Chapter 2

Thalia's POV

"Her name is Camille Sawyer. She's a college student."

At the cafe, Margot studied my expression before speaking carefully. "She hasn't actually been with Mr. Hudson for that long. It was probably just the novelty… Ms. Jensen, we really didn't mean to keep this from you."

I watched Margot sit on pins and needles. I took a sip of my coffee and said nothing.

I knew exactly what she was worried about. This wasn't the first time Gabriel had cheated on me, nor was it the first time I had caught him.

The last time something like this happened was during our first year of marriage. Back then, he hadn't completely settled down yet, and I was still young and proud.

The moment I found out, I made sure everyone in our social circle knew.

I smashed every piece of furniture in the house and fired every member of the household staff who had helped cover for him. No matter how much they begged for forgiveness, I refused to hear them out.

I even shoved them away and screamed until my voice was hoarse. "All of you are accomplices for covering for him! Get out! All of you, get out!"

After that, Gabriel behaved himself for four whole years. Little by little, I actually started to believe that he had changed.

I closed my eyes and muttered, "You just need to tell me when they started seeing each other."

…

By the time Margot finished telling me everything, snow had begun to fall outside.

My phone chimed. Camille had just accepted my follow request.

I tapped into her profile and saw all the happy moments she had shared with Gabriel.

They had met a year ago, and for the next six months, they traveled all over the world together. They climbed snow-capped mountains, watched the Northern Lights, vacationed by the sea, and kissed beneath the Belmont Tower.

During that time, I'd been in the hospital, barely holding myself together after having a miscarriage.

Gabriel had told me he was abroad on a business trip. Every hour, he would check in to ask how I was doing. Every three hours, he would call me.

I had always believed that everything he did for me was what gave me the strength to pull myself out of the pain of losing our child. It was what made me believe he had been there for me.

Today, I finally realized it was the biggest joke of my entire life.

I kept scrolling. Pinned to the top of her feed was a photo of Camille and Gabriel riding a carousel at an amusement park. The caption read, "My one and only."

Compared to her other photos, it shouldn't have stood out as much as it did. But I stared at it for a long time until my fingers were almost numb.

After my parents passed away, the first job I ever had was checking tickets at a carousel. Back then, I would watch children laugh happily as they rode with their families.

I used to fantasize that one day, I would get to ride one with the person I loved most.

It was such a childish dream.

But Gabriel was always too busy. I had begged him for five years, and it never happened. Yet now, he had fulfilled that same childish wish for another woman without a second thought.

I stopped scrolling and went home.

The moment I opened the door, a bright bouquet of sunflowers appeared before me. Gabriel peeked out from behind the flowers, smiling warmly.

"Happy anniversary, Thalia."

I said nothing. I had never liked sunflowers. They only ever appeared in abundance on Camille's social media.

My gaze dropped to his left hand, landing on his ring finger.