Chapter 1

The traps were due to arrive within three business days.

I put my phone away and sank back into the couch.

I wasn't sure how much time had passed before Robert pushed open the bathroom door.

A sated look flickered in his eyes. He stopped in front of me, irritation creeping into his voice. "Emma, it's rude to barge in without knocking. Especially when I'm in the bathroom!"

A suffocating ache settled in my chest.

"You were so loud that you scared me."

Robert's eyes darted away. He looked guilty. "I was watching a video. The sound was... from the video."

Another lie.

I shook with anger. "But that position... it looked like you'd just been..."

"Emma!" Robert snapped, cutting me off. "You always do this. You make a mistake, then turn around and blame someone else! Knock next time!"

I looked down and didn't answer. Then I walked straight toward the bathroom.

Steam filled the bathroom, but the patch of wall Robert had been facing was completely dry. The condensation around it even outlined a human figure.

Feigning curiosity, I moved toward the wall, but Robert suddenly grabbed my wrist.

He hurriedly dragged me out of the bathroom, his voice urgent. "Emma, you're the one who did something wrong! It's bad enough you won't apologize, but now you're suspicious of me?"

He let go of my wrist with a jerk. "Emma, you need to take a good look at yourself. How could you treat me like this!"

Then he marched back into the bathroom and slammed the door behind him.

I stared at the bathroom door. My eyes burned, and tears spilled before I could stop them.

Since the day Robert and I started dating, he'd treated me like a princess. He couldn't even bear to raise his voice at me.

And now, to protect Selena, he'd slammed a door in my face!

So he really had stopped loving me and fallen for someone else...

The water came on in the bathroom again, followed by the shameless slap of bodies and, finally, louder cries and gasps...

The comments started scrolling again.

[Did Emma figure something out? She was looking right where Selena was standing.]

[That potion cost over a million dollars. It has to be a coincidence. There's no way Emma noticed.]

[Robert's got some serious stamina. Selena's about to pass out.]

Selena!

I'd seen Selena's name more than once in the comments, but I still couldn't believe she would betray me.

With shaking fingers, I took out my phone and called her.

Then the ringtone she'd set for my calls rang loud and clear from the walk-in closet.

It really is her.

We'd grown up together. Once, she'd kissed my cheek with a smile and promised, "We're going to be best friends forever."

And Robert was the son of my father's old army buddy. He'd even given up his dream school so we could go to the same college.

The day he confessed his feelings, his ears turned red as he pressed a pink myrtle blossom into my hands. He was so shy he couldn't get out a full sentence.

Robert and I graduated, got married, and built a life together. Selena had been there through all of it, cheering us on.

The two most important people in my life had betrayed me at the same time!

The tears kept falling, and I couldn't stop them.

I closed my eyes in despair.

They've chosen to betray me. I won't let them get away with it!