Chapter 1

The man in front of me propped his head on one hand and held out the other, demanding 560 thousand dollars.

His tone was offhand, with a hint of a threat beneath it. "Give the money back and stay away from my wife for good, and I'll let this whole thing go.

"Otherwise... you're a lawyer, so you should know that as her fiancé, I have plenty of ways to get that money back.

"When that happens, your reputation won't survive it. Since we're both men, I'd rather not make this too ugly."

I glanced at the hand stretched toward me, and only then did it dawn on me what he meant.

He thought I was his wife's lover?

No wonder he'd waited outside so long, just to consult me on a legal matter. This was the misunderstanding he'd had waiting for me.

But I'd been married for five years, and my life ran like clockwork: work, home, and back again. When would I ever have had the chance to get involved with someone's wife?

I pushed his hand back and tried to reason with him. "Mr. Myer, I'm sure you've got the wrong person. I've been married for years, and I've never even had the chance to meet your wife.

"There has to be some misunderstanding here. Ask me whatever you want, and I'll cooperate, as long as it clears this up."

I figured once I explained, that would be the end of it. As soon as the misunderstanding was cleared up, I could show him out.

Instead, Eddie Myer shot to his feet, pulled out a stack of photos, and hurled them right in my face.

"Quit playing innocent! How could I have the wrong guy? The man in these pictures is you!

"You're married, and you still go after someone else's wife? Have you no shame? And you're supposed to be some famous big-shot lawyer!

"You can't even keep your own nose clean. What gives you the right to handle other people's cheating cases?"

The photos hit my face before I could react. When I opened my eyes, I picked up one of the scattered pictures and took a closer look.

The man in the photos really was me.

I was stunned. By the looks of it, he'd been secretly investigating me for a long time.

Puzzled, I asked him, "What's your wife's name? How long have you two been married?"

"Ashley Steiner." He paused for a few seconds. "Right now, she's still my fiancée, but we're getting married in a few days.

"Don't look so confused. A while back, I found out my fiancée kept going to see you, so I followed you around. As her fiancé, I don't see anything wrong with that.

"It's insurance, in case anything ever goes wrong between me and my fiancée down the line. So I'm dealing with you ahead of time."

A vague unease stirred inside me.

Ashley Steiner? Wasn't that my wife's name?

Since when was she getting married again? How did I not know about this?

Just then, my phone screen lit up. It was a text from Ashley.

Ashley: [Honey! What do you want to eat today? Which restaurant? What time do you get off work? Want me to come wait for you?]

Ashley: [Hmm, let me guess. My darling husband definitely wants me to come pick him up!]

Ashley: [Today's our fifth wedding anniversary, and your surprise has been ready for ages. You're allowed to get just a teeny bit excited!]

Her messages put my mind at ease.

Ashley was still as in love with me as ever. I knew there had to be a misunderstanding. It was probably someone with the same name, and he'd gotten the wrong person.

Ashley and I had dated for three years and been married for five. Everyone around us envied what we had.

There was no way she'd find another man on the side, let alone betray me.