FIVE

DAISY’S POV

“Your husband has been on a call outside since you entered the house.” he continued, “That’s why he’s not inside. But give him two minutes, and he’ll come in.”

No. No, that couldn’t be right.

I turned toward the window. Aaron stood outside with his phone pressed to his ear, his lips moving rapidly.

My entire body went on alert.

How the hell did this man know that?

“Who the fuck are you? How are you seeing this?”

“Relax, Daisy. The only person I want to harm is Aaron. You? I’d never touch you.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“Soon enough, you will. But first, our game.” His voice held an almost lazy confidence. “When your bastard of a husband comes inside, he’ll tell you the Lycans have called a meeting. He’ll claim he has to leave for business. I want you to follow him.”

I frowned. “Follow him?”

“Exactly. I want you to see the truth with your own eyes. There’s no Lycan meeting, no urgent business. He’s going somewhere specific. Somewhere you visited five days ago.”

My stomach tightened.

The only place I visited five days ago was my friends’ house.

“And if he doesn’t go there?”

A deep, rich laugh rumbled through the phone.

“I’ll wager my entire kingdom that he will. Unless you somehow manage to stop him, of course.”

“Y-you don’t know what you’re talking about,” I stammered. “Aaron would never cheat on me. You’re fucking sick, and when I find you, I’ll—”

“Mm. Always so mouthy, aren’t you, Daisy?” He chuckled. “I’d love to see you try to find me. In fact, I encourage it.”

The keys jingled at the front door.

“Follow him, Daisy. I’ll call you when you see what I’ve been telling you. You’ll need a shoulder to cry on, and I’ll be happy to provide mine.”

The call disconnected.

I stared at the screen, furious and unsettled. Whoever this bastard was, he was clearly insane.

Aaron would never cheat on me.

My friends would never sleep with my husband.

Never.

Footsteps sounded in the hallway, and Aaron appeared around the corner with an apologetic smile.

“Aaron, you wouldn’t believe—”

“I have to go, baby.” He cut me off, waving his phone. “Something’s come up at the office. The Lycans want an urgent meeting, and they need me there.”

I sprang to my feet. The man’s words echoed in my head.

He’ll claim he has to leave for business.

“Wait! We need to—”

“It won’t take long.” Aaron kissed my forehead, then my lips. “I’ll be back before you know it.”

He turned toward the door, pausing briefly to glance over his shoulder.

“Love you.”

Then he was gone.

For several seconds, I couldn’t move. The strangers words rang in my head again. Aaron is cheating on me. My husband of five years is cheating.

“No.” I wiped them away angrily. “I’m going to prove that bastard wrong.”

I grabbed my bag, locked the front door, and hurried outside. Aaron’s SUV was already disappearing down the street.

I waved frantically at the first taxi I saw and climbed inside.

“Follow that black SUV!”

The driver pulled into traffic.

Aaron was driving like a madman. I’d never seen him like this. Usually, he was composed, controlled, and impossible to rattle. Now, he drove as though something was chasing him.

If I didn’t know about the supposed meeting, I’d have believed the Lycans were after him.

For years, werewolves and Lycans had been at war. Lycans considered us inferior, a weaker version of their kind, and countless lives had been lost to the conflict. When Aaron inherited the Alpha King title from his late father, he’d tried to negotiate peace. The old Lycan king had refused, but his successor had finally agreed to sign the treaty.

Perhaps that explained Aaron’s urgency and the stranger was lying about everything.

As the taxi followed the SUV, the familiar streets gradually gave way to the route I’d taken five days earlier.

My friends’ house.

My chest tightened.

Maybe Aaron was collecting something for another surprise. Tomorrow was our anniversary, after all. Perhaps he wanted to cheer me up after losing our baby.

Yes. That had to be it.

Aaron loved me. He’d promised never to cheat on me again, and he was one of the highest-ranked husbands in the werewolf community for his loyalty. He was the Alpha King, a man who publicly stood by his wife.

He wouldn’t betray me again.

