Chapter 2

I didn't sleep a wink that night.

Sitting on the living room sofa, I dug into every woman in Marcus's social circle. I hired two top paparazzi agencies to dig up dirt, and by sunrise, I had a prime suspect.

Her name was Vivian Carter, twenty-nine years old.

Coincidentally, she and Marcus had gone to the same middle school, high school, and university. They had even worked at the same company after graduation.

But when Marcus was welcomed back to the wealthy Sterling family as their long-lost son four years ago, he had never mentioned her name to me.

"Babe?"

Marcus's voice startled me from behind. I quickly snapped my laptop shut.

"Why are you up so early? Are you feeling okay?" Marcus looked at me with deep concern. "If I didn't have to go on this business trip today, I'd cancel everything just to stay and take care of you. But you know how it is. A man has to focus on his career."

I remained silent, watching him closely.

"Babe, I'll be gone for a week. Take good care of yourself while I'm away."

Marcus reached down to massage my shoulders—a habit of his. Over our three years of marriage, he always did this to help me relax, claiming he had taken professional massage classes just for me.

I used to be incredibly touched by his thoughtfulness, but now, his touch made my skin crawl.

I grabbed his wrist and gently pushed him away. "If you have a flight to catch, you should go pack."

"Alright. I'll bring you back the latest designer bag when I return."

With that, Marcus leaned down to plant a kiss on my cheek.

I smiled as I watched him head to the bedroom. The second he turned his back, I grabbed a wet wipe and aggressively rubbed my cheek until it was red and raw. I still felt dirty.

I waited until Marcus packed his things and left before I got up. Perhaps he was in a rush, because he didn't even question why I dodged his goodbye kiss. He just smiled warmly and hurried out the door.

Half an hour later, he Snapchat-ed me a picture of his boarding pass and a selfie at the airport. [Heading out, babe! Make sure you eat well while I'm gone!]

I stared at the screen, lost in thought.

If I hadn't overheard those mumbled words last night, I would never have associated the word "cheater" with Marcus.

He always kept me updated on his itinerary, and this trip was no exception. But I didn't have time to care about his fake updates. I contacted the private investigators and drove straight to Oakridge Towers.

Following the address from the Amazon tracker, I arrived at a beautifully decorated apartment complex. My prior search showed that the condo was registered under a woman named Brenda Carter, but she had never actually lived there.

Standing in the hallway on the 13th floor, I watched Marcus's GPS tracker on my phone as I took a deep breath and walked forward.

Just as the door to Apartment 1306 swung open, I stepped right in front of it. I turned my head and locked eyes with a panicked Marcus, who nearly dropped the bag of trash in his hand. "Nora?!"

Behind him stood Vivian Carter, her hair tied in a high ponytail. She reacted fast. "Mr. Sterling, we are so honored that you came to check on our employee welfare, but how could we let you hold the trash?"

"Oh, this must be Mrs. Sterling!" Vivian smiled warmly, extending her hand. "Hello, ma'am. I'm the cleaning contractor for Mr. Sterling's office."

I ignored her hand, staring straight at Marcus with a knowing look. "Marcus, didn't you say you were going on a business trip? What are you doing here... with another woman?"

"It's a misunderstanding! A total misunderstanding!"