Chapter 6

　　He wasn't just talking about the merger.

　　"What do you want from me?" I asked, my voice quiet.

　　He turned all the way around.

　　"I want us to work together. As a team."

　　The words hung in the cool, quiet air. Not an affair. A partnership.

　　"They think their pain is special. Romantic." His voice was low and exact. "They're addicted to a story. He's addicted to trying to save her. She's addicted to needing to be saved. They feed each other's idea of a tragic, impossible love. We're the casualties. The stable, boring partners who don't 'understand'."

　　Every word cut right to the heart of my marriage, and it was terrifyingly accurate.

　　"I suggest we change the story." He took one step toward me. "We cover for each other. And we prove a point."

　　"Prove what?"

　　"That life goes on. And does it well." He held my gaze.

　　"You will be seen as the capable professional I promoted because you earned it. I will be seen as the CEO who spots and rewards skill. Together, we'll look strong and forward-moving. Their secret, messy problem will look small next to that. Selfish. Stuck."

　　The plan was brutally smart and cold. It wasn't about yelling or breaking things. It was about becoming something so obviously successful that their betrayal looked minor.

　　My heart was beating hard. This was the moment I couldn't come back from.

　　"And in private?" I asked, my throat tight.

　　"In private," he said, "we tell the truth. This falls apart if we lie to each other. We can lie to the world. We don't lie in this room."

　　The demand was scary. And after years of Zane's half-truths, it was the most appealing thing I'd ever heard.

　　I thought of Zane's face in the car. It's always been her.

　　I thought of walking away. Of taking off this dress. Of lying in that guest room bed tonight, listening through the wall for sounds I didn't want to hear. Of waking up tomorrow and doing it all again. Of doing it for another year. Another five. Another ten.

　　That was the cost of saying no.

　　This—whatever this was—was the cost of saying yes.

　　I'd pay anything not to disappear.

　　"What's the first step?" My voice was steady. Decided.

　　He watched me. Not impatiently. Not coldly. But like my answer mattered. Like he'd been waiting for something a long time, and this might be it.

　　He wanted me to say yes. Not for strategy. For him.

　　A slight, cool smile touched his lips—the first real one I'd ever seen from him. It made his cold handsome face much more charming. It could undo many women who saw his smile right now. It wasn't friendly smile. Vance Blackwood had never been friendly. It was a promise of winning together.

　　"Tonight. The Lexington Club. It's private, which means everyone there talks. We'll have a dinner that's very public but very private. The gossip will say we're just leaning on each other. The truth," he said, his eyes sharp, "will be us making a plan."

　　He walked to his desk, picked up his phone, and typed. A second later, my phone buzzed in my pocket.

　　I looked down.

　　Unknown Number: The Lexington Club. 8 PM. Dress the part. -V.

　　I saved the number. I didn't save it as 'Vance.'

　　My thumb hovered. Then I typed my reply.

　　Contact Saved: My Partner.

　　My Message: I'll be there.

　　I looked up. Vance was watching me, his face hard to read.

　　"Good," he said. "We're starting."

　　As I left his office, the sun was coming out, making sharp shadows on the buildings. I didn't go home. I went to an expensive store I usually walked past and bought a simple black dress. It cost a fortune.

　　When I walked back into my apartment that evening, Zane was there. He'd cooked. The table had candles, a sad copy of the nice dinner we never had.

　　"Nerissa," he said, hope and fear on his face. "I thought we could talk."

　　I walked past the table, toward the bedroom, the store bag in my hand.

　　"I have a work dinner," I said, calm. "Don't wait for me."

　　He was confused. "A work dinner? Now? With who?"

　　I paused at the bedroom door and looked back at him. The man I'd loved since I was young. The man who picked me only after losing her.

　　"With my boss," I said, and closed the door.

　　Inside, I put the black dress on the bed. It was a statement. When I came out twenty minutes later, changed, Zane was still standing by the uneaten food, starting to understand.

　　He saw the dress. The sharp cut. The woman who no longer looked like his soft, comfortable wife.

　　"You're wearing that for a work dinner?" he asked, his voice tense.

　　I adjusted the dress, meeting his eyes in the hallway mirror. A different woman looked back. A strong one.

　　"Yes," I said.

　　"You dress like that for Vance Blackwood." It wasn't a question. Silence. Then I noticed his expression turned grim.

　　"That's a lie. Tell me you didn't sleep with him."

　　His accusation stung, but I didn't want to answer. He followed me as I took my bag.

　　"Answer me!"

　　I still said nothing.

　　"Is that why you dressed like this?"

　　I checked on my make up on the mirror.

　　"How long has this been going on?"

　　I kept putting on my earrings.

　　"I knew it. Women don't change this quickly unless there's another man. You were probably attracted to him before today."

　　"Do you truly think I am capable of cheating with you? And sleeping with another man?" I took a glance on him.

　　"I didn't, but you did. I knew you have been cheating on me since our first year of marriage."

　　His eyes widened.

　　"I wasn't. When did I ever do that?" his face reddened.

　　"Do you think you were alone when you were pleasuring yourself while staring at her photograph? Even after we spent the night together? It was more than ten times I caught you doing that thing."

　　His face went pale, he thought it was his secret.

　　"Then you returned to me as if you never imagining yourself inside her. Kissing me and claiming my love." I gritted my teeth.

　　"Still I stay. I helped you secured your firm when it almost go bankrupt because you were too confident of signing a contract without read it thoroughly. I was there helping you convince your client. It was me who revised your proposal to get a new sponsorship until 3 a.m when I got a severe cramp from my period. Remember the promotion you received because I stayed awake three nights fixing your presentation?"

　　My breath was ragged.

　　"And you dare to question my loyalty now?"

　　I shook my head and turned around.

　　I walked out, leaving the ghost of the person I used to be behind in the candlelit room.

　　The night air was cool. A sleek black car was waiting at the curb, right on time. As it drove away from the life I was leaving, my phone buzzed.

　　Zane: Nerissa, please. We need to talk about this.

　　I didn't answer. I looked at the city lights moving past the window, my reflection pale and determined over the bright skyline.

　　Then, another vibration.

　　My Partner: The first move is ours. See you soon.

　　I put the phone away and watched the city blur.

　　I thought about Zane's face as I'd walked out the door. The shock. The confusion. The dawning realization that he'd lost control of me.

　　I thought about all the secrets I'd kept for him. All the ways I'd protected him when he didn't deserve it.

　　I was done protecting him.

　　The car pulled up to the Lexington Club. I stepped out, my heels clicking on the pavement, my reflection in the glass doors showed a woman who was done being invisible.

　　Zane wanted to know what I was doing?

　　He was about to find out.