Chapter 2

That night, Riley had a long dream about the first time she met Yale.

She was eighteen, attending a dinner party at the Sullivan family home with her father. Yale stood beside the piano in an impeccably tailored black suit, a champagne glass held between his long, slender fingers. His handsome features were almost too perfect to be real.

She fell in love with him at first sight.

Later, she worked up the courage to steal a kiss. Yale had looked startled for a moment before chuckling softly.

"Sweetheart, that's not how you kiss someone."

Then he'd cupped the back of her head and shown her what a real kiss felt like.

It had gone on so long that she'd struggled to catch her breath. Even now, remembering it felt like revisiting a beautiful dream, one almost too good to have been real.

When Riley woke, her pillow was soaked with tears.

Daylight had begun filtering through the windows, but it took her a long time to pull herself together enough to pick up her phone and call her father.

"Dad, I'm getting divorced," she said hoarsely. "Once it's finalized, I'll come overseas and stay with you guys."

"Did Yale do something to hurt you?" Her father's voice rose sharply.

"No." Riley gazed out at the brightening sky. "I just don't love him anymore."

The truth was, Yale didn't love her.

And she wasn't going to love him anymore, either.

She couldn't bring herself to say any of that aloud. Instead, she swallowed the words like broken glass and let them tear her apart inside.

After hanging up, Riley received an unexpected friend request on her phone. For reasons she couldn't explain, she accepted it.

A video arrived almost immediately.

Yale was dozing on a couch, his brows slightly furrowed as he murmured a name in his sleep.

"Lissie..."

A long message followed.

[I'm Selise, Yale's first love. I never imagined that after all these years, even though he's married now, he still hasn't forgotten me.

[When I came back today, I discovered he still has my nickname tattooed on the inside of his wrist. He's kept all our photos together, along with every journal he wrote back then.

[Look, he's even calling my name in his sleep. He must be dreaming about our past. I suppose those memories of his first love are something he'll never forget.]

Riley read the message, her heart already so battered that the pain had turned to numbness.

She managed only one reply.

[What do you want?]

It was a long time before Selise answered.

[Nothing much. I just want back what's mine. He's about to wake up. Want to bet that all I have to do is tell him I had a nightmare, and he'll spend the next five days with me without contacting you once?]

Riley didn't respond.

Ten minutes later, a message from Yale appeared on her screen.

[Baby, something's come up with a project, and I have to go away on business for five days. My secretary will be staying behind, so call him if you need anything. Take good care of yourself and our little one.]

Riley stared at the message and suddenly started laughing.

She was still laughing when tears began splashing onto her phone screen.

Over the next five days, Yale didn't contact her once, exactly as Selise had predicted.

Selise, on the other hand, kept sending updates.

There were photos and videos of Yale walking with her along the beach, taking her to a mountaintop to watch the sunset, and driving her through the countryside.

[We used to come to all these places when we were dating,] Selise wrote.

Riley looked through every single message. As she did, she realized Yale had taken her to those same places.

She'd thought he was being romantic. Now she understood that he'd simply been revisiting places filled with memories of another woman, looking at Riley while imagining Selise in her place.

On the evening of the fifth day, Riley began packing.

The jewelry, handbags, and clothes Yale had bought her all went into cardboard boxes, along with everything else that reminded her of him. She carried the boxes into the storage room and left them there.

By the time Yale returned home, looking exhausted from his travels, half the walk-in closet was empty.

He stopped in surprise. "Baby, what are you doing?"

"Just getting rid of some things I don't need anymore," Riley replied without looking up.

Yale didn't think much of it. Instead, he smiled and handed her a present.

It was a limited-edition collection of picture books she'd casually mentioned wanting to collect the month before. She hadn't expected him to remember.

"Baby." Yale slipped an arm around her as naturally as ever, his large hand settling over her belly. "Has the morning sickness gotten any better? You're due for a prenatal checkup tomorrow. I'll go with you."

"There's no need." Riley pulled away from him. "Not tomorrow. Not ever again."

Something in her response finally caught his attention.

"What do you mean? Haven't you been feeling well lately?"

One of the housekeepers, Martha Bennett, spoke up before Riley could answer.

"Mrs. Sullivan hasn't had much of an appetite these past few days, sir. She's barely eaten anything."

Yale immediately loosened his tie.

"I'll go get some groceries and make you something to eat. All your favorites, okay? Be good and try to eat a little."

Before leaving, he turned to Martha with another reminder.

"Take good care of her. Make sure she doesn't bump into anything or hurt herself."

The housekeepers whispered enviously among themselves.

"Mr. Sullivan treats his wife so well..."

"That's why you marry an older man. They really know how to take care of you..."

Riley listened in silence, a faint trace of self-mockery passing through her eyes.

She'd once believed the same thing. She'd thought she'd found the greatest love anyone could ever hope for.

Now she knew their entire relationship had been nothing more than an elaborate game in which she'd been made to take another woman's place.