Chapter 2

The loud movement downstairs dragged me the hell out of sleep.

At first, I thought I was dreaming when I kept hearing voices and strange sounds in my head. The sounds came muffled through the wooden floors, persistent enough to keep tugging at my consciousness until I finally decided to open my eyes.

My head throbbed.

I lay still, staring at the ceiling, trying to pull myself together after a messy night. The awkwardness and disgrace slowly returned to my mind in flashes.

I turned to the other side of the bed and realised I was alone. If I weren’t so bent on living in a made-up reality, I would have realised the pattern that was going on. With one elbow I pushed myself up and pressed my palm into his pillow.

The vibration from the nightstand broke the silence. I looked and noticed that it was Daniel’s phone that had lit up and not mine.

I stared at it as it buzzed again, the sound too loud in the quiet room, calling out to my curiosity.

There was only one name on his screen, and it belonged to Chloe, the secretary from the previous night. A message preview shimmered on the screen.

CHLOE: [CAN’T WAIT TO GO OVER THE NEW CONTRACT DETAILS]

I read it once, then again and again.

The words were clean, professional and looked harmless to anyone who saw them.

But at seven-thirty in the morning, in the bedroom I had shared with my husband for five years, they didn’t feel like anything. Something inside of me knew this was more than what it seemed to normal eyes.

Downstairs, something thudded causing me to freeze. Another loud thud followed almost like furniture dragging across tile.

I slid out of bed and tied my robe tightly around my waist. The wooden floor felt warm under my feet. When I opened the bedroom door, the noise hit me fully. The sound of footsteps, tools and instructions being dished out.

I stepped into the hallway.

Two men carrying a mattress brushed past me.

“The guest room,” one muttered to the other. “He said the guest room.”

The guest room?

“Careful with that frame!” Daniel’s voice rang like a lion in the jungle. “If it scratches, I’ll deduct it from your pay.”

I looked down the corridor.

He stood at the far end, already dressed. He had pressed trousers and a crisp white shirt on. His hair was still damp from a shower. He held his tablet in one hand and gestured impatiently with the other.

“No, not there, you twat! Closer to the window and use the Egyptian cotton sheets, not the regular ones.”

I watched him for a full second before speaking.

“Good morning.”

He glanced at me briefly.

“Morning.”

Then his attention snapped right back to the movers.

“Set up the Wi-Fi extender in that room. I don’t want complaints about the connection.”

“What’s going on?” I asked.

He didn’t answer.

“Daniel?”

He turned slowly, irritation already in his eyes. “Sorry. What is it?”

“What’s going on?”

Instead of answering, he leaned over the railing and shouted downstairs, “Where’s my coffee?!” His voice echoed through the house. “I feel like I ran into a building!”

A housekeeper hurried past me with a tray.

Daniel pressed his fingers against his temple. “Urgh. What happened last night?”

Then he looked at me as if he’d just remembered I existed. “What were you saying?”

I folded my arms across my chest. “I asked what’s going on.”

He exhaled sharply. “Oh yeah. Come downstairs with me.”

“That’s not an answer.”

“Damn it, woman. Will you just do as you are asked?”

He brushed past me without waiting, almost like I looked nothing like the woman he swore to love years ago.

The staircase felt longer than usual. Staff moved around us with boxes, folded linens, and a standing lamp. I could smell fresh detergent mixing with the rich scent of brewing coffee.

Daniel reached the kitchen first and pulled out a chair at the breakfast table. He sat heavily.

A staff member placed a steaming mug in front of him.

“Finally,” he muttered, wrapping both hands around it. “Was that so hard?”

She lowered her eyes and stepped back.

I stayed standing.

“Daniel.”

He took a long sip and winced. “Gosh. My head.”

I waited.

He looked up at me like I was the inconvenience. “Sit.”

“I’m fine.”

“What is happening in my house?”

“Our house,” he corrected automatically.

I held his gaze. “Then tell me.”

He leaned back in his chair. “There are going to be some changes.”

