Chapter Two. Betrayed By My Husband

The room seemed to drop by several degrees, the air in the office turning suddenly frigid.

For a second, Elowen couldn't process the words. They reached her ears as a dull, muffled sound, as though Lysander were speaking from behind a thick glass wall. Her mind refused to accept what he had just told her.

"What?" Her voice came out tight and disbelieving. She leaned forward slightly, as if she needed him to repeat it in a language she could understand.

Lysander didn't look away. His expression stayed calm. "Your husband is cheating with my wife."

Elowen stared at him, her mouth slightly open. For a moment, she couldn't believe he was serious. Then the absurdity of it sank in, and she let out a short laugh and shook her head.

"Oh, come on, brother-in-law." She waved a hand dismissively, trying to hide her disbelief behind a smile. "What kind of sick joke is that?"

Lysander didn't react to her laugh. He didn't get defensive, and he didn't try to argue her out of it. He simply sat there, letting the sound fade into the quiet room.

"I don't joke about things like that," he said quietly.

Elowen's smile faltered. She searched his face, waiting for him to admit he was only trying to provoke her, but there was no amusement in his amber eyes. Not even a trace.

"You're out of your mind," she said. "What kind of accusation is that, Lysander? You're accusing your own brother of sleeping with your wife! Do you even hear yourself?"

"I know what I'm saying."

Elowen shook her head. She had always known the two brothers weren't close, but she had never imagined Lysander would say something so terrible about Kieran.

"I know you and Kieran don't always get along, but that's no reason to accuse him of this. Whatever happened between you two, you shouldn't drag Valentina and me into it."

Something flickered in Lysander's amber eyes.

"So you think I'm making this up because I have a problem with my brother?"

"I didn't say that." Elowen sighed, working to keep her voice calm. "I'm saying there must be some kind of misunderstanding. Perhaps you saw something and got the wrong idea."

Lysander didn't bother arguing. He reached into his pocket, took out his phone, and unlocked it. He found a video and pressed play before turning the screen toward her.

Her eyes fell on it, and she froze.

It was Kieran. Her Kieran, with Valentina.

Elowen stared at the screen, unable to believe what she was seeing. Her husband's hands were on another woman's body, and he was completely lost in the moment. And that woman was her sister-in-law. Valentina's thin, breathless voice spilled out of the tiny speaker, filling the quiet office.

Elowen's body began to tremble. Her eyes burned red. No. No, it can't be. That can't be him.

Seeing her go rigid, Lysander paused the video and drew the phone back. The sudden silence was worse than the sound.

A laugh slipped out of her, shaky and strange.

"This isn't true," she whispered. "My Kieran can't do this to me. He loves me. He can't..." Her voice cracked and gave out before she could finish.

"I understand how you feel, Elowen." Lysander's voice was low, with a weary edge of hurt under it, and he let out a slow breath. "I felt the same way when I found out my wife was cheating. But this is the truth. I thought you should know. We didn't deserve to be betrayed like this."

The words broke something in her. Tears gathered, then spilled down her cheeks, and she didn't try to stop them. She pressed a hand over her mouth, as if she could hold the pain in, but it came anyway, quiet and shaking.

Lysander pressed his lips together and said nothing more. He understood her pain because he had once loved Valentina just as deeply. He knew what it felt like to discover that the person you loved had betrayed you, and there was nothing he could say to make the pain disappear.

However, he hadn't come to comfort her. He had something else planned, but seeing how broken she was, he decided against bringing it up.

He stood, walked to the door, and hesitated for half a second with his hand on the handle. Then he pulled it open and stepped out. The door closed softly behind him, and the sound of her crying followed him down the corridor until it faded.

Behind him, in the quiet office, Elowen bent forward over her desk, and the tears came harder.

In the car, Daniel glanced at him through the rearview mirror.

"Sir, did it go well? Did she agree?"

Lysander leaned back against the seat and looked out the window. The glass building of Whitmore Cosmetics slid past under the noon sun.

"I didn't ask her."

"Sir?"

"She wasn't in any state to hear it." He closed his eyes. "Drive."

******

Elowen did not know how long she had sat there.

When the tears finally slowed, she pulled a tissue from the box on her desk and pressed it carefully beneath her eyes, then wiped the rest of her face. Her hands were still unsteady. She took a long breath, then another, the way she would tell anyone else to.

It did not help. The video was still there behind her eyes.

She could not stay here. She could not sit through meetings and approve campaigns with that image in her head.

She picked up the phone on her desk. "Cancel everything I have for the rest of the day."

"Miss Whitmore? Is something wrong?" her assistant asked.

"I'm just not feeling well. Reschedule what you can."

She gathered her bag and left before anyone could look at her too closely.

When she arrived home, Maria, one of the househelps, came forward to greet her.

“Welcome home, ma'am.”

Elowen managed a small smile. “Thank you, Maria.”

Maria took one look at her face and noticed how dull she looked. “Are you alright, ma'am? You don't look well.”

“I'm fine,” Elowen replied, forcing another smile. “I'm just tired.”

"Would you like me to prepare something for you?"

"No, thank you. I just need some rest."

She walked up the stairs to her room.

She lay down on the bed without changing. The ceiling above her was the same one she had stared up at the night before, in Kieran's arms, happier than she had been in months.

The best night of my marriage.

The video played again. His hands. Valentina's voice.

She turned onto her side and pressed her face into the pillow. The tears came again, quiet and slow, until she did not have the strength for them anymore. At some point, exhaustion pulled her under.

When she opened her eyes, the light in the room had changed.

The door opened, and Kieran walked in.

"You're home," he said, loosening his tie.

Elowen pushed herself up. "Yes. I came back early."

"Hm." He glanced at her, then looked again, and a small frown formed between his brows. "Elowen, are you okay? You look..."

She forced a smile onto her face. "I'm fine. Just exhausted from work."

He studied her for a moment. "If work is too stressful, you should take a break. Let the people there handle it."

"Mm."

Kieran did not dwell on it. He glanced at his watch. "Get ready. Valentina's celebration is in an hour."

"Okay," Elowen said.

She got out of bed and headed into the bathroom to freshen up. Then she opened the closet, chose a dress, and began to get ready, as if it were any other evening.

******

The car ride was quiet.

Elowen stared out the window as the city slid by in lights and shadows. Beside her, Kieran was absorbed in his phone, his thumb moving steadily across the screen. Neither of them said a word

The celebration was being held at one of the city's most prestigious five-star hotels. The entrance was brightly lit, with several luxury cars pulling up one after another. Staff members stood by the doors, welcoming guests and checking invitations.

Kieran stepped out first and came around to help Elowen out of the car. Together, they walked into the hotel.

The ballroom was already filled with guests. Actors and actresses she had only seen on screen, directors, producers, and other important figures in the entertainment industry mingled around the room. The celebration marked the completion of Valentina's latest film, the biggest project Wells Enterprises had backed in the entertainment industry. Champagne glasses clinked, and laughter drifted over the music

"Elowen! Kieran! You're here!"

Elowen heard the voice before she saw her, bright and sweet and full of excitement.

They turned.

A young woman was walking toward them with her arms open. She wore a pale gown that floated around her as she moved, and her dark hair fell in soft waves over her shoulders. Her skin was luminous, her eyes large and clear, and her smile was so warm and so gentle that she looked almost angelic. It was the kind of face people trusted at first sight.

Valentina.

Elowen stared at her.

She looked into those clear, bright eyes, the eyes of a woman who had hugged her a hundred times, and all she could hear was a thin, breathless voice spilling from a phone speaker...