Chapter 3

Logan didn't come home all night. Instead, Alison added me on social media.

Almost against my will, I clicked into her feed.

Post after post, it was nothing but their life together.

Last Sunday, she had posted a photo of Logan from behind as he made her a mug of hot chocolate. The caption read: [You said I'd always come first.]

But that day, my mom had a heart attack, and Logan had told me he was stuck in an urgent meeting. I rushed back from out of town overnight and took her to the hospital myself.

The further I scrolled, the heavier my heart grew.

When I reached May 15 of last year, my heart skipped a painful beat.

Alison had posted a nine-photo grid of the two of them getting their marriage license at the county clerk's office. From the marriage license to a selfie of them kissing, it was sickeningly sweet. [Today, the whole world became mine.]

But that day was the anniversary of my dad's death. Logan had claimed he had something important to take care of and couldn't come with me to visit his grave.

I forced out a smile. So this was the important thing he'd meant.

The next second, Alison sent me a photo. Logan was sound asleep beside her, his chest covered in hickeys.

Those dark red marks stabbed at my eyes.

Every time I was hurting the most and needed Logan the most, he was always by another woman's side.

Early the next morning, I drove to the Fallen Heroes Memorial Cemetery. Before I left, I wanted to say a proper goodbye to my dad.

As I wiped the photo on his headstone, my thoughts drifted back to the day he died in the line of duty.

In his final moments in the emergency room, Dad held Logan's hand and entrusted Mom and me to his care.

Logan, usually so proud, dropped to his knees beside the bed in front of all the doctors and nurses and choked out a vow, "Rest easy. As long as I have breath in my body, I will never let Natalie be wronged, not even a little."

Only then did Dad close his eyes in peace.

I cried in Logan's arms until I fainted more than once. From that day on, I saw him as the man I'd spend the rest of my life with.

He told me that in everyone else's eyes, I was Captain Tisdale, the woman nothing could break. But with him, I could be fragile. I didn't have to be strong. I could lean on him completely.

Yet behind my back, he had abandoned me again and again for Alison.

"Natalie, I knew you'd be here!"

Logan's anxious voice came from behind me and pulled me out of my thoughts.

His eyes were ringed with dark circles, and his whole face was drawn with exhaustion. He pulled me into his arms.

"You're still hurt, so why are you running around? And your phone's off. Do you have any idea how worried I was when I couldn't find you?"

I looked at the dark circles under his eyes, and the bed photo Alison had sent me last night flashed through my mind unbidden.

A wave of nausea rose in me. I shoved him away hard and said calmly, "Logan, let's get a divorce."

The moment the words left my mouth, I saw the shock on his face. I gave a self-mocking smile and lowered my head to hide the bitterness in my eyes.

"No, wait, I forgot. Our marriage certificate is fake. How is that a divorce?

"Let's break up. From now on, we go our separate ways and have nothing more to do with each other."

Logan's face darkened, and he blurted out, "I don't agree to that!"

He took a deep breath and was about to say more when his phone suddenly rang. The caller ID read "Silverwater Bay Property Management."

"Hello, Mr. Callum. Are you Alison Waller's husband?"

Logan shot me a guilty look, his voice a little strained. "Yes, I am. What happened?"

I let out a soft laugh.

Those few words tore away the last shred of dignity left between us.

"Please come right away! Your wife is up on the roof threatening to kill herself! She's extremely agitated. She's demanding that the mistress come here, get on her knees, and apologize, or else she says she'll jump and take the baby with her!"

Logan's face changed drastically, and he grabbed me to drag me along.

"What are you doing?!"

Logan rubbed his brow irritably. "Didn't you hear? Come with me and apologize to Alison. We can't let Alison die over this."

I shook him off in disbelief. I pointed at my father's headstone, and the tears I'd been holding back finally poured out.

"Look where you're standing! You want me to apologize to your mistress right in front of my dad? Can you face the man you were back then?"

"Stop using your dad to guilt me! Some things are more urgent than others, and right now, Alison is what matters most!"

Logan's gaze turned cold. "You're wearing a search and rescue uniform. Saving lives is your duty! Don't let some petty jealousy get a mother and her baby killed and shame your dad in the process."

We had been together for seven years. Logan knew exactly how to press on my weak spots.

Disappointed beyond words, I found myself smiling instead. "Fine, Logan. I'll go with you."