My stomach tightened. “What kind of changes?”

“One of my staff lost their apartment,” he said casually. “Burst pipe which flooded everything. They need somewhere to stay for a few days.”

“And?” I asked.

“And I told them they could use the guest room.”

I couldn’t believe he had really said that to my face.

“You told them?” I repeated.

“Yes.”

“You didn’t think to ask me?”

“It’s just temporary, Nina,” he said with a frown.

“That’s not the point.”

He waved a dismissive hand. “Then what’s the fuzz? It’s just a few days.”

“Why can’t you give this person money?” I asked. “Or pay for a hotel somewhere?”

He laughed, like actually laughed.

“Would I be a good boss if I weren’t hospitable to my staff?”

“That’s not hospitality. That’s moving them into our home.”

He took another sip of coffee. “Hotels aren’t safe this time of year. Conferences everywhere. Strangers coming in and out. I’d rather know they’re somewhere secure.”

“Secure?” My voice sharpened. “You mean here.”

“Yes. Here.”

I stepped closer to the table. “Well, my answer is no.”

He paused mid-sip.

“What?”

“No. My answer is no.” I said clearly. “Go and tell the movers to stop the setup, all of it.”

Silence spread across the kitchen.

He set the cup down slowly.

“You’re serious.”

“Very.” I retorted.

He studied my face like he was looking for weakness.

“C’mon, Nina. You’re overreacting.”

“I am not.”

“It’s a guest room, Nina. It’s not like they’re moving into our bedroom.”

“Wait a minute. You have to be kidding me, right?” he muttered. “Is this about last night?”

I didn’t respond.

“Grow up,” he snapped. “It was a charity event and I need the investors to invest.”

“You humiliated me.”

“I thanked my staff.”

“You thanked her.”

His jaw tightened. “She earned it.”

“And what did I earn?” I asked quietly. “Tell me, Daniel?!”

He stared at me.

“Years of work,” I continued. “Nights reviewing your contracts. The promotions and career pursuits I declined for your sake. The money I poured into your ‘borrowed desk in my parents’ apartment.’ What did that earn me?”

“This isn’t about that.”

“It is to me.”

He pushed his chair back abruptly and started walking away from me like I was taking all the air in the room.

“You’re making this dramatic.”

“I’m asking you to respect me.”

“I do respect you.”

“Then act like it and give me my flowers.”

His expression hardened instantly.

“You don’t get to dictate how I run my company.”

“The same company I helped you build when you couldn’t even give a simple pitch?”

“That was in the past. This house runs on the income I generate.” he shot back.

The words stung because they were true. My life had taken a downward spiral when I pushed my dreams down the toilet to support Daniel.

“I contributed to building that income,” I said evenly.

He stepped closer. “I am the man of this house and you should remember your place!”

Something inside me went very, very still.

“Remember my place?” I repeated.

“I make the decisions here,” he said, gesturing upward.

“You make them alone now?”

“Yes. You got that right, Nina!”

“And I’m supposed to just… what? Smile?”

“Support me.”

“I have.”

“Then keep doing it and let’s not argue over nothing.”

I shook my head. “No way. Not like this.”

He finally snapped into someone I had never seen. He slammed his coffee cup to the ground. It shattered all over, hot liquid spilling over the floor.

Staff in the hallway froze and he didn’t even look at them.

“Enough!” he ordered loudly.

But a car horn sounded outside causing Daniel’s head to turn toward the front door. There was another honk and his irritation slowly turned into joy for some reason when he checked his watch.

“Ah,” he murmured.

I followed his gaze.

“What do you know?” he muttered, straightening his shirt. “I think she is here already.”

My guts dropped to the ground. “She?”

He was already walking toward the door.

I followed him. “She?”

He didn’t slow down.

“She?” My voice rose this time around. “The staff you’re helping is a lady?”

He reached the front door and wrapped his hand around the handle.

He glanced back at me with a plain, emotionless look on his face.

“Yeah,” he said. “It’s my secretary, Chloe.”