room at the Grandeur Hotel downtown, planning to stay there for the two weeks before leaving Valen City. After dropping off my luggage, I met Thea at the hotel's ground-floor café to confirm details about the new job—responsibilities, salary, start date. Everything was moving forward.

Near the end of our conversation, Thea mentioned that Ivy had a violin competition the day after tomorrow and invited me to watch. She pulled out her phone and showed me a promotional poster. "One of the judges is a young violinist named Anastasia Pierce. She's Ivy's idol."

The woman in the poster wore a black evening gown, holding a violin, her long hair loose, her smile elegant.

Identical to the woman I'd seen in the surveillance footage.

My hand holding the coffee cup froze for a moment. Then I nodded and agreed to go.

That evening, Declan sent a message: Briar, Beckett said you're with Thea. When you get back, I'll take you to that French restaurant you've been wanting to try. Just the two of us. A proper date night. ❤️

I stared at the heart emoji and laughed. He was probably with Anastasia right now, wasn't he? Sending sweet messages while holding another woman? Or had he brought her home again?

I didn't reply. Instead, I contacted my lawyer, Lachlan Rhodes, and had him draft divorce papers. Lachlan said that since my husband was the guilty party, I was entitled to half of our marital assets.

On the day of Ivy's violin competition, I received the divorce papers from Lachlan.

I immediately called a courier and had him deliver the package to Declan's hospital. Declan would never expect what that unexpected package contained—not just divorce papers, but also the remote control I'd found in our bedroom.