chapter one

Evelyn's POV

Today was his 30th birthday. And I had the best gift in the world folded in my hands. Three years. That was how long I had been Liam Marlon's wife. I stood in front of the mirror and smoothed my dress. Inside my small white box was a single sheet of paper, a hospital test result. It had changed my whole life a week ago. Six weeks pregnant, it read.

I pressed the box to my chest and smiled. Maybe this was it. Maybe a baby would finally open his heart to me. Two years of cold meals and empty beds, and still I hoped. I hated myself for hoping. But I did. "Tonight," I whispered to my own reflection. "Tonight everything changes."

I went downstairs to find him. The snooker room door was open just a little. I heard men's voices and the soft click of balls. Liam. Andrew and Matteo. I lifted my hand to knock. Then I heard my name.

"Evelyn?" Liam laughed. It was an ugly sound. "I have never loved her. Not for one day."

My hand froze in the air.

"Come on," Andrew said. "She's your wife."

"On paper." A ball cracked hard. "Two more years. Two years and the contract ends. Then she's gone, and I never have to look at her sad little face again." I could not breathe. I pressed my back against the wall beside the door.

"You're cold, man," Matteo said. "I'm honest." Liam's voice went soft, almost gentle. I had never heard him speak that way. Not to me. "You both know there is only one woman for me. There always has been."

"Of course, Cherry," Andrew said."Yes, Cherry.” Cherry had always been in the picture it was as though he was married to her. 

I heard him set the stick down. My hand went to my mouth; I already knew he didn't love me. I was not a fool. But knowing and hearing are not the same. Hearing it was like swallowing glass. I looked down at the little white box in my hands.

“Walk away,” a voice inside me said, but another part of me, the hopeful part, held on. He did not know yet. He did not know about the baby. A baby changes a man. It had to. I would give him my gift tonight. I would watch his face when he read that word. And maybe, just maybe, the ice would break.

I wiped my eyes, stood up straight, and walked to the window. A black car rolled up the long drive. The door opened, and Cherry stepped out. She was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. Her hair was long, dark, and shining, falling down her back. Her red dress fitted her like it was made just for her. She moved slowly like the whole world was already hers. Of all people in the world, I couldn't have imagined her here. In my home. On his birthday.

I watched from the window, frozen, as Liam came out to meet her. He laughed. Not his small, polite laugh. Not the tight smile he gave me across the dinner table some mornings. He threw his head back and laughed loud and wild and free, his whole face bright, his hand on her arm. He laughed like a man who was finally, truly happy. He had never once laughed like that with me.

***

The guests came in waves. Men and women from the office looked elegant, servers with silver trays. The hall filled with music and loud, easy talk. I moved through it like a ghost, smiling, nodding, shaking hands. My face did one thing while my heart did another.

I wished Margaret were here; my best friend would have held my hand, said something ridiculous to make me laugh, and reminded me I was stronger than I believed.  Margaret was out of town, promoting a brand for a new campaign. I didn’t want to disturb her with my drama. But Stephanie and Nancy from the office were here, the only people I felt comfortable being around at the office.

I had packed his gift with the others. To be unveiled in front of close friends and family only. I tied it with a thin red ribbon. And on the top, I pressed one small dried flower, a white lily, flat and perfect. Simple. Honest. A gift that said this one is real.

I walked around speaking to some guests from the office, but my eyes were on Liam; Liam wore black that night, and it suited him the way danger suits a knife. The suit was cut close to his body, sharp at the shoulders and clean down the arms, and a black tie over a white shirt as crisp as new paper. His dark hair was pushed back, his jaw shadowed with stubble, and his cold brown eyes moved over the crowd

 He carried Cherry everywhere he went. She barely left his side.  The music slowly faded, and the waiters began clearing the empty glasses. One by one, the guests said their goodbyes. Soon, only Liam’s friends and mine remained, gathered around the scattered tables. 

"Gifts! Time for gifts!" someone called.

Everyone gathered around Liam. He sat in the center like a king. One by one they came. A gold watch. A bottle of something old and expensive. A set of car keys that made the room clap. My heart pounding. "Liam," the white box. "I have something…"

"Wait." Cherry's voice cut across the room, smooth as honey. She smiled. "Save the best for last. Open hers last, Liam." Everyone laughed. Liam smiled at her. "Of course." So I stood back and waited again. I was always waiting.

He opened the rest. Then only one was left on the table. My white box, the one with the lily. "Let's see what your wife got for you," Cherry said sweetly, and she picked up the box and placed it in his hands herself.

Liam pulled the red ribbon. He lifted the lid; his face changed immediately. The smile fell away. His jaw went tight. The whole room leaned in, curious, quiet. He reached inside and lifted out a stack of photographs. Glossy, printed photographs.

The room went silent. Liam's eyes lifted slowly from the pictures. They found me across the room. And in them I saw something I had never managed to put there in three whole years. Fire.

"Evelyn," he said, very quietly. "What is this?" I looked at the photos, which were not supposed to be there, speechless.