CHAPTER 1: The Statement

ARIA’S POV

I found the lie between the electric bill and the mortgage statement.

It was Monday night, almost nine, and I was doing what I did every first Monday of the month: paying bills at the desk in our home office. Flynn usually handled the finances, but household stuff was mine. Electric, water, internet. The boring, mundane things that kept our life running.

I'd grabbed his business credit card by mistake. It was in the drawer where I kept our joint account checkbook. Simple error. I wouldn't have thought twice about it except the charge caught my eye.

*Recurring payment: $5,000.00 to S. Thornfield.*

My fingers stopped on the keyboard. Thornfield was Flynn's last name. My last name now, too. But I didn't know any S. Thornfield.

I pulled up the full statement. Scrolled back. There it was again. Same charge, same amount. I went back further.

February. January. December.

My chest tightened.

I opened the filing cabinet and pulled out the folder with the last year's statements. My hands were steady, but my pulse wasn't. The paper rustled too loud in the quiet house.

October. September. August.

Eight months. Five thousand dollars every single month. Forty thousand dollars to someone named S. Thornfield, and I'd never heard Flynn mention the name once.

I grabbed my laptop and searched. "Sienna Thornfield Portland." Nothing. "S. Thornfield Oregon." A few random social media profiles, none with photos, none that looked right. I tried different combinations. Added "business" and "consultant" and "contractor."

Nothing made sense.

The house was silent except for the hum of the refrigerator downstairs and my own breathing. I looked at the clock: 8:47. Flynn would be home any minute. He was never late on Mondays. We had a routine. He'd kiss my cheek, ask about my day at the gallery, pour himself a drink.

I printed the statements. All eight months. The printer sounded too loud, mechanical and final. Each page that slid out felt like evidence of something I didn't want to name.

By the time I heard his key in the lock, I was surrounded by paper. Eight months of secrets spread across the desk in neat, chronological order.

"Aria Honey?" His voice carried up the stairs. "Sorry I'm late. Conference call ran over."

I didn't answer. Couldn't. My throat had closed up.

His footsteps on the stairs. The third one from the top creaked like it always did. He appeared in the doorway, already loosening his tie. His briefcase hit the floor with a thud that made me flinch.

"Hey, I was thinking we could order from that Thai place you—"

He stopped. His eyes found the papers first, then me.

The color drained from his face. Literally. I watched it happen, watched him go from tan to pale in the space of a breath. His hand went to his tie, pulled it looser even though it was already loose. Then to his watch. He always touched his watch when he was nervous.

"What are you doing?" His voice was careful. Too careful.

I picked up the top statement. Held it up so he could see. "Eight months. You've been sending money to someone for eight months."

He didn't move. "Aria-"

"Who is Sienna Thornfield?And why send her this outrageous amount of money? "

Something crossed his face. Not quite guilt. Worse. Resignation.

"I can explain," he said.

"Then explain. Right now."

He stood there in his perfect suit with his perfect hair and his wedding ring catching the light. We'd been married three years. Together for four. I knew the sound of his breathing when he slept. I knew he hummed when he cooked. I knew he took his coffee black and hated horror movies and called his business partner every Sunday morning.

I didn't know about the forty thousand dollars.

"It's complicated," he finally said.

"Complicated." I heard my voice go flat. "That's what you're going with?"

"I need you to trust me."

"Trust you?" I stood up. The chair rolled back and hit the wall. "You just admitted you've been lying to me for months."

"I didn't lie—"

"What would you call it?"

He opened his mouth and closed it. His jaw worked like he was chewing words he couldn't swallow.

"It's not what you think," he said.

"What do I think, Flynn? Change my mind please"

He didn't answer. Just stood there looking at me like I was the one being unreasonable. Like I was the one who'd been hiding thousands of dollars in payments to a woman whose name I'd never heard.

My hands were shaking. I pressed them flat against the desk.

"Say it," I said. "Say you've been giving money to another woman. Say you've been lying to me since last summer."

"It's not—" He stopped. "I can't."

"Can't or won't?"

"Both." His voice cracked on the word. "You have to trust me."

I laughed. It came out wrong, jagged and sharp. "I did trust you. Past tense."

He took a step forward. I took a step back. The hurt that flashed across his face should have made me feel something. It didn't.

"Please," he said. "Just... give me time."

"Time for what? To come up with a better lie?"

"To protect you."

"I didn't ask for protection!" The words came out louder than I meant. "I asked for a partner. Someone who tells me the truth."

"I am your partner."

"Then who is she?Your sister?? Cousin? Family? if she is, why do I not know about her? Why did you lie to me about not having siblings?"

I saw his mouth open like he wanted to say something but he closed it immediately.

Silence. Long and heavy and full of everything he wasn't saying.

Then I had a scary thought. I voiced it out.

“Is she something else? Are you married to her?” my voice was as low as a whisper. I felt my perfect life crashing in one second.

“SAY SOMETHING DAMMIT!!”

“I… I.. Aria please”

I looked at the man I'd married. The man I'd promised forever to. The man who'd held me at my parents' grave and promised I'd never be alone again.

The way his face went pale told me everything I needed to know. My husband was a stranger.