3

Chloe shook out her hand and looked down at me. "What's with the pity act? Nathan already told me everything. You're the one who wouldn't let go!

"Aren't you the one who's always going on about how much you despise homewreckers?

"And when it's your turn, you're more than happy to be one? Disgusting!"

While she was talking, she yanked open my desk drawer.

Inside, neatly stacked, were all the photos Nathan and I had taken together over the past six years.

Chloe grabbed them all and flung them across the floor. "Take a good look, everyone. This man is my husband!"

In the photos, Nathan's eyes were soft, his smile so tender it burned to look at.

The year my mother and I were thrown out of our family home, we didn't get a single cent.

Nathan was there for me every day, doing everything he could to make me smile.

Through tears, I'd told him that the thing I hated most in this world was betrayal and lies.

All I ever wanted was a love that could stand in the open.

He'd pulled me into his arms, his eyes bright. "Ivy, I promise you. I'll never put you through that kind of pain."

Chloe lost her patience entirely. She pulled a check from her bag and threw it in my face. "It's all about money, isn't it? Nathan gave you three hundred thousand and that wasn't enough?

"Take the money and get lost. The farther the better!"

The check fluttered to the ground at my feet. It was the one Nathan had written for me on Thanksgiving.

My name was printed right there in the payee line, black on white.

Every face in the office changed. The looks my coworkers gave me were laced with shock.

My knees buckled.

The back of my head slammed against the filing cabinet, and waves of dizziness crashed over me.

The silence was deafening. Not a single person reached out.

They all looked down at me, every face etched with contempt.

Whispers drilled into my ears. "So Ivy really was the other woman..."

"I knew it. Who has a boyfriend for six years and never brings him around..."

"Three hundred thousand. She's greedy as hell..."

My whole body felt submerged in ice water. My breathing grew rapid and shallow.

I struggled to stand, but my body refused to obey.

"Ivy!"

Frantic footsteps echoed from outside the door.

Nathan burst in, his face drained of all color, shoving Chloe aside.

He pulled me into his arms, his voice shaking. "Are you okay? What happened to your face? Who hit you?"

Chloe shrieked from behind him, "Nathan! What are you doing! You're holding her right in front of me!"

They were still arguing about something, but I couldn't hear any of it anymore.

The next second, everything went black.

When I woke up, the sharp smell of disinfectant filled my nose.

My medical chart lay on the bedside table. It said I'd just undergone surgery after a miscarriage.

Before I even knew I was pregnant, the baby was already gone.

It was for the best.

At least the child wouldn't have to be born into ruins built on lies.

I reached for the IV needle, but the door swung open.

Nathan walked in carrying a thermos of soup, dark circles bruising the skin beneath his eyes. "Ivy, you're awake? This is all my fault. I'll make it right."

He hesitated, then spoke slowly. "But the partnership between her family and the firm is at a critical stage. I can't file for divorce right now.

"I have a place by the coast... no one knows about it."

I stared at him, stunned.

Nathan rubbed the bridge of his nose, exhausted. "Ivy, marriage is just a formality. It doesn't really matter, right?

"We've been doing the secret thing for so long. We're used to it by now.

"Move to the coast with your mom. I promise I'll always be good to you!"