CHAPTER 002

LAUREN'S POV

“Who is she, Ethan?” I asked again, louder this time, my voice shaking.

Ethan’s eyes darted to the side like he was thinking of what to say. “What are you talking about?” he said finally, blinking like I’d just accused him of something crazy.

I pointed at his collar. “The lipstick. It’s not mine, Ethan. So again, who is she?”

He looked down slowly, like he was just noticing it for the first time. There it was. That soft pink smudge stood out against his white shirt like a slap to my face.

“Oh,” he said, brushing at it. “That? It’s nothing. One of the girls at the office… she tripped or something and bumped into me. Maybe it got there then.”

I stared at him. “She tripped? Onto your collar?”

He shrugged like it wasn’t a big deal. “It was just a stupid accident, Lauren. Don’t start making something out of nothing.”

“Don’t talk to me like I’m stupid,” I snapped.

He sighed like he was already tired of the conversation. “Here we go again. You always do this. You always jump to the worst conclusion. You blow everything out of proportion.”

I blinked, stunned. “So now it’s my fault?”

He stepped past me and dropped his coat on the couch. “I don’t have the energy for this right now.”

I followed him. “No, you don’t get to walk away and pretend this isn’t happening. Our daughter waited the whole day for you. I waited. And you show up late, smelling like a woman's perfume and with lipstick on your shirt, and I’m supposed to just swallow it?”

He turned sharply. “Jesus, Lauren, it was nothing. You’re so dramatic. You always have to make everything a scene.”

“Because you keep giving me scenes!” My voice cracked. “You forgot her birthday again, Ethan. How many times does that make it? Two? Three?”

He rubbed his hands down his face and looked up at the ceiling. “I said I was busy.”

“No, you said you’d be here,” I said quietly. “And you weren’t. Again.”

He didn’t answer that.

I felt something inside me fall a little lower. It was always like this — me begging for scraps of honesty while he acted like I was imagining things.

I looked at him. I mean, really looked at him. Same face I used to love since college. Same brown eyes that once looked at me like I was his whole world. But now… it was like there was a wall between us. One I couldn’t break through no matter how hard I tried.

He started walking toward the stairs.

“Where are you going?” I asked.

“I’m taking a shower,” he said, not even looking back.

"Won't you have dinner?"

"I’m not hungry,” he replied coldly.

I watched him disappear up the stairs, my whole body feeling heavy. I stood in the middle of the living room with my arms crossed, trying not to cry. Maybe he was telling the truth. Maybe I was just overthinking it. It could’ve been just an accident, like he said. Ethan wouldn’t cheat on me… right? We’ve been through too much together. He wouldn’t hurt me like that.

Then my phone pinged.

I reached for it slowly, not expecting much. Probably an email or some discount code.

But it wasn’t.

It was a message from Tessa my best friend.

Tess💗: “Lauren… I wasn’t sure if I should send this, but I think you need to see it.”

She added a link.

My stomach turned. Tessa wouldn’t send me gossip. Not unless it was serious. My fingers hovered over the message.

I tapped the link.

The browser started loading. My heart pounded so loud I could barely hear anything else. I paced the living room while I waited, rubbing my fingers against my forehead.

The screen lit up slowly. First the headline.

“Prominent Businessman Spotted Getting Cozy With Mystery Woman at Rooftop Lounge”

I blinked.

My hands started to shake. I scrolled down, my breath catching in my throat.

The page was still loading the image.

Part of it came into view the back of a man in a suit. He was leaning in close to a woman with long dark hair, her lips almost touching his cheek. The rest was blurry.

I stared. My brain started screaming at me to stop. But I couldn’t. I needed to know.

Suddenly, a message from Tessa popped up again.

Tess💗: “Lauren… I think it’s Ethan. I’m so sorry.”

I sat down hard on the couch. My legs couldn’t hold me anymore. My heart was pounding in my chest like it was trying to break free.

Please, God, don’t let it be him, I whispered inside my head.

The image was still loading, slowly getting clearer. I could make out more of the man’s jaw now. The angle of his chin. The curve of his ear.

I knew that face. I knew it like the back of my hand.

It was Ethan.

My heart dropped. It felt like someone had reached into my chest and squeezed it until it cracked. I covered my mouth with both hands. Tears spilled down my cheeks before I even realized I was crying. The kind of crying that just… happens. Quiet. Shocked. Crushed.

The article said it was taken just a few hours ago. Tonight.

The smudge on his collar wasn’t just some stupid accident but it came from the mysterious woman whose face hadn’t been clearly captured.

I leaned forward, elbows on my knees, phone still glowing in my hands.

How could he? How could he do this to Elena? To me? After everything? After the sacrifices I made for him to build that company that made him who he is now.

Then I heard a soft, small sound. Like a whisper.

“Mommy?”

I froze and looked up. Elena was standing on the stairs, hugging her teddy bear, eyes wide with worry.

“Mommy… why are you crying?”