Chapter Three

CHAPTER 3 

 THE BETRAYAL SHE NEVER COMMITTED

Elena’s POV

The photo showed me entering a hotel room with another man two years ago, a photo I had never seen before.

I stared at my phone and my fingers went numb and then my heartbeat rang against my ribs.

“No…”

The whisper left my lips and I zoomed in.

My face, my hair, my dress.

Everything looked like me, because it was me, I knew that dress. I bought it for Damien’s birthday dinner.

I remembered wearing it, I remembered leaving the mansion, I remembered attending a charity auction and I remembered drinking wine.

Then…

Nothing.

My breathing became uneven. Nothing. I remembered nothing after that.

The phone slipped from my hand onto the bed and I grabbed it again.

The unknown number was still there and I typed quickly.

Who are you?

The message sent.

A second later, another text arrived.

“ look at the date”.

I immediately did.

Two years ago. September 18.

My stomach dropped.

That date.

I knew that date. I knew it very well because that was the night Damien almost ended our marriage.

Not officially but emotionally.

Before that night, things were getting better between us.

He would come home earlier, sometimes we ate dinner together, sometimes we talked, sometimes he even smiled and then everything changed.

After September 18, he became distant, he stopped touching me, stopped looking at me and stopped trying.

At that time, I thought it was because of work. Now…

My hands began shaking.

Was it because of this photo? Another message arrived.

“Ask yourself why your husband stopped trusting you.”

I stared at the words and then type again.

“Who sent this?”

There was no answer and then I called the number but it was switched off.

My chest tightened, someone wanted me to see this but why now? Why wait two years? And why send it today?

I got out of bed immediately because I needed answers, tonight, right now.

I opened my closet and searched through old boxes.

Receipts. Documents. Old planners. Photographs.

I pulled everything onto the floor.

Hours passed and then finally I found it.

My planner from two years ago and my heart raced.

I flipped through pages.

September. September. September. There.

September 18.

I stared at the note written in my own handwriting.

Charity Auction.

7 PM.

Then dinner with Damien and I frowned.

Dinner?

I never made it to dinner. I remembered Damien waiting for me that night and I remembered him being furious afterward.

Why?

Because I never showed up, I closed my eyes and I tried to remember, tried to force my brain to give me something, anything and then suddenly…

A flash, music, laughter, a glass of wine, another glass.

Someone handed me a drink, a woman’s smile and then darkness.

I opened my eyes and my entire body froze, drugged.

I was drugged and the realization crashed into me.

That was why I could not remember.

That was why the night felt broken inside my head.

Someone drugged me, someone took me to that hotel, someone made sure photographs existed.

My stomach twisted. Who? Why? Who hated me enough to do this?

And why would they want Damien to think I cheated?

The questions spinned through my head and then another thought appeared.

A terrifying thought. What if Damien had seen this photo?

What if this was the reason? What if he believed I betrayed him?

I grabbed my bag and rushed out. I needed proof. I needed answers and I needed to know everything.

The next morning, I visited a law office, a lawyer I trust.

One who helped with my marriage contract years ago.

He looked surprised when I walked into his office.

“Mrs. Moretti.”

I forced a smile.

“I need a favor.”

An hour later, he returned with a file and my heart rang.

“Are you sure you want to see this?”

I nodded and he slid the file toward me and then I opened it.

The first page nearly stopped my heart. Divorce Agreement.

I already knew that part but then I saw the date and my eyes widened.

“No…”

The lawyer looked uncomfortable and I turned the page, then another, then another and the date remained the same.

Two years ago. Two years. Two whole years.

The papers were prepared two years ago, not yesterday, not last month but two years.

I gripped the edge of the desk and my vision blurred.

The room spinned.

That meant Damien did not suddenly decide to leave me.

He planned it, for two years, for two years he smiled at me, for two years he kissed me, for two years he shared a bed with me and for two years he acted like my husband.

While planning our divorce, pain tore through my chest and I could not breathe.

The lawyer said something but I did not hear him.

All I heard was Damien’s voice, all I saw was his face, all I felt was betrayal.

Two years, two years.

I left the office in a daze.

The city moved around me, people walked past, cars passed by and everything felt unreal.

I needed to see Damien, I needed him to explain and I needed him to look me in the eye and tell me why.

My phone rang and his name appeared. Damien.

For a moment, my heart betrayed me, even now, even after everything. Just seeing his name affected me.

I answered immediately.

“Damien.”

There was silence and then his voice.

“Where are you?”

I almost laughed.

Now he wanted to know?

Now?

“Why?”

“Answer the question.”

The familiar authority in his voice irritated me.

“No.”

His tone became harder.

“Elena.”

“No.”

I stopped walking and tears filled my eyes.

“You don’t get to demand anything from me anymore.”

There was silence and then he spoke again.

“We’ll discuss this tonight.”

I laughed bitterly.

“Discuss what? The divorce you’ve been planning for two years?”

The line went silent and my heart rang.

He knew, he knew exactly what I was talking about.

“Who told you that?” he asked and I closed my eyes.

There it was.

Confirmation.

My chest hurt and before I could answer, a loud engine roared somewhere nearby. It was fast, too fast and people began shouting.

I then turned my head and a black car was racing directly toward me and my eyes widened.

The driver did not slow down, he sped up, straight at me and the phone slipped from my hand.

Everything happened at once, people screamed, tires screeched and my body froze.

The car got closer, closer and closer and then suddenly someone grabbed me, strong arms yanked me backward and I crashed against a hard chest.

A second later, the car flew past where I was standing and the force of the wind hit my face.

My knees nearly gave out and my entire body shook.

The stranger steadied me and I struggled to breathe.

The black car disappeared into traffic.

Gone. Just like that. As if it never happened.

I looked up at the man who saved me, his face was unfamiliar. I had never seen him before.

He then studied me for a long moment and then he leaned closer and his voice dropped.

“If you want to live, stop digging into your husband’s secrets.”