Chapter 1

While verifying the numbers for next month’s mortgage, I opened the shared Notes folder my husband and I kept on iCloud.

I stumbled upon a hidden folder titled “100 things to get Ava out of Clyde”.

The list was extensive.

“1. Tell Dawn the budget for the outreach program’s been cut. Use the money put aside for the SUV to help Ava run her own bed and breakfast.

“2. She has her eye on the custom platinum necklace. Place an order tomorrow.”

I stared at my mobile screen, my blood running cold.

Mike had spent the past year working in a remote community. When I found myself in the ER with a high fever, Mike simply told me, “Reception’s terrible out here. Just drink plenty of fluids.”

I probed him with a text.

“Babe, can you pick me up a silver bracelet while you’re in Black Mountain next week?”

Mike was quick to respond. “There’s nothing around here but farms and dirt roads. Stop asking for expensive stuff. I’m busy.”

Minutes later, I watched the note update in real time.

“3. Dawn wants a silver bracelet, but I can’t get her one because every jeweler within a hundred miles is busy finishing Ava’s one-of-a-kind jewelry pieces.”

With my eyes glued to the screen, I chuckled.

Not voicing any issues, I simply tapped on the family relocation consent form tied to his transfer request and declined it.

Mike sent a voice note right there and then; his tone of voice weary and dismissive.

“Babe, I know this assignment has been hard. When I come home, why don’t we have the wedding we never got to have?”

Chapter 1

I stared at the twelve-second voice note sitting on my screen, neither tapping to convert it to text nor replying.

Mike Tank’s WhatsApp profile still displayed the photo from our wedding day.

In the past, I often told him to swap it out for a proper headshot, so he wouldn’t look unprofessional to his superiors in work group chats.

Mike refused every time. Squeezing my hand in his palm, he said he wanted everyone to know that he was taken.

Yet now, the same married man had filled his Notes app with another woman’s name.

The next morning at eight, Mike’s video call came through right on cue.

I accepted the call and set the phone upright on my vanity table.

On screen, Mike wore his washed-out windbreaker, the aging county office building with its peeling paint behind him.

With dark circles under his eyes and a heavy frown, Mike lifted a chipped mug to his lips.

“The meeting ran late last night, honey. I didn’t get a chance to text you back.

“Life out here’s rough. I don’t get hot water most days, and my stomach’s killing me. I can’t keep anything down.”

I paused while applying my lipstick, my eyes falling on the shirt beneath his windbreaker.

It was brand-new, its collar trimmed with intricate embroidery.

The shirt was completely out of character for Mike.

Once, I bought him a patterned shirt from an artisan market, but he shoved it to the back of the closet, claiming it was too flashy.

I looked him in the eye and asked, “Nice shirt. Did you pick it out yourself?”

Mike glanced down at his collar, his gaze shifty. However, he was quick to pull himself together.

“No. One of the older ladies in town gave it to me. She meant well. It would’ve been rude not to wear it.”

He sighed and put his mug down.

“Dawn, folks out here are simple. They are genuine. They appreciate the smallest kindness. You’ve spent your whole life in the big city. You care about designer labels and nice things. You wouldn’t understand what a gift like this means to them. I didn’t want to hurt any feelings, so I put it on.”

My knuckles went white as my grip on the lipstick tightened.

Apparently, expecting quality made me materialistic.

He saved his excuses for me while giving every ounce of his attention and care to Ava.

I clicked the lipstick cap shut and looked at him through the screen.

“Since it’s so tough out there, I might as well use my annual leave to come down to the town, see you, and bring over some meds and seasonal clothes next week.”

“You can’t!”

Mike jolted to his feet and knocked the mug over, spilling his drink all over the table.

Without even stopping to wipe up the spill, he raised his voice.

“The rainy season's starting, and there’ve been landslides on the mountain roads. It’s dangerous.

“Honestly, you’d just be another thing I’d have to worry about. Dawn, just stay home, okay?”

Mike cut the conversation short and ended the call before I could say another word.

Five minutes later, a notification slid across my screen.

Mike updated a shared note.

“4. Almost blew it today. I wish I could wear the shirt Ava made for me every day. I must stop Dawn from coming. I’ll take Ava to Black Mountain tomorrow to shop for furniture for her B&B.”

My stomach was in knots when I read the memo.

It wasn’t the landslide he feared. He simply didn’t want me to stumble into the little world he had created with Ava.

I opened the airline app and booked the earliest flight to Black Mountain.

Chapter 2

The brick sidewalks of Black Mountain left my feet aching.

Following the location in Mike’s note, I arrived at a cozy B&B that was still being renovated.

A rough wooden sign leaned against the porch, with the words, “Ava and Mike’s Little Hideaway” written in marker.

I stood in the shadows across the street while Mike stepped onto a ladder to hang a handcrafted wind chime beneath the porch roof.

A young woman stepped outside carrying a mason jar of iced tea.

Getting on her tiptoes, she brought the drink to his lips.

Mike leaned down and drank straight from the jar in her hands. Once the liquid went down his throat, he climbed down the ladder and wiped the sweat off the girl’s forehead with his sleeve, his gesture practiced as if he had done so many times before. He moved with care, afraid to hurt her in the slightest.

“Tired? Leave the heavy lifting to me. Don’t go blistering your hands.”

The Mike I knew wouldn’t even pick up his own socks.

Every time I asked him to change a lightbulb, he would tell me to call the maintenance office myself.

Yet there he was, handling every heavy job without being asked.

Ava rested her head against Mike’s arm, her voice crisp and airy.

“Mike, are you sure your wife won’t be upset over your purchases?”

Without missing a beat, Mike tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

“She only cares about my paycheck. She doesn’t understand me at all. You get me, Ava. You’re my soul mate.”

My heart dropped, squeezing every breath from my lungs.

My stomach rolled violently.

I turned away and leaned against a stone retaining wall, dry heaving until my throat burned, but nothing came up.

No tears came.

Drawing a few deep breaths, I pulled out my phone and placed a video call to Mike.

The line rang three times before going dead.

Later, Mike called back on audio, his voice dripping with annoyance.

“Honey, I’m doing community visits right now. I’m with a few county officials, so this isn’t a good time right now.”

Across the street, I watched Mike anxiously step away from Ava to find a quiet spot to talk.

Shoved aside, Ava bit her lip and stared intently at the photo in Mike’s grasp.

I stared at the back of his silhouette, my voice flat.

“Babe, surprise! I’m in Black Mountain. I’m right outside a local jewelry shop. Do you want to come out and pick me up?”

Mike froze and nearly dropped his phone to the ground.

Whipping his head around frantically, he began pacing erratically toward the top of the street.

“W-Why didn’t you listen to me? Which street are you on right now? Don’t wander off. The roads around here are a maze.”

Ava went up to take his hand, but Mike brushed her off violently.

I replied, “Fooled you. I’m not there.”

Mike stopped and heaved a sigh of relief.

“You almost gave me a heart attack. I’m still out in the field. I’ve got to go. My superior is looking for me.”

Once the call ended, I stared at the new message popping up on my phone.

I got a DM on my social media work account.

The sender’s handle was Ava from the Mountains.

“Hello there, Cloud. I came across your interior design portfolio online and absolutely love your work.

“My boyfriend and I are opening a local B&B in Black Mountain soon. We’d love to bring you on to help style the interiors and create some social media content for the launch.”

I tapped on her avatar and stared at that familiar face before typing out a reply.

“Sure.”