The taxi drew closer to my friends’ neighborhood. Aaron approached the final turn toward their house, and I leaned forward, holding my breath.

Then he swerved.

Instead of turning toward the house, he took another road.

“What the hell?” I whispered.

My phone rang.

Aaron’s name flashed across the screen. Before I could answer, another phone began ringing.

The private number.

I glanced between the two screens, confused. Why were they calling me simultaneously?

I reached for Aaron’s call, but my phone suddenly went black. I pressed the power button repeatedly. Nothing happened.

“Do you have a charger?” I asked the driver.

He nodded and pulled over, rummaging through the compartments in his car.

Meanwhile, the other phone wouldn’t stop ringing.

I snatched it up and answered.

“What?”

“Find the nearest phone repair shop and go there now.”

The playful confidence in the man’s voice had vanished.

“What?”

“I think you’re being tracked, Daisy. Have someone examine your phone. If necessary, have them check you for a tracking device, too. I can send someone to help.”

I let out a bitter laugh.

“So now that my husband didn’t go to the house, you think I’m being tracked? You think he somehow figured out I was following him and changed his route?”

“Daisy—”

“No! What if you’re lying about everything?” I could feel tears forming, the back of my eyes burning. “Aaron would never cheat on me, we’ve been together for ten years. Ten years. He won’t do that. And he’d never track me without my knowledge!”

“Interesting.” His voice turned cool. “I’ve been wondering how your husband knew you were going to that address, how he managed that pathetic excuse for a surprise, and why he changed direction just before reaching the house.”

My fingers tightened around the phone.

“The simplest explanation is that he knows where you are and has access to your devices.”

“You’re a liar!” I snapped, not wanting to believe.

No. All my life. All my years I spent on this marriage:

“Then prove me wrong.” He said calmly now, as if he could see that I’m hurting. “Find out why he changed his route. Find out how your friends knew about those messages when they didn’t have the number that sent them. Find out, and whatever you want to do then, I’ll let you do.”

I fell silent.

The questions I’d been trying to ignore returned with brutal clarity.

“It won’t cost you a dime,” he continued. “And if it does, I’ll pay. Now, Daisy.”

He hung up.

The taxi driver turned toward me apologetically.

“I’m sorry, ma’am. I don’t have a charger, and I’ve lost the SUV.”

“It’s fine.”

I forced a smile, though my thoughts were racing.

Aaron wouldn’t do this to me. Keeping a secret was one thing, but tracking my every move? Monitoring my private messages?

He knew what I’d been through with my parents. He knew how much I valued my privacy.

He wouldn’t.

“I’ve changed my mind,” I told the driver. “Take me back to where you picked me up.”

I trusted my husband.

I wasn’t going to let a stranger convince me otherwise.

⸻

Twenty minutes later, I stood inside a phone repair shop, pacing while a technician examined my device.

I wanted him to tell me everything was fine. That the stranger was lying and I could go home and forget this entire nightmare.

But when the technician returned, his expression made my heart sink.

“Ma’am, who has access to your phone?”

“My husband. Why?”

He hesitated before turning the screen toward me.

“I’m sorry, but there’s monitoring software installed on your device. It’s fortunate you brought it in.”

I stared at him.

“Monitoring software?”

“Yes. Whoever installed it may be able to access your messages, calls, photos, browsing activity, and location. Depending on how it’s configured, they could see almost everything you do on your phone.”

My body went rigid.

Aaron wouldn’t do that.

No.

He wouldn’t.

“He’s either extremely protective of you, doesn’t trust you, or…” The technician trailed off, looking uncomfortable. “He’s invading your privacy.”

“My husband isn’t—”

The denial died on my tongue.

I couldn’t finish the sentence.

Even if Aaron had done it to protect me, why hadn’t he told me? Why would he secretly monitor the one thing I’d always been afraid of losing control over?

What else was he hiding?

As though summoned by my thoughts, my phone rang in the technician’s hand.

Aaron.

The man I’d called my husband for ten years.

I stared at his name on the screen, unable to bring myself to answer.

For the first time in our marriage, I wondered whether I had ever truly known him.