Chapter 3

I had just changed into loungewear when I heard the front door unlock downstairs.

I froze. What was Silas doing back at this hour?

When I reached the landing and looked down, Silas was in the foyer, bending over to get a pair of slippers for the woman behind him.

Elowen wore an indecently short slip dress with Silas's suit jacket draped over it.

She pouted coyly. "Silas, your house is huge. I hate living alone in my apartment. Can I move in and keep you company?"

Silas smiled and ruffled her hair. "We settled this long ago. You're moving in next week, on your birthday."

Sharp-eyed, Elowen looked up and spotted me.

She froze for a second, then smirked. "Oh, is this your new housekeeper?"

Silas frowned but said nothing to her. Instead, he turned to me. "Vivian, why are you wandering around the living room dressed like that?

"Elowen is a guest. Don't you own a single decent outfit?"

Elowen widened her eyes in feigned surprise, but open provocation gleamed in them.

"So you're the wife Silas has been supporting all these years.

"Silas has told me about you."

She gave me a small smile. "It was an arranged marriage set up by the family. He didn't love you, but the pressure forced him to marry you.

"Who would have guessed you loved Silas so much that you married him without hesitation?"

I didn't take her words to heart.

She was only a woman in her twenties who thought having Silas's affection meant she had the whole world.

I took two steps toward her and spoke slowly. "And what does that make you? His secret mistress?

"When Silas dropped to his knees, sobbing and begging me to marry him, you had nothing to do with it."

The moment the words left my mouth, Silas's voice dropped. "Vivian."

I gave a short laugh. "Not going to admit it?"

Silas ignored me and pulled Elowen closer.

"Vivian, stop bringing up the past. I'm the one holding this household together now. Do you think you could have spent the last ten years living in comfort without me?

"Elowen is still young. Try to be mature."

With Silas backing her, Elowen grew bolder. She tilted her head and looked me up and down.

"Vivian, you wear an apron to make coffee and arrange flowers every day. Do you really think that will keep a man?"

She scoffed. "Madam, your youth is long gone."

Emboldened by her own words, Elowen rose and came toward me.

She was half a head shorter than I was, yet she deliberately lifted her chin to look down her nose at me.

She reached out and toyed with the long hair draped over my shoulder. "Rough hair. Fine lines around your eyes.

"Silas likes women who are young and beautiful, women he can take to events and show off.

"And you? Sagging flesh and a face that looks old no matter how well you care for it."

She stepped closer and lowered her voice. "Do you know what he said after we finished last night? He said he wished he'd met me sooner.

"Youth and excitement. That's what I give him."

Her final words pierced straight through my heart.

My hands clenched, my breath catching for a moment as anger replaced grief.

"Young?"

I turned and studied her face, faintly flushed with triumph.

"You're only living my yesterday. Are you trying to remind Silas that one day, he'll be ashamed to show you off too?

"Elowen, a mistress belongs in the shadows: holed up in an attic or hiding in a sewer, not strutting into my home to provoke me."

I frowned slightly. "You're nothing but a thief wearing someone else's slippers."

Elowen opened her mouth, but I continued. "Besides, my name is on the deed to this house."

The moment I finished, Elowen's expression changed.

"You're nothing but a useless woman Silas has supported for ten years. How could this house belong to you?"

"Is that so?"

I glanced at Silas. "Maybe you should ask him."

Silas shot me an impatient look. "Elowen, ignore her. She's living in a fantasy!"

I scoffed.

"Silas, you had a very different attitude when you begged me for every penny of my savings!"

"You!"

I looked him in the eye and said without mercy, "My lawyer will contact you tomorrow about the divorce.

"Before then, you and this woman can get the hell out of my house."

The smile froze on Silas's face.

His face darkened. "Vivian, are you done with this tantrum? Your name is on the deed, but only as a technicality."

"Is that so?"

I gave a short laugh and opened the folder I'd prepared.

"You have a remarkably short memory, Silas. When we bought this house, your company was short on cash. You didn't contribute a single cent."