2

Chapter 2

Audrey Westbrook

~•~

Vincent wasn’t at the dealership. He wasn’t having problems with the transfer. He wasn’t even hurrying back home to meet up for my birthday.

He was at a car race.

I stared at the television screen, my fingers tightening around the remote. I had only turned it on to distract myself while I waited for him, but I ended up hurting myself.

On the news was a live broadcast of an evening racing event.

The black car that I had believed was my surprise present was parked beside him. And Vincent wasn’t alone. He was accompanied by the one woman whom he knew I would lose my mind over if I ever saw them together.

His ex-girlfriend, Cierra.

I stared at the screen as she whispered something in his ear, causing both of them to laugh.

My blood boiled with rage.

My husband was at a fucking racing event with his ex on my birthday. The same evening he had ignored all of my calls. The same day he left me waiting at my own birthday party.

I had defended him to everyone.

I thought that his absence at my party was humiliating, but seeing him parade around with his ex-girlfriend on my special day was even more embarrassing.

Reaching for my phone, I dialed his number, hoping that this time around it would be different and he would answer his phone.

But who was I kidding?

He didn’t respond.

I drew in a shaky breath. Calling him multiple times wasn’t going to change anything. He had already seen the call notifications; he just chose to ignore me.

I picked up my bag and went to the bedroom.

Everything was the same way I’d left it when I went to the party. Vincent hadn’t come back to the house since morning.

As I sat on the edge of the bed, I wondered how we got to this point. It didn’t even make sense.

Everything had been okay between Vincent and me. I hadn’t done anything to upset him recently. He never acted like he was seeing someone else.

I couldn’t understand why he would feel the need to punish me in such a cruel manner. Or did he genuinely forget about my birthday? And the meeting with his ex was just cordial?

A bitter laugh escaped my lips as I realized that I was subconsciously making excuses for him.

I needed to face reality.

Vincent hadn’t forgotten about my birthday. It was all I had been talking about since the month started.

As for his ex, I knew it wasn’t a harmless meeting. He knew how I felt about Cierra. Whatever he was doing was deliberate.

Closing my eyes and forcing those memories away, I stood up and got out of my dress. I cleaned my makeup and had a long shower.

After I was done, I got into my bed and covered myself with a blanket. It took me so many hours before I finally drifted off to sleep.

The next morning, Vincent didn’t return.

Just the mere thought of the possible places where he might’ve spent the night made my stomach churn.

I waited for a few hours and he still didn’t show up.

I couldn’t stay at home waiting for him all day. I had clients waiting for me at work and just because I felt terrible didn’t mean that I could just ignore every other part of my life.

But deep down, I wish I could.

Soon enough, I was on my way to the office, but I decided to take a quick detour. If I had done something to Vincent, I needed to know.

He didn’t have any right to treat me badly without a logical explanation. Plus, I really needed the explanation— maybe it would make me feel better.

When I arrived at his company, I took a moment before I stepped out of the car. There was a high chance I could be wasting my time.

Vincent could still be wherever he spent the night. I had no idea if he carried extra work clothes. But I just wanted to try my luck.

I deserved a conversation.

When I got inside, I met the receptionist. As soon as she saw me, I noticed how her expression turned slightly uncomfortable.

“Good morning,” I said sharply. “Is he around?”

Everyone already knew me, and she knew exactly who I was talking about.

“Uhm…” she began, avoiding my gaze as she flipped through pages of a document in front of her.

I could tell she was nervous.

I fixed my narrowed gaze on her. “Is everything okay?”

“He said I shouldn’t let you inside, no matter what happens.”

My mouth parted and I blinked.

What?

Had my husband instructed the receptionist to stop me from going up to his office?

My chest tightened, and I pressed a hand against it as my breath came out shaky.

“But is he in his office?” I asked, forcing my voice to sound steady even though I was on the verge of breaking down.

Before she could respond, my phone buzzed. I glanced at it and saw that it was a text message from my secretary, letting me know that my first client for the day had already arrived.

I slipped my phone into my purse.

Work could wait for a while. I had more pressing issues at the moment. Something was wrong with my marriage and I needed to know what was happening.

She nodded. “Yes… he is upstairs, but I don’t think this is the right time to see him,” she replied, her voice barely above a whisper.

I crossed my arms tightly.

I knew he gave her instructions, but I didn’t care about them. I wasn’t leaving the building without seeing Vincent.

Just as I turned around, I couldn’t even move an inch when I saw what was in front of me.

I finally understood why the receptionist had warned me that it wasn’t a good time to see him.

Vincent.

He had just stepped out of the elevator with her. My lips quivered as I struggled to believe what I was seeing.

As Vincent’s eyes locked onto mine, the color quickly drained from his face.