Chapter 4

Her face froze.

The polite smile vanished, the warmth draining from her eyes bit by bit.

Her hand tightened around the doorframe, her pale pink manicure standing out starkly against the gray, rainy backdrop.

"What did you just say?"

"Sean and I have been together for two years."

My voice came out remarkably steady.

"I only found out he was married yesterday."

She stared at me for a long time.

Then, she stepped back, pulling the door open wider.

"Come inside."

I stepped into Sean's family home.

The living room was spacious, with a large framed portrait of a family of three hanging on the wall.

Every corner of the house screamed the same truth:

He was a husband. He was a father.

Victoria took a seat on the sectional sofa and gestured for me to sit.

"Tell me."

She slid a glass of water toward me, then sat across from me on an armchair, folding her hands neatly over her lap.

"When did this start?"

"Two years ago."

"How did you meet?"

"Through work."

She gave a small nod, her expression unreadable.

"Does he know that you know?"

"Yes."

"He came to my place last night."

A faint crack finally appeared in Victoria's composure. The corner of her lip curled slightly.

"What did he say?"

"He said there was no love left between you two. He said you've been separated for two years and that he planned to divorce you by the end of this year."

At those words, Victoria couldn't help letting out a soft, humorless laugh.

"Separated for two years?"

"We dated for seven years, and we've been married for three."

"I didn't come here to cause a scene," I said quietly.

"I just thought you had a right to know."

Victoria remained quiet for a moment.

"I know you're not here to cause a scene."

"To be honest... I had my suspicions."

I looked up at her.

"Six months ago, I noticed a second Snapchat account on his phone. He was in the shower. The screen was locked, but the notification banner showed a few incoming texts from someone named 'Chloe'." She met my eyes.

"That was you, wasn't it?"

I nodded.

"I didn't confront him back then."

Victoria leaned back against the cushions, her gaze drifting past me to the family portrait on the wall.

"We were together for seven years before tying the knot. He pursued me for three years, and we dated for four. On our wedding day, he swore I would be the only woman in his life."

She paused.

"I trusted him for ten whole years."

"What are you going to do?" I asked.

She picked up her phone, unlocked it, and scrolled to a contact.

"You're calling him?"

"Yes."

Victoria looked at me.

"Let's get him back here and settle this face to face."

She pressed dial and put it on speaker.

"Hey, honey."

Sean's voice drifted through the speaker.

"Why are you calling so early?"

"Where are you?" Victoria asked. Her tone was sweet and tender, without a hint of tension.

"At the office. Things are crazy today, I'll probably have to stay late. Don't wait up for me, you must be exhausted taking care of Leo."

"Can you come home for a bit?"

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I just missed you."

Victoria spoke softly, her eyes locked on mine.

"Come home right now, please."

A brief silence on the other end.

"Right now might be tough, babe. I have a major meeting at ten."

"Push it back."

Victoria's voice was gentle, but left zero room for argument.

"I'll be waiting."

Another short pause.

"Alright, let me delegate a few things. I'll be home in ten minutes."

"Okay. Drive safe."

"Love you. Oh, by the way," Sean's voice took on a teasing, eager tone. "I picked up something for you. I'll show you when I get back."

"Sounds good."

Victoria hung up.

Sure enough, the doorbell rang shortly after.

Victoria stood up and walked to the entryway.

She took a deep breath, then opened the door.

Sean stood outside, shaking off his umbrella with one hand and holding luxury shopping bags in the other.

"Babe, I'm back."

He set down the umbrella and kicked off his dress shoes.

"Since you said you missed me, I pushed all my morning meetings back."

He bent down to slide into his slippers.

"I bought you that designer bag you were eyeing the other day..."

He looked up, and his words died in his throat.

Because his eyes landed on me.