Chapter 2

Lena’s POV

I didn’t remember when I fell asleep. When I woke, my phone had already died.

I was about to sit up when I heard footsteps coming down the hall.

“Lena?” Caleb’s voice called softly. “You’re still up?”

He stepped into the room and turned on the lamp. Warm light spilled across the bed, and his eyes immediately filled with concern as he looked at me.

“You’ve just gotten pregnant,” he said gently. “Didn’t the doctor say you shouldn’t stay up late?”

“I just woke up,” I replied quickly, turning my head slightly and avoiding the kiss he leaned down to give me.

Caleb’s smile faltered for a moment. Then his brows drew together. “You’ve been crying?”

He leaned closer again.

That was when I caught the faint scent of perfume clinging to him.

I recognized it instantly. It was a perfume Caleb used to buy for me. Until today, when I discovered Ruby owned the exact same one.

I had never liked the smell, so I rarely wore it.

Which meant the scent on Caleb right now could only belong to Ruby.

He had just been with her.

The thought made my stomach twist. I turned my head and suddenly gagged.

“What’s wrong?” Caleb asked immediately, searching my face.

If I didn’t know the truth, I might have been moved by how worried Caleb looked right now. Just one gag, and my Don husband looked at me like something terrible had happened.

“Nothing,” I said quietly, avoiding his eyes. “Where did you go these past few days?”

His smile flickered again. “Didn’t I tell you? I flew to Italy. One of the deals went wrong over there, and the mafia head wanted to meet me in person.”

I studied his face carefully, searching for even the smallest crack.

But I found nothing.

I wanted to tell him that I knew everything. That I knew he hadn’t gone to Italy at all. That he had stayed right here in the same city, only twenty minutes away, celebrating his unborn child with another woman while I waited at home.

I had never realized Caleb was such a good liar.

Maybe my silence made him uncomfortable. Caleb straightened, loosening his tie. “I’m exhausted,” he said. “I’ll take a shower, then come join you in bed, alright?”

A moment later, I heard the bathroom door close and the sound of water running.

Then, after a few minutes, Caleb’s phone lit up on the bedside table.

I hesitated for only a second before reaching over and picking it up.

A message notification glowed on the screen. To read it, I had to unlock the phone.

Caleb showed to me once that he used our anniversary date as his passcode. I tried it first. Wrong.

Then his birthday. My birthday. None of them worked.

At last, I slowly typed in Ruby’s birthday. The phone unlocked with a soft click.

For years, I had trusted Caleb completely. I had never once thought about checking his phone. I had never noticed how many things he had quietly changed.

The screensaver was changed as well. Two hands intertwined. Ruby’s hand—wearing the same ring I had seen on her finger earlier today.

My fingers trembled slightly as I opened the message.

The newest one was from Ruby. “Miss you already. Can you come back now?"

Just above it was Caleb’s reply. “Had to come home first. Needed to make sure she didn’t get suspicious. I’ll come back as soon as she’s asleep.”

I kept scrolling through their conversation, my chest tight. Quietly, I used my own phone to record some of their text history.

Then I placed Caleb’s phone back exactly where it had been just as the shower water stopped running.

My heartbeat was racing now. I couldn’t believe I had never noticed anything before.

If Ruby hadn’t shown up today and told me everything, I would still be living inside Caleb’s carefully built lie—believing he was a caring husband who was simply too busy sometimes.

But he had never been too busy. At least not for the person he truly cared about.

When Caleb walked out of the bathroom, I was already lying back in bed.

A moment later, his phone rang. He picked it up and stepped a few paces away.

I couldn’t hear the words clearly, but his voice softened. He even laughed once or twice.

Every time I called Caleb, he couldn’t spare even a minute to talk to me. Those conversations always ended the same way. “Babe, I’m too busy to talk right now. Wait for me when I get home, alright?”

I used to feel so guilty, thinking maybe I’d interrupted Caleb in the middle of something important.

Now I realize I never did anything wrong. I simply never had Caleb’s love—nor his attention. Not even his time.

After a few minutes, Caleb returned to the bedside.

“Sorry,” he said, slipping his phone back into his pocket. “Something came up at the casino. I can’t stay home tonight.”

He gave me a quick look. “If anything happens, call the maid. Okay?”

I knew exactly where he was going.

Back to Ruby.

Before I realized it, my hand had already reached out, gripping the edge of his shirt. “Can you not go?” I asked quietly. “You just got back.”

Maybe a part of me still wanted more proof. Those texts… the things Ruby had said… Caleb and I had been married for years. Surely he hadn’t been faking everything… right?

Caleb only frowned, his irritation obvious. “Lena… after all these years of marriage, you know how much I care about you and our baby. And you know how important that casino is to the Stone family.”

His voice hardened slightly. “This isn’t the time to ask me for something childish. What’s gotten into you? You’ve never tried to stop me when I had urgent business.”

Before he could notice anything strange, I forced a small smile and let go of his shirt. “It’s just the hormones,” I said lightly. “You go ahead and do your thing.”

Caleb studied me for a few seconds then he turned away. “You should know what’s more important, Lena.”

Yes. What was more important right now was Ruby—waiting for him at the home he shared with her.

“Go to sleep. Don’t wait up.”

The door closed behind Caleb.

The moment I heard his car left, I got out of bed and went straight to the garage.

Everything felt unreal as I sat behind the wheel, typing the address I had seen earlier in Caleb’s messages with Ruby.

It was the address of their house. The destination was even closer than I expected. Just a ten-minute drive.

I arrived just as Caleb’s car pulled in.

I watched him step out and walk toward the gate.

A moment later, the door opened. Ruby ran out and threw her arms around him.

Under the soft glow of the streetlamp, they kissed.