Chapter 1 - My Husband Was Cheating… In My Basement

Evelyn

“I want a divorce.”

The words sat on my tongue like something bitter I couldn’t swallow, even though I had already said them out loud.

“Are you sure you want me to start drafting your divorce?” Tessa’s voice came through again, tight with disbelief, like she was trying to hold me together through the phone.

I didn’t answer immediately.

My fingers tightened around the glass in my hand, the cold surface biting into my skin as the alcohol burned down my throat, but it didn’t help. It didn’t dull anything. If anything, it made everything clearer.

Three hours ago, I still thought I had a husband.

Now?

I let out a quiet, hollow breath, my grip tightening.

“Do it, Tessa,” I said finally, my voice lowered. “Start drafting it.”

There was a pause on the other end.

“That man is a good man,” she said, softer now, almost pleading. “You even gave up your modeling career for him. He loves you, Evelyn. He’s perfect for you.”

A dry laugh slipped past my lips before I could stop it.

Perfect.

Yes. Sebastian had always played that role flawlessly, the loving husband, the man everyone admired, the man I had believed in so completely it now felt humiliating.

Because three hours ago—My fingers tightened around the glass.

I had stood in front of the mirror, smoothing down my dress for what felt like the hundredth time. The black sequined gown hugged my body perfectly, the slit revealing just enough.

I remember smiling, my mind filled with nothing but anticipation as I waited for him to come home and celebrate my birthday with me.

Then my phone beeped. That same number again, the one that had been sending me strange messages for days, messages I had dismissed without a second thought. I was about to block it when another message came in.

[ You’re waiting for your man, while he’s in another woman’s hands.”]

My smile faded instantly, confusion tightening into something colder, sharper. How did they know I was waiting? How did they know he wasn’t home?

Before I could think it through, another message appeared, this time with pictures. My breath caught as I stared at the screen, my heart beginning to pound in a way that felt wrong.

Sebastian. Naked. In bed. With another woman.

“No…” I whispered under my breath, shaking my head even as my grip on the phone tightened.

This had to be fake. AI, editing, anything but real. It had to be.

[“I can send you the address to confirm it yourself.”]

My hands trembled as I typed back, my thoughts no longer steady enough to protect me. “Send the address.”

[ “They’re in your basement."]

My eyes widened, my heartbeat stuttering painfully. That couldn’t be right. Our basement was never used. No one went there. And yet, something pulled me forward. Before I realized it, I was walking toward it, each step heavier than the last, the air growing colder as I descended.

Then I saw it. A tie…His tie.

The same one I had adjusted for him that morning, my fingers smoothing it against his chest while he smiled down at me.

It lay on the floor, beside it was a red bra, identical to the one he had given me on my last birthday.

My chest tightened so hard it hurt to breathe.

And then I saw them.

Sebastian stood there, completely exposed, his hand gripping a woman’s hair as she knelt before him, her mouth in his dick.

My body went still, my mind struggling to catch up with what my eyes were already seeing.

He pulled back slightly, tightening his grip on her hair as she looked up at him, her lips curling into a confident smile. “Who’s better,” she asked softly, her voice filled with amusement, “me or your wife?”

There was a pause, and in that brief silence, my heart shattered completely.

“You can’t compare,” he said, his tone casual, almost dismissive. “In bed, you’re number one.”

The words hit harder than anything else.

A sharp wave of nausea rushed through me, overwhelming and sudden. My stomach twisted violently as I stumbled back, my hand flying to my mouth. I couldn’t stay there. So I turned and ran, my vision blurring with tears as everything I thought I had crumbled behind me.

That’s how I ended up here.

In a bar I didn’t recognize, holding onto a drink like it was the only thing keeping me upright.

“Evelyn? Are you there?” Tessa’s voice snapped me back.

I lifted the glass to my lips and took a long swallow, the burn doing nothing to quiet the chaos inside me. “Sebastian is a cheat…” My voice came out uneven, heavy with everything I couldn’t say. “I can’t…”

“You don’t sound okay,” she said immediately. “Where are you? I’m coming to you. This isn’t something we handle over the phone. Evelyn, tell me where you are.”

I turned my head, trying to get the address, but the room tilted slightly, I pushed the chair back, meaning to stand, but the movement came too fast.

My balance slipped, my body tilting forward before I could catch myself.

A hand caught me before I could stumble any farther.

My palms landed against his solid chest, and I froze. Beneath my hands, I felt the warmth of his skin and the faint texture of tattoos stretching across his chest. My breath caught as I slowly looked up, my gaze tracing the sharp lines of his defined jaw, high cheekbones, and straight nose before finally meeting a pair of piercing blue eyes.

For a moment, everything else seemed to disappear.

Then recognition hit me, sharp and immediate. Damon—the man standing before me was Sebastian’s stepbrother, the very man Sebastian had warned me about more times than I could count. Dangerous. Unpredictable. Someone I was supposed to stay far away from.

And yet, there I was, caught in his arms.

I quickly tried to pull away, panic flickering through me, but the movement only sent another wave of dizziness through my head. The world tilted, my body swaying as I struggled to keep my balance.

His hand immediately settled at my waist, steadying me before I could fall.

“Careful,” he said.

His voice was low and controlled, with a hint of something I couldn’t quite read.

A shiver ran through me before I could stop it.

I should have stepped away. I should have said something.

But my body refused to cooperate. My senses were fading, the weight of everything finally catching up with me.

The last thing I felt was his grip tightening slightly around my waist.

And then everything went black.