LOGINMERETNINE MONTHS LATERI used to think the strength of a marriage was measured by how little it was tested.I was wrong.Every marriage gets tested eventually.By distance. By disappointment. By temptation. By the quiet accumulation of things neither person knows how to say.The difference isn't whether the cracks appear.It's what you do when you finally see them.Some couples repair them.Some learn to live around them.And some realize the cracks were never meant to be repaired at all.So, what did I do when mine appeared nine months ago?I chose to learn to live with them.On the night Ethan gave me that ultimatum, I didn't sleep a wink. I spent every dark hour staring at the ceiling, trying to picture what my life would look like if I walked out that door and chose Adrian instead.We would be happy, wouldn't we?We'd travel to foreign cities, drink expensive wine, and lose ourselves in a life that felt thrilling and intoxicating.But as the morning light slowly bled into the room
MERETGetting caught cheating must be one of the strangest forms of guilt there is.You know you've done something wrong long before anyone discovers it. You carry it quietly, tucked inside every lie, every deleted message, every secret smile you were never supposed to have.But somehow, none of it feels real until you watch the person you've betrayed look at you as though he no longer recognizes your face.I would never forget Ethan's expression.Not the moment he saw Adrian's lips against mine.Not the moment his eyes dropped to our hands, still tangled together as though there were nothing wrong with the world.And certainly not the moment I yanked my hand free of Adrian's grip, as if I'd only just remembered I had a husband at all.Before the anger came, there had been something else in Ethan's face.Something somehow worse.It was like watching a building collapse from the inside, all at once and without a sound.I had done that to him.Me.Now, I sat beside him in silence, watch
ETHANThere are some phone calls you answer without thinking.And then there are the ones that make you wish you hadn't.I was halfway through reviewing a report when my phone rang.I almost ignored it.The number belonged to an old friend I hadn't spoken to in months.“Is Meret in town, Ethan?” David asked, his tone unusually tense.I leaned back in my chair, frowning at the sudden question.“No. She's actually away on a business trip in Bay York right now. Why do you ask?”There was a heavy pause on the other end of the line.“Because... I'm at a finance group club in Bay York right now, and I just saw a woman who looks exactly like her.”“It's a big city, David. Plenty of people look alike.” I chuckled, trying to brush it off, but an uneasy knot had already begun forming in my stomach.“Ethan, hear me out,” David insisted softly. “I took a photo. I'm going to send it to you right now. Just check your phone and tell me if I'm losing my mind.”A second later, my phone vibrated.I bro
MERETI was in trouble.Deep, spectacular, completely irreversible trouble.Because I didn't want to go home.I didn't want to think about Ethan.I didn't want to think about my wedding ring, now hidden in my bag.I didn't want to think about what the end of these three days meant.I just wanted Adrian.We had spent the night wrapped up in each other, and somehow, morning had arrived far too quickly.I'd lost count of how many times he'd driven me over the edge. I'd experienced more pleasure in two nights with him than I had in three years of marriage.That realization should have devastated me.Instead, it made me smile.God.What was wrong with me?Adrian was an addict.The man hadn't seemed capable of staying away from me for more than a few minutes. If he was pouring wine, his free hand was on my hip. If he was taking a call, his other hand was holding mine. If he was sleeping, his arms were locked around my waist.And the worst part was...I loved it.I loved being wanted this ba
MERET"Where are we going?" I asked for the third time, struggling to keep pace with his long strides.Adrian glanced back at me, a flicker of amusement dancing in his eyes. “You’ll see.”"That isn’t an answer, Adrian."“It wasn’t supposed to be,” he replied smoothly, not slowing down for a second.I followed him down the marina, my heels clicking against the wooden planks of the walkway.Something about the way he walked told me he'd planned this long before our argument that morning."Adrian?"My steps slowed, then came to a complete halt as we reached the end of the pier.Floating majestically on the turquoise water was a massive, pristine-white yacht, its sleek lines gleaming beneath the afternoon sun.Adrian stopped and turned to look at me, a lazy smirk touching his lips. "We have this baby all to ourselves for the rest of the day."I stared at the vessel, completely stunned."You’re kidding."“No,” he said softly, holding out an open hand toward me. “Come aboard.”I looked at h
MERETAdrian Beaumont fucked me so good, I almost told him I loved him.I turned onto my side and stared at him.In sleep, his features seemed softer than I'd ever seen them. His jaw was relaxed, his lips slightly parted, his breathing slow and even. There was something strangely peaceful about seeing him like this, stripped of the sharp edges he wore so effortlessly during the day.A sudden warmth bloomed in my chest.My hand twitched, almost instinctively wanting to trace the arch of his dark brows. But the moment I lifted it, his eyes snapped open, sharp and dark.I quickly lowered my hand and looked away, heat creeping up my neck.“Were you about to touch me, Meret?” Adrian's voice was a low, velvet rumble, thick with sleep.“I was checking if you were breathing,” I lied, slipping out from beneath the heavy duvet before he could read the guilt on my face.“And here I thought you were making sure I hadn't succumbed to exhaustion,” he said, his voice dripping with dry humor as he pul







